Monday, September 4, 2017

The day I was rebuked by Jane Austen



During my recent read of Mansfield Park (review is here), I noticed a curious omission. Although Edmund Bertram is the hero of the story, Jane Austen rarely (if ever) described his appearance. Since it's a fairly thick novel, I started wondering if this was deliberate on her part. Otherwise the occasional accidental reference to his thick hair, bright eyes or sweet smile might have slipped through. After all, she described his party-boy older brother Tom, not to mention the rakish playboy Henry Crawford. But although Edmund made the heroine Fanny Price's heart flutter, it was always for his acts of generosity or statements of moral worth. We get the picture, he's a good man with sound principles.

Yet I'm the sort of person who likes to picture scenes playing out before me, a bit like a movie screen, while I read. I had to give him some sort of presence, because he can't be invisible. Other readers have mentioned that they find Edmund a bit wishy-washy and colourless, and I wonder if it's partly because they've been given nothing to go on when it comes to the space he fills. Since we're left to make up our own minds about his looks, I decided to imagine him fairly cute. After all, two girls were deeply in love with him throughout the whole story.

Then about three quarters through the book, Jane Austen gives us something at last! It's a line from Mary Crawford, in a letter to Fanny. 'Lord Stornaway isn't so very ill-looking, but he will not pass by the side of your cousin Edmund.' Eureka, I was right and Edmund is nice looking. I even cheered softly to myself. Mary Crawford isn't depicted as the most principled character, but we can always rely on her to get to the point many women want to know. Thank you Mary!

But a few pages later, Fanny is ticking Mary off in her thoughts 'for thinking only of his appearance.' Since Fanny is so often the mouthpiece for her author, it's pretty obvious that a ticking off from Fanny is a ticking off from Jane. Ooops, I get it, sorry. Forget my vocal applause from ten minutes ago. It really felt as if our beloved Jane Austen had reached back through the centuries to give me a rap on the knuckles for being shallow. It was a strange sensation that made me laugh, but also feel a bit sheepish.

I remembered several years ago, when I was writing a novel of my own called The Risky Way Home. My editor sometimes scribbled in the margins, 'You're focusing too much on his looks and not enough on his character.' I wonder if Jane Austen was deliberately doing the opposite with Edmund, just to make her point about the most important feature of a person. We can only guess. But I won't forget the way she seemed to speak back through the centuries at that moment to say, 'Get your priorities straight, girl.'


But I'm going to speak up in self defense here, because I have one advantage over Jane Austen. She's been dead since the nineteenth century, so I can have the last word. There are excellent reasons why I think it is important to describe a hero's appearance. As I said above, I like to have some sort of inner reference for the moving picture that plays in my imagination while I'm reading. If the author doesn't give me one, I'll make up my own, because I can't help it.

But more importantly, having an idea of what a character looks like helps us not to be overly swayed by such things. If a writer gives her characters inner beauty which shines through, then we're naturally going to love them whether they're described as attractive or plain featured. And then, we're more likely to approach people out in the real world the same way, regardless of their shape or size. It wouldn't surprise me if readers of fiction, who have come across many different looking faces in the pages of books, are quickest to see through to a person's inner essence. We are most likely not to fall for someone's ravishing appearance until we get to know them, and also most likely to see actual beauty where others might not. So there Jane, maybe in some ways, considering a character's appearance is a sign of depth rather than shallowness.

My advice to authors would always be not to go overboard with physical descriptions as if it's the most important thing, but do give us something to go on, just to help give us a feel for the character. I'd love to know where you stand on the question. How important is it to you that authors describe what their characters look like? And if they don't, do you tend to fill in the blanks?




10 comments:

  1. Love this post. When I read Austen, it's hard not to think of movie adaptations...for better or worse.

    I'm not one who pays a lot of attention to how characters are described. And I've read a lot of books where the author repetitively describes appearances which is super annoying. It isn't just heroes either. One of my pet peeves is when villains are picked on...like every time a villain is mentioned saying what big lips he had...or something like that.

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    1. Hi Becky,
      Lol, I know exactly what you mean about the villains, especially in some of the older stories, with their warts and all. If you can't look like Aladdin you must look like Jafar, and his looks reflect his character, poor guy. I think when we look at it like this, Jane Austen was on the right end of the spectrum 😊

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  2. An absolutely lovely post! What an interesting thing to discover! I am like Becky, I do not pay too much attention to character descriptions, if they ARE described, it is probably the thing I forget first :O. However, descriptions are very important in Austen so it is interesting to see that she only said that of Edmund! I think you have hit the nail on the head with the reason why, clearly Fanny has strong views on the subject. I am currently re-reading Persuasion and have noticed just how much Sir Walter is fixated on looks. Jane Austen makes him appear very shallow indeed! Wonderful blog post, really enjoyed this one :)

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    1. Hi Jaymi,
      Yes, Sir Walter was just the sort of person Austen used to rip to shreds! I love how she depicted him sitting there with his peerage Gazette, the only reading matter he ever bothered with, 😂 Yes, that's a very clear statement from JA, and I guess we don't get characters further apart in their outlook than Fanny Price and Sir Walter Elliot.
      Incidentally, I love Captain Wentworth and Anne 💓

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  3. Fantastic post! Mansfield Park is my favorite Austen novel. I have never considered this angle before. Like you, I need at least a little description of the characters so I can imagine them. If I'm not given much, I fill in the blanks for myself.

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    1. Hi Nicole,
      I'm really pleased to come across somebody who calls MP their favourite, because I've found it doesn't happen often. It's up in at least the top two or three for me too. I love filling in those blanks, but still think it strange that she gave us nothing 😊 Thanks for popping by.

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  4. I don't need much description because I like to paint my own idea! But knowing if they're short or tall, dark or pale, or have something really distinctive which is visible at first glance is worthwhile. I find as an author that I'm reluctant to fill in too many details, even if I can see them, because as a reader I enjoy imagining it more.

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    1. Hi Claire, I think I'm a bit like you. Just enough to tantalise us and help boost start our imaginations, but not enough to totally hem them in. Besides, that way it get difficult to find cover models and/or actors for people who want to go that way 😊

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  5. I like being given clues of what people look like throughout the story as people interact, and I piece together in my mind what they look like. Eg: he pulled at his dark hair, her blue eyes flashed angrily at him, that sort of thing. And very specific descriptions too in terms of the expressions on their faces, their mannerisms; enough for me to be convinced that the character is someone the author knows absolutely inside and out.

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    1. I agree with your sentiments completely 😊 These things needn't even be long and descriptive but just little hints and references along the way, as you say. As it seems so easy for an author to include, I was wondering if JA made a special point of not doing it, since for Edmund there was nothing. But we can't go back and ask her now.

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