Modest and mannered miss Austen
A tip of the questor’s cap to Just Jen, who pointed me to this article from the Wall Street Journal. Here’s a snippet:
Today’s readers tend to appreciate Austen despite her didacticism rather than because of it. She can be positively priggish, and that is an embarrassment. … The question arises, then, of how to reconcile Austen’s moralism with modern sensibility. To address this problem, it would be useful if we could find someone with this modern sensibility who actually reads Austen for her moral instruction (in addition to the literary pleasure she provides). How convenient that we have someone who fits that description available to us: me.
I, too, have found Jane Austen to be both guide and inspiration in my attempts to live a more virtuous life. The article envisions Miss Austen’s moral world as a set of concentric spheres: morals at the core, surrounded by sentiment, and covered by manners. This image has some usefulness, but I would note that she sheds at least as much light through the lens of the cardinal and theological virtues.
I would love to write a longer article on Miss Austen myself at some point – hopefully in January! – but I have some research to do before I can responsibly attempt such a feat. Till then, I hope you’ll be satisfied with the insights of this article.
Happy Christmas, all! And bright blessings on your new year!
i’m currently reading pride and prejudice and zombies. it’s quite the funny if you can come across it. not… uh… any kind of moral code since they’re all warriors and such, but definitely entertaining. ex: first line is, “it is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” teehee.
Hey! I’ve come across that title and seriously thought about picking it up. My son and I, however, have a bad habit of letting monsters rule our brains once we read a story about them. It sounded funny, though.
well, i’m pretty sure that you’ll be fine after this. they’re kind of accessories to what goes on, really. it’s rather camp – at least by my definition.