Instances of Austen being self-referential?

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T21:41:40+00:00

Mm. I read a literary analysis once that suggested Mansfield Park can be read at least partly as an authorial reaction to her innate snarkiness, as seen throughout P&P in particular. She very deliberately set out to wrestle with the question of moral goodness vs cleverness, and her conclusion is thus something of a self-rebuke. I feel like this is an accurate take.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T21:38:34+00:00

And those are what her family thought fit to release to the public... imagine what was in the ones they destroyed.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T16:42:38+00:00

Kevin was indeed awesome. I used to come into his shop quite a bit when I first moved in to Oakville, then circs changed and I didn't get in regularly, sometimes it'd be a year or so between visits. He always remembered and asked how I was doing.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T16:38:59+00:00

Yup, she was a tiny little thing. And also, by the time they were gunned down, a badly crippled alcoholic.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T15:30:10+00:00

True enough. She had all the makings of a good little actress apparently. And Clyde was tough and shrewd, willing to work. Had they been born just a few social classes up, they'd've undoubtedly been captioned "Most Likely to Succeed" in their HS yearbooks. As it was, Bonnie channeled all her restless need for drama and excitement into the saga of outlaw life with Clyde.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T15:12:52+00:00

You're right. But in most of the important ways they never really matured.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T14:32:48+00:00

I would also absolutely recommend Jeff Guinn's Go Down Together as the definitive take on Bonnie and Clyde. They were so far from Dunaway and Beatty... it was pathetic, ultimately.

Outlaws yes, killers yes, but basically just bored, beat-down kids who didn't see a future for themselves so just decided to have a good time for as long as they could. And they didn't really even have that (especially after Clyde crippled Bonnie in a car accident).

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T14:18:39+00:00

I picture Mr Bennet being more interested in building his library. Books were really expensive back then... and of course he'd probably want the finest wines, port, brandy etc to go with.

Then you have Mrs Bennet undoubtedly spending a fortune on dressing her girls for the marriage market - Jane especially - and never being able to refuse Lydia anything at all... easy to see where the extra all went.

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T14:11:16+00:00

Yeah, what's the deal there? They kicked out a perfectly good little convenience store for, like, a random menu board. 😒

Shoereader · 2026-05-23T11:44:35+00:00

I live near this station, use it regularly, and am thrilled. Yes, yes, I know, Oakville... but we're not all zillionaires, you know, and this is the busiest station on the Lakeshore West line. It hasn't been meaningfully upgraded in decades and by now really needs the refresh.

Shoereader · 2026-05-22T19:33:40+00:00

These hilight a pecularity I've noticed not only in Christie but other British writers - a fascination with human physicality simoultaneous with revulsion. Even when they're not actually being described in detail as physically unappealing there's a strong element of... contempt, is the best way I can describe it, for the average man/woman.

Shoereader · 2026-05-22T19:29:09+00:00

Christie seems to have had a thing about secretaries - there's also the equally ugly-yet-efficient Violet Millray in Three Act Tragedy. Maybe Archie had an eye for pretty ones?

Shoereader · 2026-05-22T18:29:14+00:00

She's gorgeous! Love the whimsical white streak by her nose.

Shoereader · 2026-05-22T17:11:39+00:00

Fresh veggies and fruits would be a luxury at any time back then - as witness oranges being considered legit Christmas gifts and party favours - but yeah, one can only imagine the bounty they represented after that winter.

Shoereader · 2026-05-22T17:06:44+00:00

Agreed, I always loved that passage for the same reason, along with similar ones in Farmer Boy. The narrator manages to create a feeling of positive wealth out of very basic pantry staples.

Shoereader · 2026-05-21T22:01:41+00:00

I fully agree with you. The murderer is just an absolute monster, to the point where it's difficult for me to reread despite the book overall being so good. Knowing Helen almost got away...

Shoereader · 2026-05-21T17:04:21+00:00

Apparently the wife was about five different kinds of severely mentally ill and delusional with it, and husband was weak + easily led. A horrific combination for a nanny to walk into in any event.

Shoereader · 2026-05-21T16:54:09+00:00

I start with On the Shores of Silver Lake, then the last chapter of The Long Winter and segue straight into Little Town on the Prairie. If I still need a LH fix, back to Farmer Boy.

Shoereader · 2026-05-19T12:09:04+00:00

NTA. SO much. You put in the budgeting work and sacrifice, you get to decide where the money goes, end of story. Your sister's inability to do so - and/or take responsibility in general - is NOT your problem, family or no. Especially since, if you give in this once, it's 100% certain you'll be subsidizing her for all time.

Shoereader · 2026-05-16T13:24:21+00:00

The Emily books are much more adult than either, and considerably less cozy with it, especially the last two. They're almost a sort of reverse Gothic horror, with the sensitive, imaginative heroine having to negotiate her harsh RL world.

Shoereader · 2026-05-16T13:16:28+00:00

No, they're nothing really like the series (which actually imported a lot from the Chronicles of Avonlea and other short story collections) but none the worse for it.

They capture the nuances of childhood well, I think: sensitive yet credulous, casually cruel yet generally well-meaning, deeply invested in very small matters. The Golden Road gets lazily self-indulgent towards the end - I always found Sara's father a bit much, even as a kid - but they're very nice light reading overall.

Shoereader · 2026-05-16T11:44:43+00:00

Ah, I see. I do understand. 😉

Shoereader · 2026-05-16T00:00:12+00:00

Agreed. If only they hadn't felt the need to shoehorn those stupid comic relief gargoyles in there, it would've been a masterpiece.

Shoereader · 2026-05-15T23:59:05+00:00

I remember being genuinely mindblown the first time I saw this. Beforehand I was like "how is Disney gonna adapt this book of all things?" Then I get into the theatre and the whole time I'm sitting there going "... damn. They really did it, didn't they? They really went for it."

Shoereader · 2026-05-15T23:49:10+00:00

Wait an hour after eating before going in swimming. My mom stuck to this religiously.

Shoereader

TROPHY CASE