Jane Austen a Collection of Critical Essays

20th Century Views

by Ian Watt

Jane Austen A collection of Critical Essays [hardcover] Ian (ed) Watt [Jan 01, 1963]

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

186 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1963

About the author

Ian Watt was an English literary critic, literary historian and professor of English at Stanford University. His The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding is an important work in the history of the genre.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although an old publication, many of the essays contained in this collection are invaluable and seminal. The collection begins with two Must Reads for every student of Austen: C.S. Lewis' "A Note of Jane Austen" and Virginia Woolf's "Jane Austen" (excerpted from The Common Room and an essay in the Nation). They are both simple essays, easily accessible and free from jargon, but getting to the root of Jane Austen's ethics and genius. Ian Watt's "On Sense and Sensibility" is also an insightful work that modifies the simplistic judgments sometimes formed during a first reading of the novel's seeming dualities. Several essays (Alan D. McKillop's "Critical Realism in Northanger Abbey"; Reuben A. Brower's "Light and Bright and Sparkling: Irony and Fiction in Pride and Prejudice"; Marvin Mudrick's "Irony as Discrimination"; and D. W. Harding's "Regulated Hatred: An Aspect of the Work of Jane Austen") explore Austen's unique and complex use of irony in narration, structure, and dialogue. I'd wanted to read "Regulated Hatred" for sometime, but it wasn't actually as subversive as I expected (this is an old collection; a modern critical collection might include more politics and feminism). I think Harding's argument has some merit, as it relates to Austen's attachment to individuals to whom she is morally or intellectually superior, but it's liable to a reading that ignores both Austen's moral foundations and sense of fun. "The Humiliation of Emma Woodhouse" by Mark Schorer was another essay I had wanted to read. Overall, it was one of the most fascinating of the essays that were new to me. It gave me several new ways of looking at my favorite Austen novel, although I'll need to reread it again to have a decisive opinion. I particularly enjoyed Arnold Kettle's essay on Emma, reminding us that "We do not 'lose ourselves' in Emma unless we are the kind of people who lose ourselves in life". As someone who considers Austen almost faultless, but occasionally feels a slight twinge about the class hierarchy ensconced at the end of that novel, I found the analysis unshrinking and relevant. Donald J. Greene's "Jane Austen and the Peerage" was a little hard to concentrate on late at night, but presented Austen's verisimilitude convincingly. I've saved the worst for last: As before, Kingsley Amis' "What Became of Jane Austen?" made me want to throw things out of windows.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the Jane Austen criticism available (and I use criticism here as an umbrella term for all Austen-related commentary), one might wonder whether there's any need to track down this collection from 1963, with essays ranging from 1925 to 1961, though with the majority written in the 50s. I don't know--that depends on who's doing the tracking.

Another reviewer has done a fine job of listing and speaking to each of the essays, so I'll try not to repeat much of that, other than to say that, for myself, I thought the essays ranged from relatively easy to comprehend to some that were challenging; the detailed discussion of how Austen produced some of her effects could sometimes induce a bit of a lit-crit fog, especially if I tried to read them before bedtime. But, in reality, that's exactly why I like to look for mid-century criticism in the first place--those critics expected their readers to pay attention and stretch themselves.

So here you have one of the best reasons I know of for looking for a collection like this--nobody I know really writes like this anymore. Modern criticism, whether it be James Woods or Robert Rodi, no matter how perceptive or entertaining they might be, seem to be afraid they would lose their readers by expecting too much of them. Maybe they would. But this can lead to a slangy and superficial style that leads the reader to the essayists predestined conclusion under the guise of a journey taken together, and then congratulates the reader for being so perceptive. Having said that, I'm also well aware of the pompous, jargon-filled superciliousness that sometimes infuses older criticism. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

The second good reason I know of for looking for older criticism is that it was published before the 1960s really got going. Personally, I think a lot of value came out of the social upheavals from that time, and I also think a lot of twaddle came out of it as well. I think some of critics made a name for themselves pushing agendas that I may or may not agree with, but in the end, it had less to do with the books themselves and more about advancing a position.

So, this is a collection that will--perhaps--ask you to stretch yourself a little bit, ask you to pay attention, and will not seek to entertain you beyond the entertainment inherent in deepening your understanding, or at least providing you with alternate views on a subject. It also will not focus on Austen's writing using the lens of postmodernism, gender studies, ethnic studies, queer theory, or any of the other interdisciplinary approaches that became popular in the last 50 years. (It won't keep out the Marxists or the Freudians though!). I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with looking at Austen through those perspectives--I think they can be very instructive and enlightening. But my impression is that there are times when those studies tuck the text into a procrustean bed (just as the Freudians and the Marxists et al did at times), and it can be a relief sometimes to read an analysis that concentrates on a narrower approach.

I don't know if this review has interested anyone or pushed them farther away. If you are the kind of Jane Austen fan who reads everything you can get your hands on about her, then you'll want to pick this up anyway. If you hate literary criticism, then you'll never be tempted. This one fits somewhere in between.

[Jing · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of classic essays from 20th century writers on Jane Austen--had to go to Amazon to get a very old copy printed from the 70s, but it was worth it. It's fascinating to read through some of the perspectives that are commonly held now but novel when they were first published.

[Jina Laguna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best compilations of Jane Austen criticism.

[AnnaRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of essays addresses many different aspects of Jane Austen and her works. Authors such as C.S. Lewis contribute to this wonderful book.