Art and Artifact in Austen by Battigelli Anna;
Author:Battigelli, Anna;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Delaware Press
Harriet has preserved a valueless itemâa remnant of the plaister from which Mr. Elton cut a piece to bandage his fingerâas a relic of his body, placing it on cotton and significantly encasing it not only in expensive silver paper but in a tourist trinket. Tunbridge-ware items, like Battersea boxes, were commercially produced, small vessels made from inlaid wood, sometimes decorated with scenes from Tunbridge Wells, and sold as holiday souvenirs of the resort. Here, Harrietâs possession highlights the complementarity between her sentimentality and mass-produced memories, both manipulated by a cynical market. The remnant of the plaster that Mr. Elton applied to his finger at Emmaâs suggestion testifies ironically to womenâs role as nurse and home-healer in this world of commodified feeling. Harrietâs box also contains a leadless pencil stub once held by Mr. Elton. This item again parodies sentimental artifacts since its utility as a writing instrument vanishes into its meaning as Eltoniana, a sentimental relic of Elton, with the further innuendo of impotence.
A number of things in Austenâs works hold sexual connotations. Harrietâs box, like the cabinet holding a laundry list that Catherine Morland locks in her attempt to open, suggests female enclosure, and both hold worthless items. By contrast, Robert Ferrarsâs richly jeweled case for his toothpick signals masculine overcompensation. Scissors appear frequently as instruments of sexual destruction: like Popeâs Baron, Willoughby uses them to cut Marianneâs lock, kisses the lock, folds âit up in a piece of white paper,â and puts it âinto his pocket-bookâ (S&S, 71). The pressing of hair and flowers between the pages of favorite volumes or other receptacles that could be carried on the body was a sentimental custom, but here it hints at Willoughbyâs desire to possess Marianne sexually, even to carry her off. The same object thus signals both Willoughbyâs aggressive male sexuality and the hazards of Marianneâs sensibility. Similarly, when Edward arrives to explain Lucyâs marriage to Robert and propose to Elinor, he takes up âa pair of scissars that lay there . . . spoiling both them and their sheath by cutting the latter to pieces as he spoke,â the mutual spoliation symbolizing the severance of his burdensome relationship with Lucy and the possibility of his new relationship with Elinor (407). While purportedly instruments of womenâs work, these scissors hold traditional sexual associations that underscore the dangers posed to women by both domestic life and sexual activity.27
The prevalence of scissors in womenâs âworkâ throughout Austenâs novels hints at the rich revelation of female character offered by such work. This work includes such accomplishments as screen-painting, netting, crocheting, embroidery, and making clothes, and may serve to reveal moral strength, to protect women in uncomfortable circumstances by providing an occupation, or, less benignly, to advertise feminine virtue. Georgiana Darcy, for example, drafts designs for a decorative tablecloth in Pride and Prejudice, and her skill testifies to her refinement. Such items function as both material âaccomplishmentsâ and indices of character and morals. Though Georgiana is admirable, other characters expose less admirable character through their work.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
The Japanese by Christopher Harding(777)
Watercolor With Me in the Forest by Dana Fox(580)
The Story of the Scrolls by The Story of the Scrolls; the M(548)
This Is Modern Art by Kevin Coval(453)
A Theory of Narrative Drawing by Simon Grennan(445)
Frida Kahlo by Frida Kahlo & Hayden Herrera(441)
Boris Johnson by Tom Bower(436)
Banksy by Will Ellsworth-Jones(430)
AP Art History by John B. Nici(423)
Van Gogh by Gregory White Smith(419)
Draw More Furries by Jared Hodges(418)
Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art From Egypt to Star Wars by Camille Paglia(414)
The Art and Science of Drawing by Brent Eviston(413)
Scenes From a Revolution by Mark Harris(406)
War Paint by Woodhead Lindy(406)
100 Greatest Country Artists by Hal Leonard Corp(386)
Ecstasy by Eisner.;(383)
Young Rembrandt: A Biography by Onno Blom(367)
Theater by Rene Girard(350)