Author Centred Defense

I initiated my Author Centred Response with an introduction to the novel Emma and a brief outline of the plot in order to inform a ‘non-expert’ audience. This initiation led me to examine the ‘universal truths’ within the text which I frequently refer to as ‘themes’ or ‘discourse’. I applied strong emphasis on three different truths evident in Emma: motivation for marriage, social status and wealth. By centering focus on the universal truths that exist within the novel, I become capable of supplying a more scrupulous reading. I am mindful towards the fact that universal truths are based on a ‘historical’ author-centred function, however, in order for me to deconstruct them in a Contemporary Author Centred manner; I first had to establish these truths.

By mentioning the cultural discourses evident in the text and how they relate to a modern society differently from a 19th century society, I am employing Contemporary Reading Practices (QSA, pg 11). This led me to question Barthes’ (1974) ‘death of the author’ theory which states the “death of the author” is ‘necessary to allow for the “birth of the reader” – and the multiplicity of interpretations’ (QSA, pg 11). The statements in my response regarding the cultural discourses and their relation to the society that existed at that time cause me to endorse Wimsatt & Beardsley’s (1954) ‘intentional fallacy’ theory. This theory concludes that ‘…characterising assumptions as a “fallacy”, a critic suggests that the author’s intention is not particularly important…the author’s lifestyle determines the text.’ I support this theory and therefore problematise Barthes’ ‘death of the author’ theory by mentioning that Austen produced work evolving around her beliefs within her society.

This was where my employment of Michel Foucault’s “Author Functions” (Foucault, 1977) began. These functions are used to determine how readers approach a text (QSA, pg 11). I make use of the first function ‘classification’, which is labelling a text with a name that assists in recognising the ‘value’ or ‘quality’ of that text. I explain that Emma falls under the regency romance genre and I support this by referring to what the genre classically involves and what characteristics the novel must conform with in order to relate to that genre. By explaining that Emma fits the genre criteria, I successfully classify the novel.

I also make use of Foucault’s ‘attribution’ function, which allows the reader to anticipate the text due to the construction of the author. From stating ‘...it was expected to have a tedious storyline and complex language’, I am building expectations on the novels classification. In doing this I demonstrate that a reader will more often than not, make assumptions based on past experience with novels of the same or similar genre/style.

The third and final author function, ‘valuation’, is used in my identification of Emma as a “classic” novel. This function summarises that the name of certain (canonical) authors is still taken to be a guarantee of the aesthetic and ethical quality of the work attributed to those authors. However, in making reference to modern adaptations of the novel, including Clueless and other ‘chick lit’ novels, I problematise this concept. These contemporary approaches use similar subject matter to produce work that is based on modern values and beliefs.

Throughout my interpretation I apply contemporary author centred reading practices to problematise the link between an author’s life and a text. I elucidate that a reader cannot identify who the historical author is based on their assumptions of the text, because the context of novels can change. Eventually, I managed to construct my own interpretation from Jane Austen’s Emma, however continued to acknowledge the fact that multiple meanings and interpretations can be extracted from the novel by different readers in a true contemporary author-centred style.

Author Centred Response

Jane Austen’s Emma is the fourth of six major ‘classic’ novels published from 1815. Just like all her previous works Austen focuses Emma around the typical themes of romance, marriage, and courtship. The story follows a young, wealthy and complacent woman as the protagonist, who lives with her excessively considerate father in Highbury, England. It details her endeavour to make matches between her associates and her adoration for taking people of lower social status under her wing. Jane Austen’s style fell heavily into the Victorian ‘Regency Romance’ genre which classically involves, “…the language, the lifestyle, the heroine, the hero and the typical plot and ending” (Roop, 2002) and her novels were mostly written during the Romantic Movement. This movement intended to ‘arouse the emotions, through a depiction of strong passion, or to fire the imagination with exotic, terrifying or wonderful scenes and events’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1998, Romantic Movement, pg 1). Other stories written during the Romantic Movement include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Italian by Ann Radcliffe. Both of these influential authors based their novels around themes of love, romance or happiness.

On encountering the novel it was expected to have a tedious storyline and complex language. These expectations were drawn from previous experience with aged texts and also the first impression of the cover. This can be supported by my statement ‘…someone who often judges a book by its cover’. Basing any previous knowledge and experience from ‘classic’ texts on the novel, I presumed that it would engage in a cyclic plot and focus largely on the formation and ending of relationships between characters as well as their emotions and attitudes towards each other. The novel also details the expectations of marriage into status or wealth within Aristocratic European society. Although this would have been seen as contemporary behaviour at the time, romance and matrimony in the 21st century has changed significantly.

Through reading and analysing Jane Austen texts it is typically assumed that she agreed with the social discourses and ideologies encompassed of her time, which are so clearly evident in her stories. These include motivations for marriage, courting and status. However, with deeper research into the author’s life it is verified that Austen never married and she never had any intentions of marrying for the same reasons her characters did. As it has already been established, during Austen’s time (19th century) the motives of marriage generally revolved around social status and prosperity. With this acquired background information on Jane Austen’s life, readers are capable of concluding that she based her stories around social discourse because they were the dominant beliefs of their time. Another important element regarding Austen’s novels is the fact that she never signed her books by her name, instead signing them ‘By a lady’. Her reason for not taking public ownership of her stories may have been due to the low amount of respect for women’s opinions during the 1800’s. Women were seen as the inferior sex. This being the case, Austen may not have wanted to (at first) be recognised for her attitudes and her work, in fear that she would be frowned upon by society.

Just like Ann Radcliffe (author of The Romance of the Forest, The Mysteries of Udolpho and many other gothic genre novels) had an influence on Jane Austen, Jane Austen had an influence on writers 200 years after her time. Amy Heckerling the director of the 1996 teen movie Clueless being one of them. Clueless is a movie loosely based on the novel Emma but expresses love, relationships, dating and romance in a contemporary form relating better to kids of the 21st century. The issue of re-creation, that is the adaptation of older works or “classics” into a more modern approach, is believed to problematise the theory of author ownership: “…author’s words were completely original and his (or her) copyrighted “property” gained acceptance.” (Pease, 1995). “Multimodal texts also bring challenges to the notion of authorship, when teams contribute in various modes to the production of a text.” (QSA, pg 11) This statement relates to the movie Clueless, as multiple people contributed to the making of the production which makes it difficult to determine who the author of the particular text is. Wimsatt and Beardsley (1954, 1998) argued that a text is not owned by the author; rather, “it is detached from the author at birth and goes around the world beyond his power to intend about it or control it.” (QSA, pg 11) Since writers like Austen, Radcliffe and Shelley, contemporary texts have been similarly formed, such as Rebecca Sparrow’s’ The Girl Most Likely, and Janet Evanovich’s Back to the Bedroom. These examples of contemporary ‘chick lit’ utilise similar discourses and ideologies as the above authors but relate them to a more modern target audience.
It can be concluded that Emma clearly illustrates the central ethics and values of marriage and romance in the upper-class band of society during the 1800’s. Even though the novel has difficulty in engaging audiences from today’s culture other recent versions, such as the movie Clueless and ‘chick lit’ novels have been made to relate those same issues more closely to a newer and ‘younger’ generation. In order for this to be done effectively more emphasis is placed on love and romance as apposed to wealth and reputation. After analysing Jane Austen’s Emma it becomes obvious that she has effectively portrayed life in upper-class 19th century England even though it is too obsolete for the culture of modern society.

Reader Centred Defense

My reading of Emma is primarily based on a reader centred approach because I, being the reader, produce meaning by applying prior knowledge and experience to the text. (QSA, pg 18) My personal transaction of Austen’s “classic” is dominated by textual and experiential perspectives, however, all five of Richard Beach’s (1993) reader perspectives are so intimately related that it is possible I utilised each of them at some point during my reading. These five perspectives are textual, experiential, social, cultural and psychological.

My knowledge of language and narrative conventions influenced my response; (Beach, 1993, pg 15) Beach’s textual perspective is evident in my reading. It is applied when I discuss my initial “dispirited” attitude towards the novel as well as my negative reaction to the implied themes of marriage and courtship. When I refer to 21st century forms of ‘courtship’: “dating…is just like a recreation sport”, my opinion on the stupidity of courtship is easily conveyed. The textual perspective is also evident due to my misunderstanding of the conventions and structure of Austen’s style (Jauss, 1982). I failed at first to “immerse myself due to the form of writing” for example, Austen’s forever shifting narration, in direct speech and drawn out scenarios.

An experiential perspective is also predominately evident in my reader centred approach. In order to take on such a perspective the reader must have some form of involvement with the text as proposed in Rosenblatt’s (1968) transactional theory. This theory is based around the interactions a reader has with a text and what they experienced whilst reading the novel and the after effect. The focus of my reading is based on the narrative plot and the characters. The mention of my relationship with certain characters in the novel and their situations reflect my personal involvement with the text. The paragraph in my response where I mention the similarities (and differences) between the characters and myself, I identify and relate my own personal experiences to the text: “I understand Emma’s desire to improve the lives of the people around her (as well as herself through this process)”. Having been compelled to read Emma as apposed to relaxed comprehension, I judged the novel whilst under an efferent mode which limited my ability to obtain certain facts (Beach, pg 51). The introduction to my response depicts my initial judgement of the book; therefore expressing not only my past experiences with ‘books with bad covers’ but also my alternative opinion. My connection with the ideals of a ‘classed society’ and ‘status based marriages’ – as apposed to love based relationships – saw me depicting an ‘alternative reading’ to the text (Johnson, 1992). In order to be classified an alternative reader you must obtain an attitude of neither total acceptance nor rejection.

Other theoretical perspectives are noticeable in my response including Beach’s (1993) social and cultural perspectives. When I express my objections to marriage being the only opportunity to gain happiness, I am applying a cultural perspective by bringing my own cultural values and beliefs to the text. Modern day romance, being so dissimilar to Austen’s style, has caused me to disagree with her ideas. Women today are able to marry for love without their father’s consent and have a choice they are capable to make. This perspective is supported by my statement, “I can accurately communicate that happiness can be found between people without marriage.” A social perspective is established, when I state my reason for reading the novel. By constantly acknowledging and studying my interpretations of the novel for class, I am under the influence of Extension English as apposed to my own true interest. If I was reading the novel out of personal curiosity, I wouldn’t draw such a strong and arguable view. I would simply accept that times have changed. “I began to search the novel for useful discussion topics” shows my motive for gaining a debatable opinion.

Through my reader centred approach I have applied personal knowledge and experience to the text and successfully constructed a meaning. My reading of Emma is mostly dominated by textual and experiential perspectives, however, after realising how intimately related all five of Beach’s (1993) perspectives are it is probable that I employed some of each in my reading. I have veiled my disagreement with the implied discourses and ideologies of the text, whilst maintaining a medium level of acceptance of the overall invited reading. Assuming I was a young woman living in the 19th century I may have been able to open up more freely to the novel and become the ‘implied reader’ therefore, giving a different response all together.

Reader Centred Response

Being someone who often judges a book by its cover I was very dispirited when informed that I was required to read a Jane Austen novel for Extension English. The second I glanced at Emma, I groaned “It looks bboorrrinngg!” However, a few days later, I mentally slapped myself for being so naïve and judgemental. After slowly making my way through the first introductory paragraphs and failing at first to immerse myself due to the form of writing and suggested aspects, I found myself engaging in the narrative more than I could have anticipated. Although, it bore no resemblance to anything I have ever read before I was determined to gain some form of opinion, whether it was positive or negative. This required a serious amount of concentration. Once I examined the criteria for the task, I began to search the novel for useful discussions in regards to class, ideologies, attitudes and character similarities from those in the novel to the characters in the film Clueless. This film adaptation is loosely based on the 1815 publication. Now observing my reading practices I started to develop more feelings and understanding for the characters, their situations and the discourses in the story.

The story’s main protagonist Emma can be seen as an extremely vicarious sphincter; however her vanity and attempts to intervene in peoples lives caused me to perceive her as a spoilt brat. Her attitude occasionally suggests that she believes she has the power to play God, especially over the vulnerable Harriet. Emma’s strong and persuasive disapproval of Mr. Martin’s marriage proposal to Harriet clearly highlights the discourse of class. Whilst, expressing the difference in class hierarchy between the two girls. Emma highly values class and reputation in a marriage or acquaintance. “I should be surprised if, after seeing them, you could be in company with Mr. Martin again without perceiving him to be a very inferior creature” (Emma referring to Mr. Martin in comparison to other gentlemen acquaintances pg. 32). This also helps demonstrate Emma’s (too high) expectations of the people she likes to meddle with. Such events also manage to depict the attitudes towards marriage that are employed by the 19th century. This was where all similarity to anything I have ever read, ceased to exist. The way Austen portrays romance, courtship and marriage during her era shows no similarity to today. Courtship in Austen’s time was a sure sign of future marriage. Courtship or ‘dating’ as we 21st century girls like to call it is just like a recreational sport. It’s for fun and more importantly love, not status or reputation (except on rare occasions).

Before making my way through half of the typical 'romance' novel, I began to employ typical romantic reading practices. And they were soon proven correct. We all know how romance goes. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, and calamity occurs, tension builds within the relationship, the disaster is resolved and they live happily ever after. Emma is someone who experiences pleasure from igniting such romantic events in other peoples lives until she realises she is in love herself. I was joyed yet slightly unfulfilled when the majority of the characters were awarded their “happily ever afters”, with the exception of some. Mr. Elton for example, satisfied my evil desire to see someone unhappy at the end of the tale. Emma realises she wants to marry Mr. Knightly and she has confronted her mistakes admitting to herself that he was right all along. Harriet and Mr. Martin get engaged and Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax’s relationship is unveiled. All the matches that concluded the story were truly heartfelt and romantically adorable but failed to satisfy my want of a conflicting ending.

All forms of confrontation that arise throughout the novel are restored promptly with delicacy and politeness in order to avoid any exceedingly dramatic climax. The formation of any conflict provided me with motivation to continue on. However, I was constantly disappointed by the lack of tension between characters. This is where my enjoyment is stronger in contemporary text. Clueless accommodates for all of the catastrophic events within the story but focuses it all in one section as to create the illusion that all disaster has aroused. This interpretation is most likely due to my knowledge and understanding of a story structure. They are built with a beginning, middle and ending. Where was Austen’s middle? All the guts and juicy parts of the romance were just missing. Was this the formula for successful romance in 1815?

When I finally finished the novel I was able to establish my overall relationship with the aspects of the story. I can easily relate to Emma’s vicariousness and Harriet’s vulnerability towards love. I understand Emma’s desire to improve the lives of the people around her (as well as herself through the process). By bettering other people’s lives she is able to feel as if she has accomplished something important. In regards to Harriet, I have come to the conclusion that I connect with her character the most. This is because her misunderstanding of social structure allows her to fall in love due to her true inner emotions. She doesn’t seclude eligible bachelors because of the amount of money they earn or the status they have obtained. A major feature of the novel I was unable to see eye to eye with was the portrayal of marriage and the concept of it being the only opportunity to gain happiness. Drawing on my own personal experiences, I can accurately express that happiness can be found between two people without marriage. Austen’s belief’s and morals drift too far into ‘love follows marriage’ and ‘marriage is a title not a relationship’ in order for me to enjoy it as much as I could have otherwise.