in want of a wife

[langwidere]

Well, I got my copy of A Truth Universally Acknowledged and I read the Susanna Clarke essay, which is called "Why We Read Jane Austen: Young Persons in Interesting Situations." Generally I am loathe to read things Clarke has written which are not fiction, because I am terrified that she is a jackass. Or, rather, that she is something that I would perceive as a jackass, which would then cast a pall over my fantardian ecstasies* re: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Which is not to say that I can’t enjoy a novel if I can’t imagine myself being besties with its author — but, then again, this is not "a novel." This is THE novel. This is the only living writer whose autograph I would actively pursue for entirely personal reasons. WHAT IF SHE’S A TORY?

But! This essay, even terrifyingly Austen-centered as it is, is stereotypically amazing. It begins, wonderfully, by calmly insulting the institution of marriage, and it contains this statement:

There is a logical connection for Austen between clarity of vision and true humility (a virtue so unfashionable nowadays that we scarcely believe it exists and use it as a synonym for "hypocrisy").

That is true! Humility is a entirely fictional state-of-being. Much like ninja-turtledom.

I also read the first two paragraphs of Harold Bloom’s foreword (he also contributed an essay, which is titled "From 'Canonical Memory in Early Wordsworth and Jane Austen’s Persuasion'," and with which I have no intention of torturing myself), and I wanted to punch him in the face. I’ve only read one of Bloom’s books, The Book of J (I like it that one of Amazon’s suggested-reading links on the The Book of J page is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), but I think his ability to randomly irritate people is unparalleled in the modern world. I want to disagree with everything he says, even if I have absolutely no idea what the fuck he’s talking about. Bloom could write an essay on the theme of 'I Like Pie!' and it would be hotly debated on the blogs of English professors for years and years (English professors are famous for their ability to hold grudges) (as is Harold Bloom) (who is an English professor).

The essay that appears right after Clarke’s in the collection is called "The Radiance of Jane Austen," and it was written by Eudora Welty. I LOVE Eudora Welty! I am going to have to read it :<

Which means, at some point in the near-ish future, I’m going to have to read something Austen actually wrote.

So, if you are sitting on the fence about A Truth Universally Acknowledged, for some reason, I would highly recommend it. Even though I don’t really know why and I hate Austen novels.

Lastly: Someone is making a teevee movie version of The Crimson Petal and the White, but there is (as far as I know) still no movement on the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell film/miniseries. Just thought I’d mention that.


* I spell like a teabagger, by the way. I couldn’t get "ecstasies" right to save my life because I kept insisting that there’s an "x" in there somewhere, and I had to rely on the spellcheck. Also, as I was cleaning my top-secret translation yesterday, I was completely flummoxed by the word "obediently," which does not look to me as though it should have an "i" in it. Speaking of wanting a wife!