Slightly Off Center

Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness, by Inger Sigrun Bredkjaer Brodey. This very interesting and readable book by a UNC-Chapel Hill professor of English addresses the way that Jane Austen ends her novels. Instead of continuing the close attention to the inner lives and conversations of the characters that have been the main style up to that point, she abruptly takes a step back, often speaks to the reader as the author, and wraps things up very quickly. Why? The answer is complicated, but there are perhaps two main parts. First, for Austen the focus of the story is on the development of the main characters and the resolution of their own problems, not the overall importance of romance and marriage. Second, she wants to educate the reader, forcing them out of their immersion in the romance and asking them to reflect a bit, be realistic, accept that even when people are happily married they will still have complications in their lives – it’s grey, not black and white. She was also making important points that she wanted her readers to realize and value, typically with the woman entering into a relatively equal partnership with the husband, which was radical for her time.

Each of her six novels gets a chapter, but she makes lots of interesting overall points. I liked her explanation that the four “vivacious” and extraverted characters (Catherine, Marianne, Elizabeth, and Emma) were gradually growing emotionally and morally and reaching personal insights over the course of the story, whereas the three quiet and introverted characters (Elinor, Fanny, and Anne) were basically just fine all along, and it was the members of their social circles who needed to recognize their value.

Also, I was intrigued by how much the author appreciated Emma, which is one of my least favorites. For example, I had never considered the symbolism of the contrast between George Knightley and Frank Churchill in terms of the Napoleonic Wars that were taking place at the time. Knightley valued direct speech, frankness, etc. (consider his admiration of Robert Martin), while Churchill was very much the opposite. Well, those two personality types were stereotypes of the English and the French! Austen repeatedly makes the point that Knightley is very English in his ways, and if you think about the names, both “George” and “Knightley” can refer to St. George, the patron saint of England, and “Frank” is just like the Franks for whom France was named. So cool!