tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post4446169406233373913..comments2023-10-12T02:21:40.102-07:00Comments on English Historical Fiction Authors: Unrequited Love: Jane Austen and AmericaDebra Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-70120195042800658922012-02-28T11:54:53.387-08:002012-02-28T11:54:53.387-08:00I found this interesting because I have never give...I found this interesting because I have never given much thought to how Jane Austen would have looked on world events and thinking outside her own England. It would have been hard for her to relate since an English subject on English soil had different rights than an English subject on American colonial soil. The point about her brothers serving in the British navy would also have had a bearing and influence toward her loyalties.<br /><br />Thought provoking post, thanks!Sophia Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07909417504496472472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-40147051714735499952012-02-27T06:42:47.719-08:002012-02-27T06:42:47.719-08:00I do agree with you that she was criticizing aspec...I do agree with you that she was criticizing aspects of the Tory world. I also think that some issues of reforms espoused by the Whigs and the Radicals would have appealed to her. However, she still seemed to reflect a conservatism, a traditionalism that reflects more of a Tory leaning.Lauren Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02938146663557663891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-18849931127387168022012-02-27T06:32:34.143-08:002012-02-27T06:32:34.143-08:00It's interesting to speculate what might have ...It's interesting to speculate what might have been had the Founding Fathers "remembered the Ladies", as Abigail Adams wrote to John! It is also important to remember that throughout the period in question, fears of a rebellion or revolution in England were very real, and a lot of effort was made to suppress ideas that seemed threatening. All things considered, Austen's references to the inequities in women's circumstances were quite daring. It just struck me as interesting that she apparently had a low opinion of America and American democratic ideas, especially since her novels were and are very popular here, and her concerns for more equal opportunities have resonated here on so many levels!Lauren Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02938146663557663891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-75650622093436628602012-02-27T06:19:47.230-08:002012-02-27T06:19:47.230-08:00Very interesting post. I would have thought that J...Very interesting post. I would have thought that Jane Austen was critiquing, rather than endorsing,the Tory world she was brought up in. It's true that she shows the consequences of those who eschew conventions,and the rewards to those who follow them, but I'm not sure she can be placed staunchly in the Tory-adherent camp. In the words of Harriet, "I'm happy to be wrong." :-)Susiehttp://www.susannacalkins.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-19075568992964328862012-02-27T06:03:40.445-08:002012-02-27T06:03:40.445-08:00Your thoughts mirror mine. This conundrum caused ...Your thoughts mirror mine. This conundrum caused me to allow my Elizabeth Bennet in 'Goodly Creatures' to indulge in such speculation, though I am certain Jane would not have approved. However, in Austen's defense--the American Revolution and the early years following its victory never even mentioned women's emancipation or the end of slavery. The French Revolution went further in that regard, but all that was obfuscated in Britain by tales of the horror of the terror. Even William Blake pulled back and Mary Wollstonecraft probably would have too had she not died. The pressure was very intense. Once Napoleon was on the scene no one remembered the lofty goals of the Jacobins or the women followers of Marat's enrage.enrage_femmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08519083598367295017noreply@blogger.com