A Book Presentation of
Jane Austen and the State of the Nation by Sheryl Craig
Presentation Leader: Ellen Gentry
by Vonnie Alto, Regional Coordinator & Karen Kinzey, Secretary
Jane Austen and the State of the Nation by Sheryl Craig
Presentation Leader: Ellen Gentry
by Vonnie Alto, Regional Coordinator & Karen Kinzey, Secretary
Our region gathered at the beautiful Camas home of Ellen Gentry who served as both hostess and program leader for an insightful presentation of Sheryl Craig's Jane Austen and the State of the Nation.
Ellen noted that Austen's novels are not "mere escapist love stories" but rather address the pressing political and economic issues and conditions of Austen's lifetime, including widespread poverty and unprecedented national debt.
Austen used her novels to encourage people not to panic. As an example, this was shown in Emma with Miss Bates as the beneficiary of others' generosity.
Austen was very intentional about her settings and characters. We discussed the critical importance of locales in each of the novels which reflect the diversity of responses to the needs of the poor including the political messages that are reflected in many of Austen's characters, such as Fanny Dashwood, Lady Russell, Lady Catherine, Phillip Elton, Catherine Morland and Sir Thomas.
The book noted 4 categories; Moderate Whigs, Radical Whigs, Tories and Radical Tories.
Moderate Whigs were people like Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingham, who were not opposed to paying their taxes as land owners, much of which went to the support of poor houses and other benefits.
Radical Whigs were represented in Austen's novels by John and Fanny Dashwood, Willoughby, Lady Catherine, Henry and Maria Crawford, Mr. Elton, Mr. Rushworth, and Mrs. Norris. These stand-ins for the Radical Whigs do not concern themselves with needs of the general population.
The Tories resemble the Liberal people in today's politics. Lady Russell in Persuasion is a Moderate Tory.
Radical Tories were represented in Parliament by Prime Minister William Pitt the younger, and Jane's sentiments seem to be in that group. Radical Tories advocated help for the poor, including welfare benefits, support for the poor houses and no enclosures of common land. Radical Tories would be represented by Mr, Knightly in Emma and Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility who helped women who were not of moral rectitude. It could be also argued that Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice was also a Radical Tory.
Austen, herself, was a Radical Tory also termed a Liberal Tory.
Ellen distributed handouts of her synopsis and an outline of the book for us to follow along as she talked. Midway through her presentation, Ellen turned on her luxurious surround sound system when she showed a video clip from the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility which illustrates the ideology of the rich and the disparity between the rich and the poor in Austen's time. Here, Austen compared John and Fanny Dashwood's conversation to the Whigs in the House of Commons arguing against doing anything to help the poor.
We discussed each of Austen's novels as Ellen presented them, reflecting on memorable passages in the book which include the Poor Laws, enclosures, the life and times of the deserving poor, the indigent who resorted to theft, and the turncoats who switched back and forth between party allegiance.
Thank you, Ellen for an insightful presentation on Jane Austen and the State of the Nation!
Ellen noted that Austen's novels are not "mere escapist love stories" but rather address the pressing political and economic issues and conditions of Austen's lifetime, including widespread poverty and unprecedented national debt.
Austen used her novels to encourage people not to panic. As an example, this was shown in Emma with Miss Bates as the beneficiary of others' generosity.
Austen was very intentional about her settings and characters. We discussed the critical importance of locales in each of the novels which reflect the diversity of responses to the needs of the poor including the political messages that are reflected in many of Austen's characters, such as Fanny Dashwood, Lady Russell, Lady Catherine, Phillip Elton, Catherine Morland and Sir Thomas.
The book noted 4 categories; Moderate Whigs, Radical Whigs, Tories and Radical Tories.
Moderate Whigs were people like Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingham, who were not opposed to paying their taxes as land owners, much of which went to the support of poor houses and other benefits.
Radical Whigs were represented in Austen's novels by John and Fanny Dashwood, Willoughby, Lady Catherine, Henry and Maria Crawford, Mr. Elton, Mr. Rushworth, and Mrs. Norris. These stand-ins for the Radical Whigs do not concern themselves with needs of the general population.
The Tories resemble the Liberal people in today's politics. Lady Russell in Persuasion is a Moderate Tory.
Radical Tories were represented in Parliament by Prime Minister William Pitt the younger, and Jane's sentiments seem to be in that group. Radical Tories advocated help for the poor, including welfare benefits, support for the poor houses and no enclosures of common land. Radical Tories would be represented by Mr, Knightly in Emma and Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility who helped women who were not of moral rectitude. It could be also argued that Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice was also a Radical Tory.
Austen, herself, was a Radical Tory also termed a Liberal Tory.
Ellen distributed handouts of her synopsis and an outline of the book for us to follow along as she talked. Midway through her presentation, Ellen turned on her luxurious surround sound system when she showed a video clip from the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility which illustrates the ideology of the rich and the disparity between the rich and the poor in Austen's time. Here, Austen compared John and Fanny Dashwood's conversation to the Whigs in the House of Commons arguing against doing anything to help the poor.
We discussed each of Austen's novels as Ellen presented them, reflecting on memorable passages in the book which include the Poor Laws, enclosures, the life and times of the deserving poor, the indigent who resorted to theft, and the turncoats who switched back and forth between party allegiance.
Thank you, Ellen for an insightful presentation on Jane Austen and the State of the Nation!
| jane_and_state_of_nation_-_synopsis.pdf |
| jane_austen_and_the_state_of_the_nation_-_outline.pdf |