The fate of a city and a writer lies not only in the literature itself, but also in the city's recognition of it. Jane Austen has recorded the city's most authentic history in the novel, so that future generations can feel the pulse of Bath society at that time.
Text/Ye Yongping
Published in the Literary Newspaper on March 28, 2024
In the 19th century, Jane Austen moved to Bath, where she wrote two "Bath novels" with her usual scathing strokes, showing many scenes of life: Anne in "Persuasion" and Catherine in "Northumber" Abbey both walked the same streets and enjoyed the same public buildings, which are still there today.
Biographer Carol Shields wrote in Jane Austen: "Bath, both in real life and in imaginary works, is part of Jane Austen's literary map, a place name, and an idea...... Jane Austen's use of Bass shows that she accurately understands the new outlook on life with money and leisure. ”
The small town of Bath
Austin has deep ties to Bath, and her experiences intersect with the fate of the city. One winter in 1802, Austin and her sister stayed at the home of their friend Sister Bigg. The Bigg sisters lived in Maniton Maneat in Bath, a large, square stone Tudor villa with more than 2,000 acres of farmland. The younger brother of the Bigg sisters, Harris, had just returned home from Oxford, and the 21-year-old proposed to Austin on a quiet winter morning. Austin agreed to Harris's proposal on the spot, but the next morning, she suddenly regretted her marriage......
Based on her life experience in Bath, she wrote the novel "Persuasion", a twisted love story that endures hardships and finally comes to fruition. The protagonist, Anne Elliott, is a young lady from an aristocratic family, who is truly in love with Wentworth, a young officer, and makes a lifelong commitment. Anne's father and godmother thought Wentworth was of humble beginnings and strongly opposed their relationship. Anne was forced to break off her romance with Wentworth, but her feelings for him remained the same. Eight years later, Colonel Wentworth returned to his hometown, and his old love with Anne was unforgettable.
With a passionate and unswerving love, Anne walked towards the Westgate Building, and there could not be a better love in the streets of Bath, which was simply sprinkled with pure fragrance along the way. This story is naturally inseparable from the environmental and social life of the city of Bath, and Austen has experienced joys and sorrows in life, and has more depth of thought and emotion than her previous works. Austin also used his own brushstrokes to walk in the city of Bath.
Austen's sudden repentance is incomprehensible, but she wrote "Northumbrie Abbey" with Bass as the background, giving the protagonist a different life. Or rather, she was painting another dream for herself. She wants to find her ideal and future in the novel.
The fate of a city and a writer lies not only in the literature itself, but also in the city's recognition of it. Austin recorded the city's most authentic history in the novel, so that future generations can touch the pulse of Bath society at that time.
In a sense, Bass is Austen's "emotional world", and she belongs to Bass.
Manuscript Editor: He Jing New Media Editor: Zhang Yingying
Picture: Data map
i: iwenxuebao
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