Austen 7

Session 7: 20/01 The miniature and

the microcosm (two inches of ivory)
 Good miniature (modest, true, thrifty,
contained, intricate object) vs. bad small minds
(parochial, vain)
17/18 Edward Ferrars mother wants aggrandizement for
her son whose world is too modest and small.
20: modest number of servants living small to live in a
small way
21: High flown style of sublime and more modest
appreciation of things (Marianne criticises Edward for not
being more sweeping and extreme in his response to the
world. Instead down-to-earth and liking small things; small
pleasures.
25. Narrow compass of the Middletons.. Small visions
34 Sir John small mind and world. Says Willoughby is
good shot and has a nice bitch
41: propriety and self-command
 Cont/
96. Small mind of Lucy Steele
113. To begin in a small way. Fortunes made by lower
classes in poorer areas like Mr. Jennings. She has
moved up in society.
148: the wine good sense and good housekeeping.
South Africa
165. Toothpick case small item 2 inches of ivory
small trinket and vanity of this vs beauty of the small
object of Austens fiction;
171: small mind of John Dashwood thinking only of
money and income and who inherits what..
188-89: Ferrars and his insults to Elinor
 Large narratives vs. small hidden or
embedded narratives
51: selfish motives of those who live for their own
small pleasures: failed excursion to Whitwell and
disappointment. Brandon dealing with larger concerns
life and death. Tragic story of Eliza will later be
contrasted with small lives of the others.
155. Colonel Brandons story and how the small are
exploited a small tragedy.
252: miniature narratives and small side stories voice
over/ voix off. Brandons story and Willoughbys.
Stories of the past told as cameo narrative in a few
pages as opposed to the larger story of the novel.
 Large distances, small distances: city
vs village/the Empire vs England,
The scale and scope of Jane Austens novels (see maps
of Franco Moretti and the smallness of Southern
England) and the smallness of the scope of social
classes shown to readers
Norland great but Barton small Delaford local,
miniature and parochial world.
39: Empire vs. English provinces (small compass of
Austens novels see Franco Morettis maps). Mention
of India. Oblique reference to Napoleonic wars
169: Enclosures of Norland Common when the wide
and open is divided and made into small units.
 Small facts lead to large truths
Micro-gestures with macrocosmic consequences (errors of
details of education in girls and boys/errors of the fathers
who misjudge their off-spring)
Willoughby never said the magic words to Marianne a
mere detail? One small omission or occlusion with huge
consequences.
60-61: Not a syllable has been said to say that they are
engaged says Elinor. But mother says that it is so obvious
they are in love. But Elinor says she knows that the words
have to be actually said ad shared. Small fact but vital. In
Ang Lee film this is emphasized by the conversation when
Elinor says Did he say he loved you? and Marianne says
yes and then no, and says that he never actually said the
words.
151. Delayed letters letters dont keep up with the speed
of events. (Lacan and Edgar Poes The Purloined letter
never arrive at their destination on time come too late)
 The myth of the small and bucolic
fantasy of simplicity of the life of the poor in the eyes of the upper classes
with wealth
37: picturesque beauty is a bourgeois construct: appreciated by those who
do not work on the land but merely contemplate it (see Romanticisms
love of nature indulged in mostly by city dwellers). John Clare is an
exception (country labourer and poet).
55. Discourse of Willoughby on cottage as small and cute. Sweet, prosaic
image of a small house (Marie-Antoinette vision of the country and
simplicity fantasy of the small lives of others). Notion of quaintness as a
small ness. Condescension of privileged to less fortunate or blatant
misunderstanding of hardship.
70. Romantic excess of Marianne.
74. Mockery from Edward. Small worlds nation of shopkeepers?
Mercantile and empiricist?
188-89: Robert Ferrars and his insults to Elinor (see how well this is shown
in Ang Lees film
 Miniature worlds/smallness and
containment in Austens aesthetics
Quotation from Austens letter to her brother
about her two-inches of ivory.
Brush strokes, needlework and domestic art
(baking a sponge)
Delicacy and lightness of touch make Austens
work take on a dolls house feel. Small world and
restricted class arena. Unthreatening and
childlike at first glance.
A female and reduced world in diction and
viewpoint
 Dissertation: Austen describes her work in a letter to her
nephew Edward as the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on
which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after
much labour .
Discuss with reference to novel and film

Introduction in 3 steps:
Preamble (explore title looking at the
connotations of the words used. Why is the
title and its words important for Jane Austen
and for S&S? Add a quote, ask questions)
Problmatique or argument
Announce your plan
 Preamble of introduction, exploration of the
connotations of the words in title:

() dear Edward () What should I do with your

strong, manly, spirited Sketches, full of Variety & Glow?
How could I possibly join them on to the little bit
(two Inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine
a Brush, as produces little effect after much labour?"
(1816)
hand-painted "miniatures" on ivory - her meticulous
and detailed perceptions of a smaller, more confined
realm of experiencevs the broad canvas of Scotts
novels. Such authors use a telescope to bring far places
near. Austen uses a microscope used in her small part
of England to reveal truths about human nature
 Preamble : quotes and questions
OR ten ivory panels joined at the top left corner - you
could write on it with a pen or pencil, adding your
sentences or paragraphs as you wished. You could wipe
it clean after transferring your text to paper.
The little bit (two inches wide) of ivory - was a
pocket diary that was made of sheafs of slats of ivory
bound together. The owner would write little notes to
herself in pencil, which could later be erased after
being transferred to a more permanent medium.
See also said that her novels were about four or five
families in a country village. Romantic novels were on
the grand scale, what Walter Scott referred to as the
big Bow-wow strain, small in scope and on an
intimate scale
 Brass and Ivory Pocket Notebook
These are made of sturdy brass stock with four repurposed, old
ivory piano key pages and a pencil. Use this for making notes in
the field and erase with a wet finger when you are done. Folds
up into a nice small package 1-1/8 inches by 4-1/2 inches
 Problmatique or argument
I would like to demonstrate that although
Austens scope is geographically small and her
novels are what has been called village-
bound, Sense and Sensibility is a statement
with powerful and far-reaching effects. I will
show that her delicacy of touch which is
necessary in a restricted literary form is the
source of her power and that her labour
produces writing of political steel rather than
ivory.
 Announce plan in introduction
I will firstly look at the importance of small spaces and
locations in Sense and Sensibility and how these are
shown to us both in the novel and film.
I will secondly consider the way in which small events
and omissions play major and sometimes violent roles
in the narrative and how these are translated into film.
Finally, in my third part, I will study the intricate style of
Austen, carefully planned in a microcosm so as to
produce ironic commentary on a harsh society.