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Ellen reviews a book by Michael Greany on Academia. Greany covers deaths
in Austen's works. As Ellen reminds us, there are no direct deaths in her
books, though it is assumed that Mrs. Churchill dies before Frank marries
Jane Fairfax.

I have to discover why my messages go off too early.
Though there are no direct deaths in any of the books, in each a death had
happened before the story begins or occurs off stage, as it were.
In Northanger Abbey, it is Mrs. Tilney's death has hovers over the story.
Though I disagree with Arnie that this death was a protest against multiple
pregnancies,I do agree that it is a necessary background for Elinor
andCatherine.
In Sense and Sensibility , the death of Mr. Dashwood sets the novel in
motion.The death of the Uncle has an effect in that the man left his money
to 4 year old, though the girls' father succeeded to the estate. The novel
would have been entirely different if he had lived to accrue a fortune.
Off hand , I can't think of a death in P &P unless that of Darcy's father
In Mansfield Park it is actually the death of Mr. Norris that affects the
plot.
In Persuasion, the death of the baronet's infant son, and his wife affect
that family. However, the death that draws the most notice is the death of
Richard, and the commentary on the "fat sighs." That incident and death
has probably been discussed most often.
I saved Emma for last because that book is preceded by several deaths.
Emma's mother, Harriet's mother, Frank's mother, Jane's parents are dead
when the story begins, I liked the opening scenes of the movie that
opened with scenes of several funerals.
In Austen's life, it was the death of her father that changed her life
dramatically.


On Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 11:37?AM Nancy Mayer via groups.io
<regencyresearcher@...> wrote:

Ellen reviews a book by Michael Greany on Academia. Greany covers deaths
in Austen's works. As Ellen reminds us, there are no direct deaths in her
books, though it is assumed that Mrs. Churchill dies before Frank marries
Jane Fairfax.

Nancy has seen my essay-review on academia..edu, which advertises the review, essays & other materials put there. I had meant to make a brief blog introducing the review and giving more context. I am reviewing an essay, not a book; it's for Scriblerian; I have written on Jane Austen's ayttitudes towards death in an essay I sumitted to Persuasions; it ws not rejected, but by the time I would have satisfied all the editor's queries and objections, my essay would have taken on a very different tone. Some might say it'd more balanced. I didn't want it to be balanced. She ojected to one of my sources, and there is no way I could make that source more objective so I might have had to omit it. In other words, it would haved ended up a different essay. I was teaching for money at the time and Jim had died very recently, my computer hd given up its ghost, my car been totalledso I gave it up. Today I might try to revise (because the opening on widowd and widowers in Austen was left unobjcted to), but I was impatient, grief-striken and bereft as a new widow and personally involved with my topic. As is, it's been read many times. I've never seen it cited but I've never seen any of my conventionally published essays cited.

I'll write the blog tonight and link in both pieces, Jane Austen and Death and Widows and Widowers in Austen.

Thanks for the citation Nancy as answering you has made me write out some of what lay inchoate in my mind so the blog will come easy tonight.

Ellen

Nancy, I would add to the list of deaths in Persuasion the death of Mr Elliot’s wife (do we ever learn her name?), which sets off a second cascade of events in the novel.

I agree the the early scenes of the Emma television series (with Romola Garai) highlights all of these early deaths that dramatically alter the lives of the children involved. It’s striking.

A side note: I first watched the series some years ago, I never clocked a small tweak the writers made to the story. In the TV series, young Jane Fairfax is perhaps three years old when she’s taken from her aunt and grandmother and handed over to her benefactor – and I’m not sure how they managed to get the child’s expression of resolute sorrow for those scenes, which are pretty heart-wrenching.

In the novel, Jane Fairfax is something like ten years old and has already visited the family and become friends with the daughter before she is taken.

Dorothy


Nancy wrote:
In Northanger Abbey, it is Mrs. Tilney's death has hovers over the story.
Though I disagree with Arnie that this death was a protest against multiple
pregnancies,I do agree that it is a necessary background for Elinor
andCatherine.
In Sense and Sensibility , the death of Mr. Dashwood sets the novel in
motion.The death of the Uncle has an effect in that the man left his money
to 4 year old, though the girls' father succeeded to the estate. The novel
would have been entirely different if he had lived to accrue a fortune.
Off hand , I can't think of a death in P &P unless that of Darcy's father
In Mansfield Park it is actually the death of Mr. Norris that affects the
plot.
In Persuasion, the death of the baronet's infant son, and his wife affect
that family. However, the death that draws the most notice is the death of
Richard, and the commentary on the "fat sighs." That incident and death
has probably been discussed most often.
I saved Emma for last because that book is preceded by several deaths.
Emma's mother, Harriet's mother, Frank's mother, Jane's parents are dead
when the story begins, I liked the opening scenes of the movie that
opened with scenes of several funerals.
In Austen's life, it was the death of her father that changed her life
dramatically.

Thanks for remembering Cousin Eliot's wife. I had forgotten her.
Yes, it is a significant death. Now, the absence of Mr. Clay is somewhat
more ambiguous.. Some say she definitely is a widow with two children and
others claim she has been divorced. However, a divorced woman couldn't
have custody of her children, so Mrs. Clay is a widow who dumps her
children on her father.
Nancy

On Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 2:40?PM Dorothy Gannon via groups.io
<dorothy.gannon@...> wrote:

Nancy, I would add to the list of deaths in Persuasion the death of Mr
Elliot’s wife (do we ever learn her name?), which sets off a second cascade
of events in the novel.

I agree the the early scenes of the Emma television series (with Romola
Garai) highlights all of these early deaths that dramatically alter the
lives of the children involved. It’s striking.