tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post4099474905862733426..comments2017-04-07T21:11:24.651-07:00Comments on November's Autumn: Trying to Understand Bronte & Twain on AustenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-23252774294961070072013-03-20T17:45:50.328-07:002013-03-20T17:45:50.328-07:00Oh, Mark Twain! I get the gist that he just enjoye...Oh, Mark Twain! I get the gist that he just enjoyed being snarky. Last month I read an excerpt from his "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses"; I rather agreed with him, but it was certainly scathing. <br /><br />Austen never came across to me as uncompassionate - I just had difficulty connecting to her works. I did enjoy reading Emma, but that was about it, unfortunately. Marianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693636355638596302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-18077165228445929782013-03-16T09:17:43.597-07:002013-03-16T09:17:43.597-07:00That Twain quote drives me crazy-I'd like to b...That Twain quote drives me crazy-I'd like to beat him with a shinbone! <br /><br />I also sensed some resentment in Bronte's reaction. Interesting to read JaneGS's note about George Lewes.The Insouciant Sophisticatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03934853089105345052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-73818166268994115932013-03-15T02:25:06.599-07:002013-03-15T02:25:06.599-07:00Excellent post! I can forgive Charlotte Bronte for...Excellent post! I can forgive Charlotte Bronte for not loving Austen. She was so passionate that I think it was hard for her to appreciate the quiet growth of emotion that so often occurs in Austen's novels. But I have a hard time forgiving Mark Twain's awful comments. I'd like to beat him with his shin-bone! You're right, they're missing so much of what she has to offer.<br /><br />Speaking of Austen and compassion for humanity, A Jane Austen Education makes an interesting case for how Austen does just that, but in a manner so subtle readers often fail to notice. I loved it!Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02957349442523993974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-37200088114557386402013-03-09T14:25:33.305-08:002013-03-09T14:25:33.305-08:00>Charlotte Bronte and Mark Twain missed somethi...>Charlotte Bronte and Mark Twain missed something with Austen's novels. <br /><br />I think that's very true, and I can't help but think that their responses to her seem a bit defensive. <br /><br />George Lewes held up Austen to Bronte as a model and I think she resented that and felt that Lewes didn't understand what she was trying to do as demonstrated by his recommending someone whose style was so different from her own as a model. I sense frustration and the need to assert herself as not Austen in her disparagement of Austen. <br /><br />Twain, on the other hand, I think was just too full of himself to condescend to appreciate Austen. It's funny, but whenever I see his quotes on place like Twitter, I end him disagreeing with him. He knew how to turn a phrase, but he was very cynical and said stuff I just can't agree with. I've gone back and forth on whether he really admired Austen despite his words to the contrary, and I simply can't decide.JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-61415835551679582332013-03-09T04:31:21.675-08:002013-03-09T04:31:21.675-08:00I just want to take Mark Twain aside and tell him,...I just want to take Mark Twain aside and tell him, look, there's a simple solution: if she irritates you that much, Stop Reading Her Books! I can't help feeling that he was drawn back to her books - he protests too much.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482831074289368956.post-35002009607620212082013-03-08T19:58:54.804-08:002013-03-08T19:58:54.804-08:00Spot on! Wonderful analysis.
I'm currently r...Spot on! Wonderful analysis. <br /><br />I'm currently reading A Room of One's Own, and Woolf repeatedly applauds Shakespeare and Austen as the two perfect giants. Roof Beam Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06792884580084363046noreply@blogger.com