tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post3154547257403749137..comments2024-03-28T14:20:08.699-04:00Comments on The Book Rat: What gives, Charlotte Bronte?Mistyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436497955518156688noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-86838958687917739162011-06-08T10:02:59.759-04:002011-06-08T10:02:59.759-04:00@Anna: No, I haven't. I've seen it around...@Anna: No, I haven't. I've seen it around, but I had no idea Bronte was any part of it.<br />Hmm....Mistyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11436497955518156688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-80623608688037427312011-06-07T19:12:49.710-04:002011-06-07T19:12:49.710-04:00Have you read Jane Bites Back? That takes the Bron...Have you read Jane Bites Back? That takes the Bronte/Austen feud to a new level!Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08046635675540466183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-4345151172215065702011-06-06T14:10:25.637-04:002011-06-06T14:10:25.637-04:00+JMJ+
Thank you, Arya! =)+JMJ+ <br /><br />Thank you, Arya! =)Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-89692132370321649042011-06-05T21:42:32.474-04:002011-06-05T21:42:32.474-04:00I think Enbrethiliel completely hit the nail on th...I think Enbrethiliel completely hit the nail on the head! :)(Arya) Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01486874121840971754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-74938833299141625382011-06-05T13:28:44.029-04:002011-06-05T13:28:44.029-04:00+JMJ+
Well, not everyone is going to like Jane A...+JMJ+ <br /><br />Well, not everyone is going to like Jane Austen. And if you're the sort who writes books like the Brontes' novels, it's clear that you're just not going to be one of Austen's fans. LOL! <br /><br />What intrigues me the most is the line about Austen being "a complete lady" but <i>not</i> "a complete woman." Bronte was going somewhere with that and I wish she had elaborated on it. <br /><br />Of course, I'm sure there was a bit of professional jealousy thrown in as well. I had known what Bronte thought of Austen's novels, but <i>not</i> that she also wrote directly to critics who had praised Austen to argue with them about it. That's a bit much to make a habit out of! =P <br /><br />But I can also see why Bronte would have seen Austen's popularity as a dire sign of something bigger than a professional rival's success. In <i>Jane Eyre</i>, she writes about a woman's desire for <i>action</i>--something that is not addressed by anyone who thinks women should just lower their voices, behave like ladies, and get back to their knitting. Jane is an incredibly unconventional heroine whom everyone else tries to dictate to, but who insists on her own self. And so on . . . <br /><br />Well, someone who writes about such passionate beliefs is bound to be a bit put out by a heroine like Elizabeth Bennet--and really offended by one like Emma Woodhouse. (I suspect Bronte would have liked Anne Elliott a lot better.) Think of how a modern feminist writer might feel to learn that young women are identifying less with her own "strong women" characters and more with Bella Swan. (Which is not to say that Austen is anything like Stephenie Meyer: I'm just drawing an analogy.)Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-56488037754573254502011-06-05T10:43:55.605-04:002011-06-05T10:43:55.605-04:00I've been trying to avoid weighing in on the d...I've been trying to avoid weighing in on the discussion too much because I want to hear your thoughts, but I have to.<br />I think our dear Char was a bit on the jealous side, but I think more so, she's just melodramatic. And I mean this in as little an insulting way as possible, because I do like Jane Eyre quite a bit. But I meant what I said when I called her a Marianne. To Marianne, if it wasn't external and bold and pushed on the world, it wasn't real. She couldn't understand Elinor and subtlety and restraint. <br />Personally, I find Austen more powerful and romantic because of these things. I distrust anything that needs to announce itself, as Eyre and Bronte's writing do. (And I actually don't like Eyre as a romance, but that's another discussion.) I roll my eyes a bit at any tempestuousness and claims of passion, especially when those "passionate" people think it's the only authentic display.<br />To me, to have characters who are falling in love against their expectations and even their wishes, while they try to deny it, is much more romantic and believable and powerful.<br />To have Darcy, who is SO VERY proper and restrained burst forth with how "ardently he admires and loves" Elizabeth, and to change his character to be a better man for her - how does Charlotte not see that as real? And how is that boring?<br />To have Wentworth, who is scorned and angry, say he is "half agony, half hope" - and all of the people who defy their parents and the wishes of those around them, and marry for love in a time when that wasn't encouraged -- these are powerful moments, and almost a little subversive. And they're made all the more so by the fact that they don't need to announce themselves, they just ARE.<br /><br />Okay, enough from me.<br />:)Mistyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11436497955518156688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-43217511021814769742011-06-05T02:36:16.478-04:002011-06-05T02:36:16.478-04:00Interesting. There might have been some jealousy d...Interesting. There might have been some jealousy driving Charlotte, especially since she seemed to dig in about her dislike of Austen. If I don't care for a particular author or book I just shrug it off and move on. Clearly Charlotte is like many contemporary critics who can't stop the barrage when they don't like a book. She would have fit right in with the online review and discussion places! <br /><br />Still, I can see her point. As others have pointed out, Austen was a sedate, subtle writer. I have often said that her novels are "boring" from a certain point of view, if one wants high action or adventure or passion that is. It is just a difference of style, in my opinion, and not that one is better than the other. Clearly Bronte did not understand that idea. <br /><br />Fun discussion!Sharon Lathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09539439531975181469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-28941517329188535082011-06-04T19:44:46.290-04:002011-06-04T19:44:46.290-04:00Wow, I never knew Charlotte had any beef with Jane...Wow, I never knew Charlotte had any beef with Jane Austen! I like both authors equally, its hard for me to choose between Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre. I guess it would just depend on my mood and wanting something lighter or darker to read.vonzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14058878261271241413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-35872404893060246742011-06-04T15:30:32.023-04:002011-06-04T15:30:32.023-04:00I agree -- I think Bronte was just jealous. And li...I agree -- I think Bronte was just jealous. And like Virginia Woolf said, she's got a lot of anger. If only Char were alive now to see how beloved Jane Eyre is -- even over Austen, in many cases.Casey (The Bookish Type)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17124722748517656056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-13909663259039151562011-06-04T15:22:58.758-04:002011-06-04T15:22:58.758-04:00Great post! I would agree that her novels are devo...Great post! I would agree that her novels are devoid of that same type of passion from Jane Eyre. But I think Austen's novels, as a whole, are so popular because they are really saying more than just romance. Her novels speak to all types of people for different reasons. Jane Eyre spoke to me because of the unflinching passion. While Austen's novels fascinate me for completely different reasons. I would say Bronte was a bit on the jealous side!Heather G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18051840056392247706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-29512111436569123562011-06-04T14:32:36.231-04:002011-06-04T14:32:36.231-04:00This is an awesome post!
I, however, agree with ...This is an awesome post! <br /><br />I, however, agree with Charlotte for the most part. Jane Austen's books don't have the fervor that Bronte's Jane Eyre does. They are quiet and discreet, rarely stepping out of bounds of propriety. There isn't a lot of sincerity in Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's love the way there is between Mr. Rochester and Jane. I never really got a feeling why Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy loved each other, while Mr. Rochester and Jane showed me a unique, pure, and incredibly rare sort of love. They were of the same soul.<br /><br />Still, Bronte was pretty harsh. But, hey, she was an incredibly bored woman who didn't get out much. At least we know she had some actual spunk in her and didn't just infuse it all into her characters.<br /><br />~Arya<br />http://seaofpages.blogspot.com(Arya) Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01486874121840971754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790614306320534072.post-5147172161266944392011-06-04T10:23:45.431-04:002011-06-04T10:23:45.431-04:00I think Charlotte Bronte should have stepped back,...I think Charlotte Bronte should have stepped back, especially considering only one of her novels ever gained any sort of literary fame compared to all of Austen's novels!Nataliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01022820245021249707noreply@blogger.com