I survey the meaning of some of my favorite literary mean girls.
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Tag Archives: Sense and Sensibility
Austen Has Some of Lit’s Best Mean Girls
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Cat's Eye, Charlotte Bronte, Emma, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Mean Girls, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Robber Bride Comments closed
Sanditon’s Disappointing Ending
While filled with allusions to the previous novels, the televised “Sanditon” is in the end a let-down. I explore why.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged adaptations, Emma, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sanditon Comments closed
The Dangers of Emotional Identification
In which I push back against an article warning about emotional identification with literary characters.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Age of Sensibility, Anne Radcliffe, Goethe, Hannah Arendt, Homer, Iliad, Jane Austen, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Namwali Serpell, Northanger Abbey, Sorrows of Young Werther Comments closed
From Wycherley to Crazy, Stupid, Love
In my “Restoration and 18th Century Couples Comedy” class, my students paired old rom-coms with contemporary films, including “Ten Things I Hate about You,” “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, “Friends with Benefits,” and others.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 10 Things I Hate about You, Alexander Pope, Aphra Behn Country Wife, Austenland, Belle's Stratagem, Brave, Crazy Stupid Love, Don Jon, Friends with Benefits, Hannah Cowley, He’s Just Not That into You, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Jane Austen, Mean Girls, Oliver Goldsmith, Rape of the Lock, Richard Sheridan, Rivals, Rover, Say Anything, She Stoops to Conquer, William Wycherley Comments closed
Why the Alt-Right Austen Takeover Will Fail
The alt-right has tried to appropriate Jane Austen. Their readings are alternately hilarious and horrifying.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged alt-right, Fascism, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, NEH, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, William Bennet Comments closed
500 Days of Marianne & Willoughby
The film “500 Days of Summer” has a lot in common with Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.” Realizing this can make us feel better about the ending of both works.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 500 Days of Summer, adolescence, Jane Austen, maturity Comments closed
“Frozen” Is “Sense & Sensibility” with Ice
To compare “Sense and Sensibility” to the movie “Frozen” is to open up new complexities in the novel.