Jane Austen, Debated
Harville University’s Top Professors Clash Over Whether The Novelist Deserves a Place on the University’s Required Reading List
The latest furor at Harville University, a small but respected liberal arts school in New England, revolves around the author Jane Austen. The question at hand is whether her name should remain on the new and updated list of “required reading” for all graduates, or whether she ought to be relegated to the longer “optional recommendations” list to join several of her contemporaries. Arguments on both sides are heated. Tonight, the night before the board convenes to vote on the Jane Austen question, two respected professors at Harville are having a formal debate on the topic, and Harville’s auditorium is packed. Head Dean Charles Hunsford is moderating; he introduces the night’s two speakers.
Dean Hunsford (speaking brightly but looking rather harried): “Hello everyone! Good evening! Please welcome our two distinguished speakers tonight, debating whether or not Jane Austen deserves a place on our required reading list: Friends, please give a rousing welcome to Dr. Helen Croft and Dr. Alexandra Hawkins!
The audience supplies the customary applause with unusual enthusiasm as the two women walk onto the stage and shake hands; then each one composedly shuffles her notes into order at her podium as the applause dies away to expectant silence. Dean Hunsford announces the rules, after which Dr. Croft has the floor for her opening statement.
Dr. Helen Croft: “Good evening to all of you, and thank you for coming here tonight. I am here to speak in favor of retaining Harville’s requirement that all students read at least two novels by Jane Austen before graduating. I believe this is not only important but essential to our mission of “invigorating the reason and inspiring the imagination” of all our students. Jane Austen is one of the greatest authors in the English language, and her novels hold value even for those who dislike or are indifferent towards them. She has a unique place among the many famous authors taught in our English department in that she is widely studied by scholars as well as being widely beloved and read for pure enjoyment. Her novels speak to our experiences and emotions with the same clarity they have had for over 200 years. And although I don’t propose forcing every student to like Jane Austen, a basic knowledge of her works and appreciation for her literary talent is an indispensable part of a well-rounded education. Her novels span such a wide range in tone, in their characters, and in the lessons they have to teach us that reading a minimum of two is essential to understanding Austen’s enduring influence as a writer. I hope that my arguments tonight will gain your support in keeping Jane Austen a part of Harville’s curriculum.”
Dr. Alexandra Hawkins: “Good evening once again, and thank you for your presence here. I believe that as times change, so do the essential elements in a good education, and that Harville is on a path of continuous improvement. The next step on this path is to re-evaluate our graduation requirements and remove the requirements that are no longer relevant to students in 2024, and Jane Austen – although she may once have been – is no longer among the handful of authors who transcend their time to speak to ours. Rather, she belongs on our secondary list of authors who are read for their historical value or as an extension of specific studies, as well as, of course (with a smile), in the Regency romance sections of bookstores. Making this change will not take away the enjoyment of Jane Austen from those who happen to like her; it will simply remove the obligation of wading through long, convoluted sentences about Regency social conventions and courtships from students who already have too many reading assignments. (There is a murmur of agreement at Dr. Hawkins’s remark about “too many reading assignments.”) I hope that you will all support me in making this necessary change to our graduation requirements. “
Dean Hunsford: “Now, the first question for our speakers to tackle is this: Do Jane Austen’s works have intellectual as well as entertainment value, and is her fame justified? Dr. Hawkins, perhaps you would go first this time.”
Dr. Hawkins: “This highlights an interesting aspect of the question of relevance, because Jane Austen obviously has entertainment value for masses of people: one glance at the number of Austen-inspired movies, sequels, and spinoffs is evidence of that. But the fact that people love movies with beautiful actresses in Regency gowns who are proposed to by rich, handsome gentlemen, or that anything with “Mr. Darcy” on it flies off the shelves does not make Jane Austen intellectually relevant to today’s reality. I’m sure that many of my listeners enjoy reading Jane Austen, but I’m equally sure that you also enjoy other books that you wouldn’t dream of making mandatory for all students. Why should Jane Austen be the exception? Her novels may have amused the white upper class society of the Regency era, but the fame such accolades earned her is no longer justified in the modern day. Our students deserve to read books that will give them the tools and philosophy they need to live here and now, not books about why Elizabeth shouldn’t flirt with Mr. Wickham or how Robert Martin is beneath Miss Woodhouse’s notice. The other works on our required reading list have earned their place on it because of their honesty – sometimes brutal honesty! – in speaking to universal human experiences that resonate across time. Timelessness is a quality that Jane Austen’s novels lack.”
Dr. Croft: “Dr. Hawkins seems to define Jane Austen’s novels by the spinoffs based on them, spinoffs that dramatize and exaggerate the romantic elements of the novels in a way that certainly does entertain but does not do justice to the complexity and precision of the actual works they claim to be inspired by. I believe that these Austen-inspired works and the continual reinvention of her timeless plots and characters add something important to academic studies of Jane Austen, testifying to her ongoing influence over people’s imagination; but first and foremost, we are here to talk about the six novels which Jane Austen herself wrote, and the only works which we can justifiably blame her for. (There is a brief ripple of laughter at this remark.) Jane Austen occupies a highly unusual niche in the world of literature in being a highly respected author in academic circles as well as a writer so ridiculously beloved that there are whole societies dedicated to her. Paraphernalia related to her name and novels – as Dr. Hawkins points out – fly off the shelves. Very few authors can claim this broad of an influence; the only one that comes to my mind is Shakespeare. Writers tend to carve out either an academic niche or a popular one, with minimal overlap, but Jane Austen somehow manages to have it all. Her popularity does not make her less worthy of academic respect, but more worthy of it. Even setting aside the people who only love the movies and haven’t read the books, there is an enormous and widespread community of people who genuinely love her novels and read them, not just once, but over and over again, for advice, comfort, wisdom, and a good laugh. She’s one of very few authors who consistently appear under “most famous authors” as well as “best loved authors,” and removing her from our reading list would reflect badly – not on her, but on us.
 |
| Liv Quicksilver |
