Sensibility’s Double Take: René Girard’s "Two Audiences" and Jane Austen’s Gospel Hermeneutic
Jane Austen offers an outrageous satire of “sensibility” in her teenage burlesque Love and Freindship, then a more realistic treatment in Sense and Sensibility. Thus, two markedly divergent readings of Sense and Sensibility emerge, particularly regarding Marianne Dashwood, a serious one and a satiri...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Anthropoetics
Year: 2021, Volume: 27, Issue: 1 |
| Further subjects: | B
René Girard
B Mimesis B Jane Austen B generative anthropology B Mimetic Theory B mensonge romantique B méconnaissance |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Jane Austen offers an outrageous satire of “sensibility” in her teenage burlesque Love and Freindship, then a more realistic treatment in Sense and Sensibility. Thus, two markedly divergent readings of Sense and Sensibility emerge, particularly regarding Marianne Dashwood, a serious one and a satirical one, and they are not easily reconciled. This “double effect” resonates strongly with René Girard’s premise of “two audiences,” wherein the literary masters both reveal and obscure mimetic truth. Yet Girard’s “two audiences” premise is hobbled by a certain expository arrogance, which has also been critiqued by Richard van Oort. Austen’s double effect in Sense and Sensibility might offer a valuable corrective to Girard, while preserving and extending his mimetic insights. Marianne exemplifies Girard’s mensonge romantique (romantic lie) and méconnaissance (misrecognition), which come to apply to many more characters than Marianne, and ultimately to ourselves as readers. However, contra Girard, this does not mean that there is a “dull” audience that doesn’t get Austen and a “clever” one that does. Instead, Austen entangles all readers in problematic interpretations, facilitating moral engagement and introspection. Since this is also an effect of the gospel narratives (here I follow the biblical exegesis of Jeremiah Alberg), Austen’s double effect operates as a “gospel hermeneutic.” Interestingly, generative anthropology (GA) and mimetic theory create their own “two audiences” effect with Sense and Sensibility. GA leans toward the “serious” reading and mimetic theory toward the “satirical.” I hope that in exploring Austen’s “double effect” I can bring out the best in both perspectives. |
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| Physical Description: | 24 |
| ISSN: | 1083-7264 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Anthropoetics
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