Winchester Cathedral scraps Jane Austen statue plan after protests
Proposals for a £250,000 memorial to add to her gravestone and the nearby museum prompt fierce local opposition
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/21/winchester-cathedral-scraps-jane-austen-statue-plan-after-protests?utm_source=Daily+Media+Digest&utm_campaign=5d36818e36-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_01_08_04_54_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_296e14724b-5d36818e36-248627497
Alison Flood
Thu 21 Feb 2019 14.06 GMT

‘There are other priorities’ … Winchester Cathedral. Photograph: Jon Boyes/Getty/Canopy
Plans to erect a statue of Jane Austen in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral have been shelved after residents baulked at the idea of another memorial to the novelist in the city.
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The cathedral had commissioned the sculptor Martin Jennings to create a statue of Austen for its inner close, planning for it to “seal her place in the rich and complex identity of Winchester and create a lasting memorial to her literary genius” and setting out to raise £250,000 to make the proposals a reality. The project was supported by Hampshire county council and Winchester city council.

Winchester in the spotlight: the city where Jane Austen died 200 years ago
But according to the Southern Daily Echo, residents and local groups submitted “a barrage of criticism” in response to the plans. “There is a strong body of opinion that rejects the idea of another Jane Austen statue anywhere, or any statue at all in the cathedral close,” wrote one resident.

Another letter suggested that “the cathedral already has Jane Austen’s gravestone and Winchester has the house she died in. The two seem adequate and certainly reflect her relationship with Winchester”.
The cathedral said in a statement that it had listened carefully to feedback and “alongside support and enthusiasm for the project, we have also been fully aware of serious concerns expressed regarding the type of sculpture, the location and the timing of this significant commission.”

As a result, it was decided “with regret, not to go ahead with this concept. There are other priorities within the cathedral and city that need to be the focus of attention and energy at this time,” it said. “We are honoured that an artist of the stature of Martin Jennings has worked with us on this project thus far and we thank him for his support and understanding in this decision.”

JASNA'S Happy Hour With Jane Austen:
Portland Center Stage Armory
by Vonnie Alto, Secretary

Kate Hamill’s Sense And Sensibility began its run in January 2019 at the Portland Center Stage at the Armory. We were all abuzz with her rollicking adaptation of it. Our members attended various showings which included Happy Hour events such as “How to Write Like Jane Austen” presented by Willamette Writers (see previous post) and “Advance Gender Equity in the Arts” presented by the cast.
 
Of course, our region participated in our own pre-show Happy Hour in the Alan J. Beard Mezzanine prior to the Sunday matinee showing of Sense and Sensibility on February 3, 2019. Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann attired in Regency dress gave a delightful presentation titled, “Hooked on Jane Austen? Let’s Talk!”    
 
Margaret provided a brief biography of Jane Austen’s life, her writings including Sense and Sensibility, and Jane’s love of the theater. She attended performances whenever she was in London or Bath.
 
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in the village of Steventon In Hampshire. She was one of eight children. Her father was a clergyman.
 
Jane lived at home her entire life and helped run the family home. Jane’s parents encouraged Jane and her siblings to read and write plays. Jane’s early works or Juvenilia included three plays: “The Visit,” “The Mystery,” and “The First Act of a Comedy.”   
 
The Austen family also performed comic theatricals in their home. Later as an adult, Jane took part in unrehearsed performances and readings at home with her family.
 
While growing up, Jane also wrote several stories and read them aloud to her family for feedback and critique. At the age of 12, Jane wrote her first novel titled, The Beautiful Cassandra. She wrote Love and Friendship, an epistolary novel when she was about 15 years old. During this time, Jane also wrote The History of England in which she mocked the portrayal of English monarchs in school textbooks by writing her own mischievous history of them.
 
In her twenties, Jane wrote three novels: Northanger Abbey (1798-1799), Sense And Sensibility (1798), and Pride and Prejudice (1796-1797).  In her later years, Jane wrote Mansfield Park (1813), Emma (1814-1815), and Persuasion (1816).
 
Jane Austen also wrote Lady Susan, an epistolary novel in 1794 and continued to revise it throughout her life, carrying it with her wherever she lived. Eventually, it was published in 1871.
 
Jane Austen stopped writing her final novel, Sandition, in 1817 which remains a fragment of eleven chapters. It was later published in 1925.
 
Only four of Jane Austen’s novels were published in her lifetime and all anonymously:  Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815).
 
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1817, six months after Jane Austen's death.
 
Jane Austen also left behind her letters, but many were burned by her sister, Cassandra after her death and later family members destroyed other letters.
 
Later, a nephew wrote A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869, which was published that year.
 
Jane loved the theater and attended performances in both London and Bath. Jane also played the piano. She loved to dance and was an accomplished dancer at assemblies. 
 
Jane died at the age of 41 on July 18, 1817 from a lingering illness. Experts have debated the cause as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an adrenal disorder called Adddison’s Disease, and even the possibility of death by poisoning.  She was buried in Westminster Cathedral.
 
In the early 1900s, scholars started studying her works.
 
Thanks to the actor, Colin Firth and his 1995 portray of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen is more popular than any time in history and has never lost popularity. Her fame has gradually increased over the years and decades.
 
Sense and Sensibility was originally written as an epistolary novel or series of letters titled. Elinor and Marianne. It was a difficult book to write because the characters were not in the same location as Jane had her characters write back and forth to each other. Later, Jane revised it into a novel form which was published in 1811 anonymously “By A Lady.” She paid to get it published into three volumes. It earned 140 pounds and sold out in 2 yrs.
 
Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann also provided an introduction to the Oregon and SW Washington Region and how to join our local group and the national JASNA. Our local JASNA group gets together regularly to talk about Jane Austen, her books, her life, and the events and people important in her time.
 
In 2010, we hosted the national meeting, a conference of workshops with both informal and scholarly talks. It was titled, “Jane Austen and the Abbey: Mystery, Mayhem, and Muslin in Portland.”  Here’s the website link: http://www.jasna.org/agms/portland/index.html.
 
We welcomed new members, those reading their first Jane Austen novel and those who have re-read her books many times. Margaret insightfully said, “You don’t need to be an Austen expert to feel at home in JASNA although you may become one as you attend our meetings. “
 
Afterwards, our members adjourned to the theater where we sat together for a riveting showing of Sense and Sensibility.

Review of Kate Hamill's Sense And Sensibility
Portland Center Stage Armory
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary

After our pre-talk Happy Hour of Jane Austen, our members adjourned to the theater where we sat together for a Sunday matinee of Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, performed on February 3, 2019. What a fun performance of comedy and creative staging with spinning furniture and a mercurial cast who played multiple characters regardless of gender, generation, size, and shape!  
 
Early on in a time travel twist, the cast wriggled out of their modern day garments to transform into the 19th century characters of Sense and Sensibility. They did not disappoint our sensibilities. The cast was constantly but sensibly in motion and also emotion back and forth fluidly across the stage spinning their chairs and tables to denote scene and character changes. There was so much to see that if you didn’t eyeball the myriad movements all at once, you could easily miss the gossip that was all abuzz in this lively production.
 
Then there was the sound effects. The delightful Mrs. Jennings constantly buzzed her gossip. Other characters disappeared off stage and into the aisles to interject their gossipy conversation. The crashing of glasses for dramatic emphasis and scene changes kept the audience alert to the unexpected.
 
Similarly, if you knew in advance that a line from Emma was inserted into the play, you looked for it. Sure enough one was in Edward’s engagement speech when he says to Elinor, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” Sigh! What a romantic thing to say and so apt!
 
Professor Emeritus, Pauline Beard caught the pilfering. “This is Mr. Knightley’s lovely line in Emma. (Chapter 49). No wonder the playwright used it. Edward’s engagement request is written in the third person with a remarkable distance from what was actually said. Clever move on the playwright’s part.”    
 
What else did our JASNA group think about the play? What were some of the reactions?
 
Of course, we raved and gushed about the characters, their wit, the acting, the setting, and everything in between.
 
Stephanie Vardavas said, ”I thought the adaptation and staging were extremely clever, and I found myself howling with laughter many times. The actress who plays Mrs. Jennings is wonderful, and both Marianne and Elinor are terrific.”
 
Erudite JASNA scholar, Arnie Perlstein offered, “"This production of Kate Hamill's adaptation of Sense & Sensibility was spectacular in every way-- the writing, the staging and the acting." 
 
Longtime member, Dula Baker said, “Anyone not familiar with the novel would have been lost in the fast pace of the play. I found the quirkiness of the quickness, the wheeled props, and the trading of roles (even while both characters were on stage) fascinating. The actress who played Mrs. Musgroves was outstanding. The choreography was amazingly executed; no one sailed off the stage or crashed into anyone or anything. Though the novel is not funny, this play was hilarious; even the actors succumbed to silent laughter at times. This event was an afternoon well spent! Also, the Happy Hour provided by the theater and Margaret Christmann's presentation were well received.”
 
Another longtime member Ceil Huntington affirmed, “The synchronization was amazing! I never seen so much movement in a play. It’s incredible, almost like a ballet. I’m impressed with the mechanics.”
 
English Professor Emeritus, Pauline Beard agreed, “It was light hearted and fun rather than farcical. I also appreciated that this production kept fairly closely to Austen’s text. I loved the fact even the wine for Marianne was mentioned correctly: Constantia…which Elinor promptly quaffs!  I disliked the way Lord Middleton’s dogs were shown in the Ashland production...far too confusing and loud, but here I laughed out loud at the line about pointers...referring to the dogs...but using the stretched out finger pointing off stage where three men pointed back.... I also loved the bed scene with the lamp and teacup...ingenious. The use of chairs and door frames was amazing...how anyone did not get in the way I can't imagine. When Edward came in at the end did he really mean to fall? The actors applauded him…but I think it was a mistake yes?  Maybe they had many such slips and trips in rehearsals with all the movement...it seemed almost choreographed at times.”
 
Conversely, a few of our members offered some enlightening criticisms that puts the performance into perspective:
 
Ceil Huntington noted, “They’ve taken liberties with the text. This is slapsticky.”
 
Pauline Beard added, “My only criticisms are to do with acting...I think Mrs. Jennings went on too long about Chapman (?) in her bedroom…and it turns out to be her wolf hound…it was funny at the beginning but she drew it out so lengthily (playing for the limelight after The Oregonian review maybe?) that the actor playing Brandon had to get back into his serious role and lost it. Also the actress playing Anne Steele was too high pitched and spoke so rapidly that half of her lines were lost. Her lines are important because she lets out the secret of Lucy’s engagement. I think that might have been lost on anyone in the audience who does not know the text.”
 
There you have it! Both thoughtful and off the cuff reactions to Kate Hamill’s Sense and Sensibility in Portland! If you’re curious to know more about this intriguing play, read the script available at Multnomah County Library or online at Amazon and elsewhere.