Edited by CURRER BELL’, for this presentation is highly significant for a contextual appreciation of Charlotte Brontë’s first published novel. There has already been some work on the names of characters within the novel, looking at possible symbolism (e.g. ‘Eyre’, ‘rivers’, ‘reed’), literary allusions (‘Edward Fairfax’ and ‘Rochester’), biblical allusions (‘St John’) and the ordinariness of the name ‘Jane’.2 A focus on the framing provided by the title page with respect to name will offer further insights into the importance ‘names and naming’ have for the author, and insights into how ‘names and naming’ are being carefully handled in this mid-nineteenth-century context. Following on from this, we can see how such an
Aunt Fay writes to her niece Alice in the hope of teaching her about Austen and her writing and what better way to do that than by direct reference to Austen’s most successful text, Pride and Prejudice? Weldon in turn helps the actual reader understand Pride and Prejudice by commenting on the characters’ behaviour and the plot by giving her personal opinion, as well as identifying typical language features and explaining why Austen is valued today. She expresses empathy for Mrs Bennet which encourages the reader to reconsider their own opinion Her use of first person language tells the reader that they are reading a biased opinion, but also helps the reader trust Weldon as she is speaking
New York: W. W. Norton &, 2005. 541-558. Print. The author of this work tries to prove that Hawthorne can be viewed as a feminist because of his writing of The Scarlet Letter and many other works. He brings examples from the novel to prove that some of the statements and major themes that Hawthorne puts out are actually ranging towards more feminist than not.
How has the study of Emma and its appropriate clueless developed your understanding of how context influenced values? -Select at least 2 significant moments of Austen’s Emma and analyse how these moments are considered in order to create meaning in Heckerling’s Clueless. In your response focus on ideas, context, values and language. Heckerling’s Clueless (1995) is transformed through Austen’s 19th Century novel, Emma, where the plot and characters have been transformed to suit Heckerling’s context and contemporary audience. Despite the shift in context from 19th century England to late 20th century Beverly Hills, Austen’s main plot and ideas have been retained to a great degree.
“Appropriation study of texts is interesting because the changing values and attitudes of particular time periods can be observed.” Evaluate this opinion in relation to the Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, and Amy Heckerling’s film, Clueless. In your response make detailed references to both texts. 3. In comparing your TWO texts you will have become aware of how the contexts of the texts have shaped their form and meaning. Of more interest, perhaps, is a comparison of the values associated with each text.
For example, in the paragraph about strong characters, Miss Ariadne Oliver is listed last. Interestingly, Miss Ariadne Oliver is considered to be Agatha Christie’s alter ego. Miss Oliver is a prime example of how Agatha Christie expresses her own views on social issues through the actions of her characters. The author claims that “setting” is what makes her novels interesting. However, when the author claims that “nostalgia for past times” is what makes her novels enduring, I felt that it was an irony.
The similarities of each text comments on the universality or unchanging nature to aspects of humanity. It is looking at the modern day equivalents in each text that we see can the contrasting values of these starkly different worlds. Thus, on close examination, comparisons are revealed, making the process a truly enriching transformation. By examining heroines in both texts, we are forced to revisit familiar themes and issues. Heckerling’s characters may use the language of the 1990s and have modern-day interests and occupations, but they depict similar traits as Austen’s characters: they display self-interest, vanity and practise deception but also demonstrate personal growth and perceptive honesty.
“The critic asks “is this believable?” The novelist, “how can I get them to believe this”? In short she argues that a good novelist always has some sort of conflict to tell and it must be suspenseful. “Something other than breakfast”. She uses witty humour to loosen the audience up. Atwood discusses the several genres of fiction that are available in this time and explains how this is not only a time of gender crossover but of genre crossover.
'In 'Pride and Prejudice', Austen creates a society in which tensions arise as all know their place, yet do not always act appropriately.' To what extent do you agree with this statement. 'Pride and Prejudice', written by Jane Austen between the years of 1796-1797 and set in the same time frame, is a novel of many messages and themes. Austen wrote the novel with the theme of class very prominently in mind, and this is displayed through the plot and characters. Throughout the novel we see examples of characters knowing their place and acting accordingly, however we also see examples of the opposite which leads us to question what kind of society Austen was, in fact, trying to depict through the novel 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Fay Weldon’s epistolic non-fiction text, Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen, serves to provoke readers to revaluate and reshape their initial understandings and acceptance of the central values presented in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Weldon’s didactic tone provides contextualisation of Austen’s Regency period enhancing, subverting, challenging and reinforcing the responders understanding of values imbedded within marriage, literature and moral and personal development. Through Pride and Prejudice Austen challenges the Regency notion of marriage as a means of attaining financial security and increased social status. The contrasting view on marriage between the pragmatic approach of Charlotte Lucas is emblematic of the traditional convention that “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” This typifies the traditional ideology, juxtaposing it against Austen’s personal value of love in marriage as portrayed through the emotionalist approach of Elizabeth, “nothing but the deepest of love will induce me onto matrimony.” The emphasis on the use of ‘deepest’ serves as a metaphor of Austen’s value that love must develop over time and must be established before marriage, challenging the conventional approach, resonating with the contemporary responder of the 21st century. Weldon contextualises Austen’s world, positioning the contemporary reader to sympathise with the plight of women regards to marriage during the regency period.