An
interesting thread of discussion has developed in Janeites, arising out of a
report of a recent piano recital at which music actually played by Jane Austen
was performed and discussed, and then the conversation turned to the famous
narration in Pride & Prejudice about Mary Bennet's musical studies.
Nancy
Mayer wrote: "In the 17th and 18th century some composers didn't write the
bass part of a piece but just hinted at it and gave the number of some chords.
I gather that there was a book in which the various chords were numbered. It
wasn't a study for the unintelligent."
Nancy,
that is accurate, this was indeed a study for the most intelligent. That's the
first clue that the following narrative comment....
"They
found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough-bass and human nature; and
had some extracts to admire, and some new observations of threadbare morality
to listen to.
...admits
of two opposite, but equally plausible, interpretations:
The
first interpretation is that the narration is objective, and may be relied upon
as an accurate description of Mary as a clueless pedant, who, for all her
erudition, cannot distinguish between what really matters and what doesn't.
The
second interpretation is that the narrative is subjective, written from
Elizabeth's prejudiced point of view, and is completely unreliable as a
description of Mary. Rather, it provides the reader with a perspective on Lizzy
herself, i.e. that Lizzy, who prides herself on being the best "studier
of character" among the Bennet sisters, has dismissed Mary as a pedant,
because Lizzy feels threatened by Mary's vastly superior knowledge and insight.
And I would also toss in some musical jealousy as well. It is a pretty safe bet
that if (as Lizzy herself acknowledges to Darcy at Rosings) Lizzy does not
practice piano enough to play really well, you can be darned sure that Lizzy
does not study thorough bass, as Mary does!
A
couple of years ago, I wrote several posts about Mary Bennet's talents and
knowledge, which, in a similar vein with the above, show that Lizzy consistently,
unfairly, & prejudicially dismisses Mary's accomplishments, and also
consistently mishears what Mary is actually saying, because Lizzy is ignorant
of the erudition Mary is drawing upon.
Here
are a few of those earlier posts:
So it
should come as absolutely no shock that Jane Austen played sophisticated piano
music that required her to be deep in the study of thorough bass. And every
Janeite already knew from her novels how deep was Jane Austen's study of human
nature!
Then
Michael Chwe, author of a new and very interesting book about Jane Austen
entitled Jane Austen, Game Theorist, chimed in as follows:
Michael:
"My own interpretation is kinder to Mary. Music notation is a "technical"
way to understand music (according to Alfred Crosby, the music staff was
"Europe's first graph"), and indeed Mary's studying of it seems to
indicate her geekiness. My take is that by placing thorough bass together with
human nature, Austen suggests the possibility of understanding human behavior
using a technical, mathematical approach (as in game theory)."
Bravo,
Michael, you did cover that topic very well in your book, and I heartily
endorse your final sentence, above, without qualification.
I
would only add a variation on your theme (ha ha), to the following effect:
i.e., that Jane Austen _also_ suggests the possibility of better understanding
her novels themselves, if a reader can sensitize him or herself
to the metaphor of the "thorough bass" structure of her novels. What
do I mean by this?
That
beneath the "melodic" surface of her novels, ie., the stories as gleaned
from the light, bright and sparkling "high notes" of the story that
all readers/listeners read/hear without effort, there is a layer of
meaning
submerged in the "lower notes", i.e., the aspects of the story that
require great study in order to "fill in" those "harmonies"
only abbreviated in the musical staff.
And,
to also show Jane Austen's self-reflexive writing, a great example of such a
"thorough bass" hint is my above alternative interpretation of Mary Bennet's
character in the novel, which can only be ascertained by following the textual
hints pointing to it.
I
have spent the past 10+ years in study of that "thorough bass", following
the hints in Jane Austen's novel texts which function exactly like those
musical notations of the thorough bass line.
Cheers,ARNIE
@JaneAustenCode
on Twitter
Has anyone (have you) considered that Austen might have meant "thorough-base" - as in human nature being base - below acceptable - and therefore unacceptable?
ReplyDeleteJust a curious thought - but man's 'base nature' would eliminate any sophistication or elegance, being low or below standard. Might she have meant that? Mary would certainly enjoy reading THAT as apposed to a musical insight - which she clearly has not.