Monday, June 21, 2010

Anticipation: You are Just Lovely

Upon completing my third year as a teacher, I have been INCREDIBLY fortunate to receive a fellowship to travel in England to research Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. My concern with my students is that they are not gaining enough exposure to classic literature. I have certainly been guilty of teaching books full of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” in order to entice students to read (and to read with enthusiasm). I do feel a pang of guilt, however, at the thought of the disservice I am doing my students: they are missing something hugely important and indefinable when they are missing William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, etc.

I first fell in love with Jane Austen when I read Persuasion as a senior in high school. It was the only book written by a female that we were assigned that year. Prior to reading it, my best friend told me that I would truly appreciate it because of the steadfastness the heroine demonstrated in times of heartbreak. At the time, I was heartbroken; of course now I can't remember who broke my heart. I was probably being something of a dramatic teenager (no offense students).

After reading Persuasion, I found that my dear friend was right: I adore(d) Anne Elliot. She is subtly strong and patient in experiencing hardship, mistreatment, and heartbreak throughout the novel. I think the only other literary character I admire more is Atticus Finch. I was amazed to know that a character who would've been living in the early 1800s could have such an important life lesson to teach her readers in the early 21st century. Without saying too much about the novel, Anne's lessons are clear: love the person you are for who you are, and always follow your heart.

My admiration of the Brontes has been a more prolonged development. I first read Jane Eyre when I was 12. Although I understood the content and enjoyed what I read, I could not fully or appropriately appreciate the novel until my freshman year of college. I took a British Literature course with an amazing professor who brilliantly elucidated just how ground-breaking the novel was. Charlotte Bronte wrote about a financially independent and educated heroine; women like this were incredibly few and far between in that time. "Independence" was a foreign concept for Bronte's contemporaries, who had to rely on either their father or husband's money to survive.

As we often see, art imitates life. Austen and the Bronte sisters struggled in finding love and in finding their voice. Their outlet became their writing, and they were brave enough to take a leap of faith in publishing their work during a time when women were rarely respected or given opportunities to gain respect. Even though women are "liberated" now, there is still headway to be made and respect that should be demanded.

My hope is that by seeing the source of Austen and Bronte’s inspiration, and understanding the experiences from which they were writing, I might be better equipped to relay the intent of those great works of art. After all, the themes expressed by those writers resonate for all of us today: you should never settle when it comes to love, you should not succumb to societal (or family) pressures when choosing who to love, and you should not feel limited by class or wealth when choosing who to love. Those women were brave enough to express what their contemporaries rarely did, and it was that courage that aided the creation of timeless classics.

Now that school is out for the summer I am able to spend an extensive amount of time planning for my three week trek across the United Kingdom. I have spent literally entire days researching the towns where I will be traveling. I think it is safe to say that it has become an obsession. If I didn’t already seem like a hugely enthusiastic nerd for taking this trip, my obsession will surely take me to the next level. When I say obsessed I mean that my pulse quickened at the thought of seeing the ruins of the farmhouse that may have been the inspiration for Cathy Earnshaw’s home in Wuthering Heights. I was thrilled to learn that I can ride horse back through the moors that are so brilliantly described in the novel.

Should any of us ever be lucky enough to live in the hometowns of Jane Austen and/or the Brontes, we could take advantage of the re-enactments of the novels performed in period clothing. Amazing! Future students be forewarned: this may prove to be a project for next year! Perhaps a modern interpretation of the Anne Elliot/Captain Wentworth romance?

Oh and my accommodations? Funny you should ask – I’m staying at the most adorable bed and breakfast inns that you could ever imagine! I’m staying at a B&B in Alton (near Austen’s birthplace and home) that was formerly a church (and is over 200 years old). I’m staying at a hotel in Southampton where – drum roll please – Jane Austen celebrated her 18th birthday! Supposedly there have been some ghostly sightings there.

I am two weeks away from my departure date and I can hardly contain myself! I am anxiously excited about taking this trip alone. I have been called a social butterfly as I am constantly surrounded by friends and/or family, and I can’t help but think what a great opportunity this will be to have some me time to fully embrace the experience. More to follow!