tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post5043832152271237789..comments2023-01-08T13:48:58.890-08:00Comments on The Sound of Butterflies: Sunday Salon - Revisiting Jane.Rachael Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07690377694600952816noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-22726406970810902312008-08-29T17:06:00.000-07:002008-08-29T17:06:00.000-07:00I agree with Gondal-Girl about the teen spirit of ...I agree with Gondal-Girl about the teen spirit of Bronte. As a passionate teen and young woman I loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and found Jane Austen's writing to be witty but altogether less moving. <BR/><BR/>Those layers of deep feeling held tightly within the bounds of social responsibilities held no appeal to a teenager, and yet now they feel increasingly familiar. Ouch!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-90127711873446959302008-08-25T15:10:00.000-07:002008-08-25T15:10:00.000-07:00I think there is a lot of heart and passion of Jan...I think there is a lot of heart and passion of Jane Austen, but it is masked by the repression and politeness of her time. The scene in "Persuasion" where Anne is writing to Captain Wentworth is incredibly passionate, romantic and filled with feeling.<BR/><BR/>I love both the Brontes and Jane, and George Eliot is bally brilliant as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-45758325623131318692008-08-20T16:43:00.000-07:002008-08-20T16:43:00.000-07:00I love that dry wit of JA. I'm about halfway throu...I love that dry wit of JA. I'm about halfway through Middlemarch at the moment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-25457594848750446682008-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:002008-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00Perhaps the Austen/Bronte thing is to do with thei...Perhaps the Austen/Bronte thing is to do with their eras - Austen a Regency girl and Bronte a Romantic ( in the Byronic way) Girl - they are ultimately writing the same story, but come at it from opposite angles / different cultural divides<BR/><BR/>I think Austen is the head, Bronte is the heart. Hence that is why Bronte's can appeal to 'teen spirits' ( The Brontes smell like teen spirit!) because the heart is a riot at that age. I only came across them both when I was older. I made my partner read Wuthering Heights and he was shocked by the violence, so I suppose we read from the age we are at.<BR/><BR/>That is also why I think Austen makes for better adaptations, that heart hiding behind the noise of the head, perfect subtext for an actor, where as Bronte, a bit harder to do<BR/><BR/>Was it Thomas Jefferson who wrote that long poem about the head vs the heart?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-51985848522126850952008-08-18T14:12:00.000-07:002008-08-18T14:12:00.000-07:00Yes, Jane Eyre - delicious terror and romance all ...Yes, Jane Eyre - delicious terror and romance all in one package. I had so many teenage nightmares about a woman with a candle creeping around my room....and dreams about being a governess to a Rochester... And Wuthering Heights -- I mean look at that word: 'wuthering' .... <BR/><BR/>It took me awhile to get into Jane Austen, too. So maybe I was 'spoilt' by the other Jane. I always thought it was an age thing - that one 'came' to understand Jane and her cleverness whereas the Brontes appealed naturally to the romantic 'teen spirit.' <BR/><BR/>Interestingly, when I had my first baby I read all of Jane Austen as as a perfect literary escape.Mary McCallumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07482261103185786111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-4519693967228852772008-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:002008-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:00I never liked Austen. But Bronte sisters, I have r...I never liked Austen. But Bronte sisters, I have read all!<BR/><BR/>Do check out my Sunday Salon posts :D<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2008/08/dark-child-by-camara-laye.html" REL="nofollow">SS 1: Review of The Dark Child</A><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2008/08/sunday-salon-musing-from-vacation.html" REL="nofollow">SS 2: Musings about books</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-82011464670833760092008-08-17T02:42:00.000-07:002008-08-17T02:42:00.000-07:00Rachel, somehow I seem to have missed out on your ...Rachel, somehow I seem to have missed out on your blog before, no chance in future - I've just bookmarked you. I know just how you feel about the privilege of going back to University in this way. Last year, when I retired our local University gave me an Honorary Fellowship and like you I get Library rights and am able to go to all the post grad seminars. This means sitting in on lectures by some of the best people in the field as the Department I'm attached to is very prestigious. It is wonderful. <BR/>When it comes to the Austen/Bronte debate, I'm a Janeite. I do love 'Jane Eyre' but don't do well with the rest of their output. Perhaps I don't do passion very well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-4554801404069324392008-08-16T22:19:00.000-07:002008-08-16T22:19:00.000-07:00Thanks for the uni flashback Rachel, I too wish I ...Thanks for the uni flashback Rachel, I too wish I had paid more attention! Woman in White is great - the heroine is very different to the regular 19century type. <BR/><BR/>Found that really interesting - the Bronte/Austen thing, I find that people fall harder into one camp than the other, like fire and ice - I tried an Austen, but am afraid not won over...she is great, but I find I just want to shake all her characters and muss up there hair and manners...! (Forgive me Jane Austen Society Members!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com