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Thought experiment
Assume many of the estates in Jane Austen (the "thousands per year", dowries etc) were based in part on slavery
To what extent would that change anything for you as(/if) an Austen reader/fan?
(This is not to diss Austen, who appears to have been against)
Assume many of the estates in Jane Austen (the "thousands per year", dowries etc) were based in part on slavery
To what extent would that change anything for you as(/if) an Austen reader/fan?
(This is not to diss Austen, who appears to have been against)
(Austen's opposition can be inferred from the few times she mentions slavery, including the awkward dinner scene in Mansfield Park)
ps Jane Austen is imo the greatest writer in English language, so this is not to criticise her: she is the master
Instead, it is about where those sums of money would have actually come from for those characters and plots
Instead, it is about where those sums of money would have actually come from for those characters and plots
pps
This query prompted by @DavidOlusoga 's extraordinary documentary that showed how pervasive slave ownership was in British society at the time https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b063db18/britains-forgotten-slave-owners
This query prompted by @DavidOlusoga 's extraordinary documentary that showed how pervasive slave ownership was in British society at the time https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b063db18/britains-forgotten-slave-owners
ppps
I know there is commentary out there - including by Edward Said - so please feel free not to refer me to it
I am more interested in what you think, especially 'post-Colston' so to speak
I know there is commentary out there - including by Edward Said - so please feel free not to refer me to it
I am more interested in what you think, especially 'post-Colston' so to speak
further ps
A few encountering this thread (though not many) are responding as if this thought experiment affects the (imo incomparable) literary merits of Austen's work
Of course not
It is about whether it affects your understanding, as a reader, of the world she is describing
A few encountering this thread (though not many) are responding as if this thought experiment affects the (imo incomparable) literary merits of Austen's work
Of course not
It is about whether it affects your understanding, as a reader, of the world she is describing
Still a trickle of knee-jerk responses as if I was making a diss point about Austen's merits as a writer/artist
('I still like Gary Glitter's music' was one proud boast)
Again: it is about whether you, as a reader, now have a different understanding of the world she describes
('I still like Gary Glitter's music' was one proud boast)
Again: it is about whether you, as a reader, now have a different understanding of the world she describes
