"I do not write for such dull elves as have not a great deal of ingenuity themselves."
January 29, 1813 letter to her sister, Cassandra.
SHE REALLY MEANT IT!
Happy Birthday Jane Austen!
1 week ago
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(& scroll down to read my literary sleuthing posts)
Thanks! -- Arnie Perlstein, Portland, OR
A lovely bit of praise from my youngest (at heart) supporter in Seattle:
[The 80-ish Mary Watson of the Puget Sound chapter commenting on the 2010 JASNA AGM]
"...2 sessions were outstanding: Juliet McMasters on the more subtle, deeper meanings of "Northanger Abbey" and a Darcy-like young lawyer, Arnie Perlstein, who revealed his very plausible theory that the "shadow story" behind much of Austen's work is the horror of multiple childbirth and women's deaths. I am a Jane-Austen-as-feminist person and this really resonated with me!"
"...2 sessions were outstanding: Juliet McMasters on the more subtle, deeper meanings of "Northanger Abbey" and a Darcy-like young lawyer, Arnie Perlstein, who revealed his very plausible theory that the "shadow story" behind much of Austen's work is the horror of multiple childbirth and women's deaths. I am a Jane-Austen-as-feminist person and this really resonated with me!"
"Arnie's theories [about Austen and Shakespeare] may strain credulity, but so much the greater his triumph if they turn out to have persuasive force after they are properly presented and maturely considered."
"We all love to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth knowing."
“There are a few Typical errors–& a ‘said he’ or a ‘said she’ would sometimes make the Dialogue more immediately clear–but ‘I do not write for such dull Elves As have not a great deal of Ingenuity themselves.'”
"Mr. Floor is low in my estimation"
My 05/01/10 JASNA NYC Talk
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About Me
- Arnie Perlstein
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- I'm a 72 year old independent scholar (still) working on a book project about the SHADOW STORIES of Jane Austen's novels (and Shakespeare's plays). I first read Austen in 1995, an American male real estate lawyer, i.e., a Janeite outsider. I therefore never "learned" that there was no secret subtext in her novels. All I did was to closely read and reread her novels, while participating in stimulating online group readings. Then, in 2002, I whimsically wondered whether Willoughby stalked Marianne Dashwood and staged their “accidental” meeting. I retraced his steps, followed the textual “bread crumbs”, and verified my hunch. I've since made numerous similar discoveries about offstage scheming by various characters. In hindsight, it was my luck not only to be a lawyer, but also a lifelong solver of NY Times and other difficult American crossword puzzles. These both trained me to spot complex patterns based on fragmentary data, to interpret cryptic clues of all kinds, and, above all, not to give up until I’ve completed the puzzle--and literary sleuthing Jane Austen's novels (and Shakespeare's plays) is, bar none, the best puzzle solving in the world!
2 comments:
Yes Arnie~~
I agree most definitely~~
JA's Prose can be Deeply Entrancing and Penetrating~~~and~~ within that astutely rigorous intelligence and poetic propriety ~~it is ever presenting in exquisite variety~~~
And yet also~~~She "Emma-nate's" and Encapsulate's a very fine portraiture that is of That "fearful porpentine"~~;-) ~~~ darting Her very quills of paradox in labyrinthine largess~~~~
So how may We ~as such "sharp Elve"s~~be enlightened by that ever endless teasing ~ in Her fearlessly discriminating finesse~~~
Will certainly commence reading carefully ~~All of these past posts and their respective comments ~~~~
Regards until next time~~Christy
You are punning in rare form, Christy, as befits a tribute to the Queen of Puns, Jane Austen herself! ;)
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