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'Real Men Read Austen'?

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Hello and welcome back to Lady Disdain Reads. Today I discuss an article by theologian Peter Leithart titled 'Real Men Read Austen', in which he makes a case for Austen as a public theologian. Enjoy!
My video on Austen, duty and Kant:
• Duty in Jane Austen's ...
Quotations from Leithart:

‘there is a precision and lack of ornamentation’ in her prose, that makes ‘every other writer’s style seem bloated’.
‘For a Christian writer, the real challenge of life is not to puzzle the ultimate realities, but to live well in very particular social and domestic settings. The moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre discerns an Aristotelean trait in Austen’s recognition that virtues are formed, tested, and manifested within community. As Aristotle pointed out, this makes ethics a subdivision of politics - that is, it makes the question ‘What should I do?’ a sub-question under ‘What kind of community do I wish to live in, and what is my place in it’?’
‘it does not mean that there are no absolutes of right and wrong. But it does mean that the absolutes have particular applications to particular people in particular circumstances’
‘Ethics is not just about individuals seeking to live a good life or about solitary decision-making trying to achieve ethical perfection; we are simply not isolated like that.’
‘the most theologically sophisticated of English novelists’

Опубликовано:

4 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 21

@michaelwalsh1035 2 года назад

Fortunately my first exposure to Austen inoculated me against any notion that Austen was frivolous or time bound. At university an English course on the 19th century novel provided depth. Perhaps more importantly a cherished professor's offhand remarks in a political philosophy course on Xenophon (of all people) noted Austen as a writer of unique subtlety comparable to that Greek. Those elusive remarks stuck with me over many years and never allowed me to be dismissive of Austen. Thanks for the insighful videos.

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

How interesting! The way Austen is taught at university can definitely put people off. It always bugs me when she's studied as part of various 'women's writing' courses or as an example of 'Regency romance'. Glad to hear you had an insightful prof whose remarks stuck with you! And thank you for watching!

@yusuffulat6954 2 года назад

Maybe people think Austen is 'frivolous/shallow' because their only exposure to it is often the screen adaptations? Anyway, male Jane Austen enjoyer here 😎

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

Yes I think you're right! And some of the adaptations are very 'Hollywood' and overly dramatic! Glad to see a male Austen fan and thank you for watching!!

@ArtBookshelfOdyssey Год назад

Great video, and this is a topic I feel very strongly about! I'll have to look up the article. Jane Austen has stories that we all can enjoy and learn from. From social commentary to character examinations, she is so incredibly insightful. One of my favorite authors!

@Abel-ec6ch 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for this video! I will be looking up more of those articles you mentioned!

@tymanung6382 2 года назад

You have very insightfully discussed Jane A usten philosophical and theological nackgrounds. Next, could you please explain how these influence her pro women s rights,.anti slavery etc views on major issues in her society and time?

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

Ah! My next video will be on Wollstonecraft, feminism and motherhood, so coming soon!

@maryhamric 2 года назад

I really enjoyed this video. This confirms everything I see in Austen in regards to her being a public theologian. I personally have found so much theology and what it means to live a Christian life in her novels. I find them encouraging in my own spiritual life in highly significant ways. I just started reading Jane Austen -The Parson's Daughter and I am really enjoying it. Thank you for the recommendation!

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

I'm so glad you're enjoying the Irene Collins book! I can't believe her work on Austen is so little known these days, as she was such an accomplished historian! Thank you for watching!

@avlisdreams3427 2 года назад

The great thing about Austen is that she is never preach-y. She does have a very strong base in morality and virtues, but she knew standards are based on the ideal and not on reality. That's why none of her characters is without a fault and all of them have to lean a lot. I really hold her work (and Little Women by Alcott) in a way as a guidebook how to read people and situations around me as well as myself and how to navigate life in our modern world- because everything she describes about human nature still exists.

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

Agreed!

@doctorjenny 2 года назад

Interesting take! How do you think the Anglican Church (which dominated) truly influenced life in Austen times, compared to how it stands now?

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

The clergy at the time was often reliant on wealthy patrons, and often members of the gentry became clergymen themselves. This means that the clergy was tightly weaved into the economic and social structure of society. Not to mention you had to be an Anglican to attend Oxford or Cambridge (the only two universities at the time), so education factored into it as well! Although not everyone would have been devout, the expectation of basic adherence to Anglicanism would have been there, which it certainly isn't today!

@doctorjenny 2 года назад

@@beatrixscudeler which is presumably why Mr Elton gave himself such airs! Of course the church was Established and hence respectable..but also, dependant on patronage for individuals like Mr Collins, and even Edward Ferrars . Not a great income in most livings, but at least better than nothing, for him! He could only have his chosen career path when his brother took over the eldest son position though. Still as far as I can see a matter of social position…and no mention of vocation or ‘a calling’ anywhere! I think you are Italian? How would you say it compares with the position of Catholic priests there? JA had a way of ignoring some things she didn’t like..as for instance what the Militia were going to do when the had stopped providing dancing partners, or the fact she lost a great uncle in the French Revolution, or indeed had a relative who came out to India(according to Carol Shields biography)

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

@@doctorjenny you are right that becoming a member of the clergy was considered a respectable job rather than a vocation or calling (at least in Austen's novels). Edmund Bertram seems to have somewhat more of a vocation for the priesthood, however. Still, Irene Collins' books on Austen and Anglicanism (which are so well researched!) make the argument that most clergymen were expected to uphold Christian values in their day to day lives, setting an example for everyone else. In Jane Austen's own family, prayer and church attendance were expected, and it seems that at least her father and her brother Frank were rather devout. Yes I am Italian indeed! With regards to Catholic priests - even Italy these days has become quite secular, but I will say that in the kind of rural village like the one I grew up in the Church still has a strong presence, and the local priest tends to have influence over parishioners simply because it's much easier for priests to know everyone well in smaller communities. Celibacy for Catholic priests also means that they don't have a family to look after, so more time on their hands to spend with parishioners!

@doctorjenny 2 года назад

@@beatrixscudeler good reminders..yes education. Presumably the actual theologians would have been the academics who taught the future vicars. I wonder of Wickham would have been allowed to proceed as he had intended into the church? We’re there any moral standards? One gets a more complete picture of the clergy in Barchester Towers, the Trollope books on the Anglican Church, but even there position and patronage is important.

@beatrixscudeler 2 года назад

@@doctorjenny that's right, I think a lot of the theologians were in Oxford and Cambridge teaching. Of course clergy who got married could no longer be fellows at Oxford or Cambridge, meaning that they had to choose between an academic career and a family. I have not read Barchester Towers, but have wanted to for a long time!