The average rating for Jane Austen and the Body: 'The Picture of Health' based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.
Review # 1 was written on 2013-05-15 00:00:00 Jessica Matthews "Jane Austen and The Body" by John Wiltshire 3.5 Regency Teacups I have met John Wiltshire three times at JASNA MA. He is quite a courteous gentleman. So, I had really hoped to love this book. The Introduction was quite difficult to read. It concerns certain theories about the body and the critical tradition concerning Jane Austen. There are five chapters in the book. 1) Sense, sensibility and the proofs of affection 2)'Eloquent blood': the coming out of Fanny Price 3) Emma: the picture of health 4)Persuasion: the pathology of everyday life and 5)Sanditon: the enjoyments of invalidism. Yes, no chapter on P&P, although it does get mentioned here and there. I enjoyed the Emma and Sanditon chapters the most. There are many interesting points in book. Alas, I had difficulty following some of the theories and statements. He seemed very determined to slam the theories of other critics, Tony Tanner for example. "Mr Parker's partner in the enterprise of Sanditon, to whom Charlotte is soon introduced, is the friendly local dowager Lady Denham, rich, but penny-pinching, one of Austen's most vivid creations(she is far more memorable than, say, Lady Russell)..." pg 208 "The stridently healthy Lady Denham's low opinion those she calls 'the Tribe' is shared, amusingly enough, by Mr Parker's hypochondriac sister Diana...." pg 209 |
Review # 2 was written on 2013-08-04 00:00:00 Roman Miller While this is an important work on the work of Jane Austen, it could probably be half the length with decent editing. The language is overwritten and far to in love with big words, Foucault, and modern literary criticism to be a good read. Still, Wiltshire has pegged a great many aspects of Austen's work as centered in the physical parts of existence--not setting, but health and the body. Particularly with respect to Mansfield Park and Emma, the two best chapters, I felt I knew a lot more about what Austen was trying to say and how she said it. No serious Jane Austen reader should forgo the slog through the book, in other words. |
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