In this episode, we read chapters 27 to 31 of Emma. We talk about the entwined group of people who visit one another, how so many scenes read differently the second time through, Miss Bates’s monologues, Jane and the piano, reactions to the plan of having a ball, and Emma encouraging Harriet to stop thinking about Mr Elton.
The character we discuss is Harriet Smith, and Ellen talks about illegitimacy. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 1995 modernisation Clueless.
Also, we are now on Instagram, at reading_jane_austen.
Things we mention:
General discussion:
- John Mullan, What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (2012)
Character discussion:
- Edith Lank, ‘“The word was blunder”: Who was Harriet Smith’s Mother?‘ Persuasions 7, 1985: 14-15
- Helena Kelly, Jane Austen, the Secret Radical (2016)
Historical discussion:
- Max Weber (1864-1920)
- Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens (2011)
- Christine Kenyon Jones, ‘Ambiguous Cousinship: Mansfield Park and the Mansfield Family‘ Persuasions On-line 31 (1), 2010
- BBC, Olivia Colman episode of Who Do You Think You Are (2018), Season 15, Episode 2
Popular culture discussion:
- Main version considered:
- Paramount Pictures, Clueless (1995) – starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd
- Other 1990s/2000s high school films based on classic literature
- 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), based on The Taming of the Shrew
- Cruel Intentions (1999), based on Les Liaisons dangereuses
- She’s All That (1999), based on Pygmalion / My Fair Lady
- O (2001), based on Othello
- She’s the Man (2006), based on Twelfth Night
- Easy A (2010), based on The Scarlet Letter
Creative commons music used:
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
- Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
- Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
- Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major. File originally from Musopen.
First time commenter, love the podcast!!
When it comes to Josh’s age in Clueless, he is at least confirmed to be a freshman at university. At one point Cher quips at him “freshman psych rears its ugly head” and he says that he’s not taking psych. So he’s probably 18 or an early 19 at the oldest. Still more of an age gap than strictly ideal at that age, but they were at least in high school at the same time. A good bit better than if he were a 20 year old junior!