Jane Austen discussion

Did anyone else sign up for the Regency retreat weekend at the Joseph Teel House in Norwich, CT? (virtual this year). The theme is Emma. I'll be attending as many sessions as I can. It's too cold to wear my costume but I have some alternatives up my sleeve.

You need a good pelisse!

Abigail wrote: "You need a good pelisse!"

I thought of that but I need a proper costume before I go with outer wear. I came up with a better solution:


Miss Ruth has on a fichu and shawl and Miss Susanna put on a basic black wool spencer. They have a bonnet, ribbons and feather ready for the bonnet trimming workshop tomorrow and pulled out their ball gowns for the ball. There's one change of outfit for Sunday for one of them and plenty of hot tea!

😄

are there any free zoom sessions? if so send us the links see if you can find out why the names are so mixed up in Emma why isnt Jane refered to as Miss fairfax but always Jane Fairfax also Frank is always refered to by both names you would think that after 15 years as a member of the household Miss taylor would be called Anne? ( like the Knights governess Anne?) etc I cant think of more offhand but if you can ask It seems to me that the name calling in the novels are not cosistent with what was accepted Thanks and enjoy for all of us

Just a guess, but maybe the use of so many first names in Emma is intended to signal what a small, intimate, village-scale community it is--everybody is entangled in everyone else’s business.

No, there aren't any free sessions but John Mullan did speak on Emma and he will be available tomorrow for a Q&A. I'll try to remember to ask your question in the chat and see what people think.

It's been a lot of fun so far. I still need to catch up on what I missed when I was sleeping this morning. You can at least see the list of speakers, performers, fashion mavens and shop the vendors
https://www.teelhouse.com/registration

I admirre John Mullan for his insights (What matters in Jane Austen) so He is a good person to ask

looked at the list and I dont recogniae anyone except JM I must be grtting old and outdated....

Juliette Wells is a professor at Goucher College and an active member of JASNA. I know of a few of the fashion show participants but no one else.

John Mullan is doing a Q&A on subtilties in Emma right now. Any other questions?

Mr WEtson is from Trade and his wife also lower Middle class how can Emma call them "first families =higer than the Coles and Coxs? and in the end even imagens a marriage between Isabellas son and anna WEston?

soI find JA mixing several unusual bridges in this novel ;use of first names and unacceptable class mixeing by Emma the snob

I wish I could hear JM

too many questions... he recommends The Hidden Jane Austen

my notes...

Mr. E is snobby and rejects H b/c she is illegitimate but Mrs. E turns out to be way worse in terms of class. Mr. E gets his comeuppance in marriage to Augusta.

Emma deludes herself about everything. She thinks she knows what motivates everyone.

When Frank went to fix Mrs. Bates' glasses, he is alone with Jane- they were snogging.

JM doesn't think F is narcissist. He does seem to love Jane. He goes through a lot of trouble to protect her and hide their relationship.

good short story in this collection
There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union

JM had to go do the cooking LOL! He's working on editing a new edition of Emma. Not yet available.

too many questions... he recommends The Hidden Jane Austen

my notes...

Mr. E is snobby and rejects H b/c she is illegitimate but Mrs. E turns out to be way worse in terms of class. Mr. E gets his comeuppance in marriage to Augusta.

Emma deludes herself about everything. She thinks she knows what motivates everyone.

When Frank went to fix Mrs. Bates' glasses, he is alone with Jane- they were snogging.

JM doesn't think F is narcissist. He does seem to love Jane. He goes through a lot of trouble to protect her and hide their relationship.

good short story in this collection
There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union

JM had to go do the cooking LOL! He's working on editing a new edition of Emma. Not yet available.

I have just reread tThe Hidden Jane Austen for the third time(being in lockdown keeps me rereading my library ) it is excellent I have always been fond of Frank even though ha was a "bad " boy for flirting with Emma (remember Elizabeths comments to her aunt about men who amuse themselves by meaning less flIrting)but some readers actually compare him-wrongly in my poenion- to henry crawford Willobyand Wickham(you all must think I am Illitrite because of my spelling but I am totally digraphic (learning disabled) and too lazy to look up every word. actally I was a n English teacher (in Israeli High schools)

Regarding your class question, Mrs, I think part of the arc of Emma’s character development is that she gets class issues all wrong and elevates some people over others for personal and often narcissistic reasons. So she is better acquainted with Mrs Weston and Miss Smith and therefore thinks of them more as her equals than the Coxes and the Coles. Note that Mr. Knightley, a truer judge of propriety, treats them all equally. Watch for Emma’s use of the words “elegant” and “elegance”—on her lips they are value judgments that she uses as a stick to brand some people as not up to her standards.

If there is any basis for regarding the Westons as superior to the Coxes and Coles, it would probably be education, which in British society of the age lifted some people to a level of gentility that was not dependent on wealth or property. People with a gentleman’s education could mingle with the landowner class more freely than wealthier people who did not have that education. That’s why clergymen were regarded as higher than tradesmen.

Abigail wrote: "Regarding your class question, Mrs, I think part of the arc of Emma’s character development is that she gets class issues all wrong and elevates some people over others for personal and often narci..."

Yes that's pretty much what was discussed. Were you there too? With over 100 people in the room it was hard to see who was there!

good ideas thnks.At the moment I am reading Maggie Lane /concepts in JA and yesterday I red about "Elegance" your idea belongs in her chapter. Maybe we should collectivly writ a book (usuing zoom } togeather we have so many insights many of which I havent seen in all the books on JA writings

QNPooh bear we are waiting for more of what you heard....

I was not there, QNPoohBear. Glad to hear others are thinking along the same lines!

There was so much going on and I didn't have time to go back and look at John Mullan's talk again. I know he's working on a new book though. Basically, what Abigail said, that Mr. Knightley values people for their worth. At first he thinks Harriet wouldn't be a good wife for Mr. Elton because of her birth but he changes his mind after meeting Mrs. Elton. Mrs. Elton is not a woman of birth and breeding and Harriet, even though she's illegitimate, has more class.

Is Frank Churchill a narcissist or merely mischievous? How does he compare to Wickham, Willoughby, Henry Crawford and even Henry Tilney? Like Mr. Tilney, he likes to tease but he's more spoiled and selfish. He's young for his age. He isn't purposefully horrible or a real bad boy. JM believes that since Frank remained engaged to Jane for all that time, even after she was angry with him and determined to be a governess, that he truly must love her. I think Frank is like a naughty boy. Some think he will mature with time but I think he will not as long as he has money and people to indulge his bad behavior.

Mariam Wassif spoke from Paris about Emma in comparison to the myth Pygmalion. She compared Emma's molding of Harriet to Mr. Knightley's molding of herself and then to the Greek myth. This presentation was pre-recorded and hard to hear.

Other Emma-related speakers included Joanna Sotomura from Emma Approved. She's gotten into social media now thanks to her character and jumped on the Regency bandwagon. She's proud to be the second Asian Emma.

Lots of talk on diversity and inclusion in the community. Say hi and be welcome to newcomers. Don't automatically make assumptions about people based on stereotypes and don't ask them about every issue relating to their race. Say "Hi, nice dress. Did you make it? Wow! You're so talented! Is this your first time at an event? Welcome!" ANYTHING like that. Also don't assume British people love Jane Austen or can relate to her stories. Modern times have come to Britain too and women have jobs and families and interests other than sipping tea, netting purses, covering tables, etc. Some don't even like tea!

Christine (Sewstine) makes gorgeous embroidery and dresses AND she's a full time anesthesiologist and mom!

Hope Greenberg of JASNA-VT spoke on the history of Regency fashion.

Julia Matson, the proprietress of Bingley’s Teas, spoke on the history of tea and tea production.

Dr. Juliette Wells of Goucher College spoke on women in the arts in Jane Austen's novels. It was not considered manly to play music. Music was mainly for women. The only art form men could really participate in was dancing.

A list of the fashion show participants can be found on their website

The narration, by a properly old-fashioned British man was great but they had some difficulties with the slideshow when the organizer got sick (not COVID) and the host's daughter had to step in without knowledge of Regency dress. It looked fabulous from what I saw.

Soniah Kamal from Pakistan spoke about her updated Pride and Prejudice novel Unmarriageable but I didn't attend that presentation. I couldn't get into the book at all and returned it to the library.

A Christmas Carol lovers want to know what "Smoking Bishop"? is? Here's a cooking tutorial. The key is smoked fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et6nv...

Chris Oswald also spoke about dressing Mr. Knightley and showed off his Regency evening wear and discussed the inaccuracies of the 2020 movie. Mr. Knightley would dress himself!

The best speaker, hands-down, the funniest person, was Aydrea Walden of the YouTube series Black Girl in a Big Dress about a historical reenactor trying to date in modern day LA with Regency era ideals. Aydrea takes all the horribly ignorant and funny racist things people have said to her and turned it into a comedy act. She also spoke a lot about unconscious bias but made it funny. I admire her sense of humor.

List of speakers

Thanks for the summation!

Abigail wrote: "Thanks for the summation!"

You're welcome! I tried to include as much as I remembered. I wasn't always glued to my screen and had to go back and watch what I missed when I was sleeping. I stayed until the end when the raffle prizes were done being announced. I really wanted to win a gift card to RedThreaded for a corset. https://redthreaded.com/

Better you than me on the corset front! For me, one of the joys of pandemic life is the sweat pants.

Abigail wrote: "Better you than me on the corset front! For me, one of the joys of pandemic life is the sweat pants."

Yes most people chose not to dress in costume but I would like to have one for special events. I'd love to see the Teel House ballroom floor all finished.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Lots of talk on diversity and inclusion in the community. Say hi and be welcome to newcomers. Don't automatically make assumptions about people based on stereotypes and don't ask them about every i..."
Great notes! I wish they had kept the videos up for a couple of days rather than taking them down today. I saw you in the chat...maybe Sunday? Lol...Saturday I wasn't all that focused. I had Zoomed with the Scottish Janes early and wasn't into the sessions that much. Yea for John Mullan coming back Sunday for a longish Q&A. While I finished Unmarriageable, it was only so-so to me. I didn't watch the interview...I heard her too much.

good morning you have made my day many many thanks wwwwwwwwI wish I could have a JA discussion group in my town but my English book club arent interested I dont even read the books and just join for the social supper this past year it takes place in my garden so they over look that fact (no supper during carona but nice to meet)

Kirk wrote: "Great notes! I wish they had kept the videos up for a couple of days rather than taking them down today. I saw you in the chat...maybe Sunday? Lol...Saturday I wasn't all that focused. I had Zoomed with the Scottish Janes early and wasn't into the sessions that much. Yea for John Mullan coming back Sunday for a longish Q&A. While I finished Unmarriageable, it was only so-so to me. I didn't watch the interview...I heard her too much.."

I saw you too. I was there most of the time, except in the morning when I was sleeping and early Sunday afternoon after John Mullan's Q&A. I had to go catch up on tea and fashion. I wish they had the videos up longer too.

I started watching Black Girl in a Big Dress and it is HYSTERICAL! She's me but Black and her cousin is basically everyone else. "Lady Katherine" is on the hunt for a wealthy, titled husband," Lord Fitzhugh" as they meet and socialize at a garden party. Her cousin's response? "Black people don't do s%^& like that!" and then proceeds to quiz "Lady Katherine" on how much Black pop culture she's consumed. The things people say to her are soooo cringe-worthy and sad. This HAS to get picked up by Netflix post-Bridgerton binge watching. I'm halfway through the first season. I hope to explore more videos tomorrow or Thursday when I can ROTFLOL without my parents thinking I'm crazier than they already think I am.