Life and Work of Jane Austen | Lorraine Murphy

Lorraine Murphy
Hillsdale College
Elsa Solender, past president of the Jane Austen Society of North America, has written: “The 1940 Pride and Prejudice, progenitor of sixty years of filmed adaptations of Austen, earned never-ending scorn from some, everlasting affection from others. Its glorious life and afterlife might teach us to moderate the demand for ‘fidelity,’ instead of magic, in movies.” Over the past 30 years especially there has been a flowering of films and TV mini-series based on Austen’s works. This fourth CCA of the 2020-2021 academic year will consider some of these films, as well as Austen’s life and writings.
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[@BroadwayMistress]

I loved her point about how hard it is to adapt a character like Fanny Price. It is evidence of Austen's skill as a writer that she could portray a quiet and passive character with so much grace and individuality.

[@iaintwonderwoman5720]

Dr Murphy is quite serious about Jane....I really liked how she approaches her writing respectfully, appreciating all her nuances. I can imagine JA’s revisions being a huge form of entertainment actually between sisters🤓just my imagination at work, of course🥰

[@gailpurcell1649]

The question about whether Austen had to "struggle" because her Mother and sister took the household chores so she could write ignores the fact that writing is work - a lot of work and a way of making a living or at least adding to the household income.

[@mesamies123]

Interesting and engaging. Thank you.

[@user-bi7gl8xg2y]

The BBc series of Mansfeild Park 1983 is very close to the book and the actors are terrific

[@benedictcowell6547]

This is a very interesting lecture, but I think we might make progress if we distingished between Morals wich are the consensus of conventions, prejudices, and manners where as ethics are concerned with the integrity of the individual. If you doubt there is a single word in 'Mansfield Park' 'slavery'

[@jdg9999]

Apparently changes in social fertility patterns have been causing genetic IQ to fall by about 1 point a decade in the industrialized West since the mid-19th century, so that while today the average IQ is 100, in Austen's time it was about 125.
That's not hard to believe when you hear about how intellectually impressive her family seems today, despite being unremarkable by the standards of her time.

[@varshana81]

Thank you for sharing this information as to the drop in IQ over the last centuries. I only wish to add that her family was not average. Her father was described as ‘exquisitely’ educated. Her mother was related to nobility-and very proud of it. Two of Jane’s brothers attained the rank of Admiral in the navy. They were, as a family, extraordinarily literate and theatrical. Certainly, as a family, they surpassed the general public.

[@ehron214]

Also she probably owned a dr. S3uss novel. Double cancelled 😲

[@peterdevlin51]

Name a novelist whose novels can’t be purchased and read in this country. Cancel culture is a right wing myth. When you live in a democracy, viewpoints arise that you agree and disagree. In a democracy, we need to be tolerant of the ridiculous. Just because someone objects to a writer doesn’t mean you have to. Go read whomever you wish in peace.

[@ehron214]

@@peterdevlin51 thanks for the oh so late and superfluous comment. Save your novelette for something that applies. Was a joke you killjoy

[@ehron214]

I heard she once referred to an african american as "black"
Time to cancel jane austen 🤷🏽‍♂️