Jane Austen, Persuasion: Irony and the Mysterious Vagaries of Narrative - Professor Belinda Jack

Narrative, the way a tale is told, is less straightforward than we might suppose. www.gresham.ac....
Austen handles irony brilliantly and systematically exploited new ways of narrating, including free indirect discourse.
This lecture explores why Austen's way of narrating are so compelling.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac....
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[@andrearaso1709]

Belinda's lectures are always so interesting! Beautiful :)

[@evelinmenezes9313]

Amazing lecture! Persuasion is in fact a sophisticated novel, each rereading opens up different possibilities.

[@AbsalomAbsalom3]

And how is her imagination not her life? Either a novelist is a reporter or she is writing about her life, her dreams.

[@rachelport3723]

It's Wentworth's view, not the narrator's or Anne's when he is telling himself that Anne has no more power over him.

[@coloraturaElise]

Yes, I think that's also a possible reading of that passage.

[@rachelport3723]

@@coloraturaElise The narrator is with Wentworth during the whole end of that chapter, so I have always read it that way. And it's rather delicious when compared to the only other time we get his thoughts - his letter, which of course expresses quite the opposite feeling.

[@coloraturaElise]

I wonder if 'the earlier strikingly similar contrivance' to 'the dramatic turning point' (Louisa's falling off the wall?) mentioned at around 45'40" in this talk is when little Charles falls out of the tree. So, now, do we examine that incident and find parallels with Louisa's situation?

[@iamfayko]

7:18 - story of persuasion

[@nicholasennos4431]

The novels of Jane Austen were in fact written by Jane's sophisticated and educated cousin, Eliza de Feuillide. Eliza could not publish under her own name because she was the illegitimate daughter of Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India. To publish under her own name would have caused a scandal. Eliza had a fascinating life, completely different from the dull life of Jane Austen. She was born in Calcutta in India and given £10,000 by Warren Hastings to pay for her literary and musical education in London. She married a French count who was executed in the French Revolution. She spoke perfect French and played the piano, harp and harpsichord. Her second husband was Jane Austen's brother, Henry. They lived together in London and frequently visited the opera and theatre. Eliza acted in amateur theatricals similar to those in Mansfield Park and she was an accomplished amateur comedian. To find out about the fascinating life of Eliza and how the events in her life inspired each of the novels you can read my book "Jane Austen - a New Revelation".

[@hannahwebster5606]

No

[@poughkeepsieblue]

There is a huge difference between being an inspiration for what is written versus being a ghostwriter. Eliza was an inspiration to Jane, and while that is something of importance, it in no way implies that Jane didn't write her own novels. Please don't spread such nonsense.

[@sarahmcintyre9548]

Again Nicholas, what you are claiming is untrue.

[@claudiahemmings2080]

What total nonsense!

[@quastrend]

Keep dreaming