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Jane Austen's Work As Popular Culture Phenomenon

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Jane Austen's Work As Popular Culture Phenomenon Jane Austen's Work as Popular Culture Phenomenon Bartolović, Ana Master's thesis / Diplomski rad 2012 Degree Grantor / Ustanova koja je dodijelila akademski / stručni stupanj: Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences / Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Filozofski fakultet Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:142:699412 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-10-02 Repository / Repozitorij: FFOS-repository - Repository of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Osijek Sveučilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku Filozofski fakultet Diplomski studij povijesti i engleskog jezika i književnosti Ana Bartolović Jane Austen's Work as Popular Culture Phenomenon Diplomski rad Mentor: doc. dr. sc. Biljana Oklopčić Osijek, 2012. Summary Jane Austen is considered to be one of the most brilliant British writers. Although she wrote only six novels, they are all highly praised and very popular. They are so popular that today one can find numerous film adaptations and fan fiction novels based on them. The first chapter deals with Austen, her life, family, relationships, and work. The second chapter is about her six novels, arranged here in the order in which they were published: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. The third chapter reviews every film adaptation based on each of the novels. The fourth chapter deals with numerous novels written in the 20th and 21st centuries that are sequels, prequels, variations, or adaptations of Austen’s novels. There is also an extensive list of all those novels divided into categories according to the title of the book on which they are based on. The fifth chapter discusses the novel The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler and its role of linking Austen with the 21st century. The first two chapters describe Austen and her work, and they can be interpreted as explanations of her popularity in today’s culture, while the last three chapters describe other people’s work that was inspired by her, which is a proof of her being a popular culture phenomenon. Keywords: Jane Austen, Jane Austen’s novels, film adaptations, fan fiction, popular culture ii Contents Introduction.....................................................................................................................................1 1. About Jane Austen.......................................................................................................................2 2. About the Novels.........................................................................................................................7 2.1. Sense and Sensibility.....................................................................................................7 2.2. Pride and Prejudice......................................................................................................9 2.3. Mansfield Park............................................................................................................12 2.4. Emma..........................................................................................................................15 2.5. Persuasion...................................................................................................................17 2.6. Northanger Abbey.......................................................................................................20 3. Film Adaptations.......................................................................................................................24 3.1. Sense and Sensibility...................................................................................................25 3.2. Looser Adaptations of Sense and Sensibility..............................................................27 3.3. Pride and Prejudice....................................................................................................28 3.4. Looser Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice...............................................................31 3.5. Mansfield Park............................................................................................................32 3.6. Emma..........................................................................................................................34 3.7. Looser Adaptations of Emma.....................................................................................38 3.8. Persuasion..................................................................................................................38 3.9. Northanger Abbey.......................................................................................................41 4. Literature Inspired by Jane Austen's Work...............................................................................44 4.1. Sense and Sensibility...................................................................................................46 4.1.1. Sequels.........................................................................................................46 4.1.2. Different Points of View and/or Retellings.................................................46 4.1.3. Adaptations in the 21st Century...................................................................46 4.2. Pride and Prejudice....................................................................................................46 4.2.1. Prequels........................................................................................................46 4.2.2. Sequels.........................................................................................................46 4.2.3. Different Points of View and/or Retellings.................................................50 4.2.4. What-ifs and/or Re-imaginings....................................................................50 4.2.5. Adaptations in the 21st Century...................................................................52 4.3. Mansfield Park............................................................................................................53 4.3.1. Sequels.........................................................................................................53 iii 4.3.2. Different Points of View and/or Retellings..................................................53 4.3.3. Adaptations in the 21st Century....................................................................53 4.3.4. Alternative Endings......................................................................................53 4.3.5. Plays.............................................................................................................53 4.4. Emma..........................................................................................................................54 4.4.1. Sequels.........................................................................................................54 4.4.2. Different Points of View and/or Retellings.................................................54 4.4.3. Adaptations in the 21st Century...................................................................54 4.4.4. Sequels from Other Points of View.............................................................54 4.4.5. Retellings of Parallel Stories........................................................................54 4.5. Persuasion..................................................................................................................55 4.5.1. Sequels.........................................................................................................55 4.5.2. Different Points of View and/or Retellings.................................................55 4.5.3. What-ifs and/or Re-imaginings....................................................................55 4.5.4. Adaptations in the 21st Century...................................................................55 4.6. Northanger Abbey.......................................................................................................55 4.6.1. Sequels.........................................................................................................55 4.6.2. Different Points of View and/or Retellings.................................................55 4.6.3. Adaptations in the 21st Century...................................................................56 4.7. Jane Austen's Fans Re-living the Novels/ Novels Inspired by Jane Austen...............56 5. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler....................................................................57 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................60 Works Cited...................................................................................................................................61 iv Introduction In this paper I will try to prove that Jane Austen is highly popular in modern culture. She was not as successful when she was alive, but after some time, people recognised her talent, her elegant style, her wit and irony, her deep knowledge of the human nature, and her beautiful and timeless stories. She wrote about ordinary people, which is always a good choice of topic since people love to identify themselves with interesting characters and see that other people have problems too. However, that is not the thing that sets Austen’s novels apart from anybody else’s. What makes her special is her dedication to her
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