Episode 43: Jane Austen LoveFest
Summary: Summer is coming to a close and academia is back on our minds. Welcome to our fourth LoveFest, where Holly and Devin talk about Jane Austen for literally longer than they’ve ever spoken about anything on the podcast before. Born in 1775, Austen received a home-based education and began writing in her teens. Her novels were published anonymously during her short life; she died in 1817 at age 41 of what modern physicians believe to be Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her six novels, though, have endured for centuries and are recognized especially for their wit, humor, and keen social commentary.
Topics Discussed:
Sense and Sensibility (13:09):
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood teach the reader via their contrasting approaches to love that a successful romance requires both logic and passion; Holly’s introduction to Austen and a mutual favorite
Adaptations: 1995 film ft Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, and Harriet Walter. 2008 BBC Miniseries ft. Dan Stevens, Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield.
Pride & Prejudice (25:53):
This novel is the foundation of what we think of as a romance book and is still the template some 200+ years later; Lizzie Bennet is a heroine for the ages and Darcy one of the best romantic leads in all of literature.
Adaptations: 1995 BBC Miniseries ft. Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. 2005 Joe Wright film ft. Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen
Emma (39:43):
Emma Woodhouse goes from playing matchmaking games and meddling in the lives of her friends and acquaintances to realizing she has to mature to earn the proper match of her own in this hilarious, witty novel; Mister Knightley is a favorite of both Holly and Devin.
Adaptations: 1995 film Clueless ft. Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash and Brittany Murphy, 2009 BBC miniseries ft. Romola Garai and Johnny Lee Miller, 2020 film ft. Anya Taylor Joy and Johnny Flynn
Mansfield Park (49:01):
Following one of the harder heroines to love and root for, Fanny, the reader journeys through all kinds of tomfoolery and propriety transgressions on their way to a happy ending in Austen’s least-loved novel (for Holly and Devin, at least); key themes of class differences, privilege, and morality add meaning.
Adaptations: Don’t bother.
Northanger Abbey (1:01:13):
It’s a teenage dream for the reader as we follow Catherine Morland through her summer in Bath as she discovers herself, the meaning of true and false friendships, and ultimately - love (with a side of melodrama and a “murder investigation”); Austen pokes fun at the Gothic novels so popular at the time.
Adaptations: 2007 Northanger Abbey TV miniseries featuring Felicity Jones
Persuasion (1:11:36):
In her final work, we follow Austen’s oldest protagonist (27, gasp!) Anne Elliot, who had forsaken her love of Frederick Wentworth years ago after pressure from her family about his status. The reader explores the power of love, of self-advocacy, and not bending to societal pressure while rooting enthusiastically for Anne and Wentworth alike. If you want more details on this novel, check out Episode 17, Classics.
Adaptations: 1995 film ft. Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root, 2007 film ft. Sally Hawkins, 2022 film ft. Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis (skip unless you want a laugh)
Hot On the Shelf (1:18:58):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (1:21:37):
Devin: Barbie
Holly: Oppenheimer
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