Tag Archives: Emma

Card Playing in Jane Austen

By Robin Bates | Published: October 22, 2019

Card playing shows up in all of Jane Austen’s major novels but means different things at different times.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Cards, Jane Austen, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility | Comments closed

Reading Aloud Enhances Relationships

By Robin Bates | Published: December 28, 2016

Couples reading aloud to each other can create a special intimacy, as George Eliot and George Henry Lewes realized in the 19th century. The radio and then television brought an end to that activity.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, Jane Austen, reading aloud | Comments closed

Hillary Clinton as Emma Woodhouse

By Robin Bates | Published: May 23, 2016

Hillary Clinton shares certain characteristics with Emma Woodhouse. (And far fewer with Lady Macbeth.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton, Jane Austen, politics | Comments closed

“Emma” as Aid to Alzheimer’s Caregivers

By Robin Bates | Published: December 28, 2015

A luminescent “New York Times” article explains how a woman used Emma to help her deal with her mother’s Alzheimer’s. Literature at such times does some very heavy lifting.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alzheimer's, cognitive impairment, Jane Austen, Mental Illness | Comments closed

Lit Is Aristotelian Road to Happiness

By Robin Bates | Published: December 8, 2015

Psychologists say that a strong sense of narrative identity can lead to the profound sense of happiness described by Aristotle. Literature helps us make sure we have available to us the best narratives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Aristotle, Brothers Karamazov, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, eudaimonic well-being, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Great Expectations, happiness, Jane Austen, King Lear, stories, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Austenland, a Game for Janeites

By Robin Bates | Published: December 18, 2014

At the end of each fall semester, we have a “fall festival” where the first year seminar students present a project to the community that shares some of what they have learned. This year my Jane Austen class invented a board game for the occasion, which they are calling Austenland. In the past, my Austen […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility | Comments closed

Inviting Jane into Your Life

By Robin Bates | Published: December 16, 2014

Once again Jane Austen has stepped into the lives of my students and enriched their lives immeasurably.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility | Comments closed

Who is the Worst Rake in Jane Austen?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 19, 2014

A ranking of jane Austen’s rakes. Who is the most objectionable?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged George IV, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Prince Regent, rake culture, Regency period, Sense and Sensibility | Comments closed

10 Famous Fetish Objects in Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: November 6, 2014

Literature is filled with fetish objects that take on outsized significance to various characters.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Alexander Pope, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Great Expectations, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Marcel Proust, Prophet's Hair, Rape of the Lock, Salman Rushie, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tell-Tale Heart, Tom Jones | Comments closed