Ri is a semes ale online / Biannual online jou nal
h p://www.pa ole uba e.unip .i
Fascicolo n. 16 / Issue no. 16
Dicemb e 2017 / Decembe 2017
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Di e o e / Edi o
Rinaldo Rinaldi (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
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Comi a o scien i ico / Resea ch Commi ee
Ma iolina Bongio anni Be ini (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
Dominique Budo (Uni e si é de la So bonne Nou elle – Pa is III)
Robe o G eci (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
Heinz Ho mann (Uni e si ä Tübingen)
Be W. Meije (Nede lands Kuns his o isch Ins i uu Fi enze / Rijksuni e si ei U ech )
Ma ía de las Nie es Muñiz Muñiz (Uni e si a de Ba celona)
Diego Saglia (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
F ancesco Spe a (Uni e si à S a ale di Milano)
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Seg e e ia di edazione / Edi o ial S a
Ma ia Elena Capi ani (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
Nicola Ca elli (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
Chia a Rolli (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
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Espe i es e ni ( ascicolo n. 16) / Ex e nal e e ees (issue no. 16)
Gioia Angele i (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
F anca Della osa (Uni e si à di Ba i Aldo Mo o)
Gillian Dow (Uni e si y o Sou hamp on)
Michael C. Game (Uni e si y o Pennsyl ania)
Michele Gue a (Uni e si à di Pa ma)
F ancesco Ma oni (Uni e si à “G. d’Annunzio” Chie i – Pesca a)
Liana Nissim (Uni e si à S a ale di Milano)
F ancesca Saggini (Uni e si à della Tuscia – Vi e bo)
Anna En iche a Soccio (Uni e si à “G. d’Annunzio” Chie i – Pesca a)
En ica Villa i (Uni e si à Ca’ Fosca i, Venezia)
Angela W igh (Uni e si y o She ield)
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P oge o g a ico / G aphic design
Jelena Radoje (Uni e si à di Pa ma) †
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Di e o e esponsabile: Rinaldo Rinaldi
Au o izzazione T ibunale di Pa ma n. 14 del 27 maggio 2010
© Copy igh 2017 – ISSN: 2039-0114
INDEX /
CONTENTS
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Special Jane Aus en
AUSTEN RE-MAKING AND
RE
-
MADE
.
QUOTATION
,
INTERTEXTUALITY AND
REWRITING
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Edi o s Eleono a Cap a and Diego Saglia
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Aus en in he Second Deg ee: Ques ions and Challenges
DIEGO SAGLIA (Uni e si à di Pa ma) 3-11
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The Anonymous Jane Aus en: Duelling Canons
EDWARD COPELAND (Pomona College – Cla emon ) 13-39
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“Comedy in i s Wo s Fo m”? Seduced and Seduc i e He oines
in “A Simple S o y”, “Lo e ’s Vows”, and “Mans ield Pa k”
CARLOTTA FARESE (Uni e si à di Bologna) 41-56
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Bi s o I o y on he Sil e Sc een: Aus en in Mul imodal
Quo a ion and T ansla ion
MASSIMILIANO MORINI (Uni e si à di U bino Ca lo Bo) 57-81
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Remedia ing Jane Aus en h ough he Go hic: “P ide and P ejudice
and Zombies”
SERENA BAIESI (Uni e si à di Bologna) 83-99
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Re isi ing “P ide and P ejudice”: P. D. James’s
“Dea h Comes o Pembe ley”
PAOLA
P
ARTENZA
(Uni e si à “G. d’Annunzio” Chie i – Pesca a) 101-122
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P. R. Moo e-Dewey’s “P egiudizio e O goglio”: An I alian
Remake o Jane Aus en’s “P ide and P ejudice”
ELEONORA CAPRA (Uni e si à di Pa ma) 123-142
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Rec ea ing Jane: “Aus enland” and he Regency Theme Pa k
M
ADDALENA
P
ENNACCHIA
(Uni e si à di Roma T e) 143-154
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W i ing in he Shadow o “P ide and P ejudice”: Jo Bake ’s
“Longbou n”
OLIVIA MURPHY (Mu doch Uni e si y – Pe h) 155-169
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Reading he Aus en P ojec
PENNY GAY (Uni e si y o Sydney) 171-193
MATERIALI / M
ATERIALS
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James F aze , il cinema e “The Mos Dange ous Game”
D
OMITILLA
CAMPANILE (Uni e si à di Pisa) 197-208
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Jeux e enjeux in e ex uels dans “Le Soleil ni la mo
ne peu en se ega de en ace” de Wajdi Mouawad
SIMONETTA VALENTI (Uni e si à di Pa ma) 209-233
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Re-membe ing he Ba d : Da id G eig’s and Liz Lochhead’s
Re- isiona y Reminiscences o “The Tempes ”
MARIA ELENA CAPITANI (Uni e si à di Pa ma) 235-250
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LIBRI DI LIBRI / BOOKS OF
BOOKS
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[ ecensione – e iew]‘Open access’ e scienze umane. No e su di usione
e pe cezione delle i is e in a ea umanis ica, a cu a di Luca Scalco,
Milano, Ledizioni, 2016
A
LBERTO
S
ALARELLI
253-257
Pa ole Ruba e / Pu loined Le e s
h p://www.pa ole uba e.unip .i
Fascicolo n. 16 / Issue no. 16 – Dicemb e 2017 / Decembe 2017
CARLOTTA FARESE
“COMEDY IN ITS WORST FORM”?
SEDUCED AND SEDUCTIVE HEROINES IN
“A SIMPLE STORY”, “LOVERS’ VOWS”,
AND “MANSFIELD PARK”
1. Two no els and a play
The in e ex ual ela ionship be ween Jane Aus en’s Mans ield Pa k
(1814) and he Ge man play Das Kind de Liebe by Augus on Ko zebue
(1790), adap ed by Elizabe h Inchbald in o Lo e s’ Vows (1798), has been
he objec o in ense c i ical sc u iny in he las yea s. The ole o he
hea icals wi hin he no el, he co espondence be ween he hemes and
cha ac e s o he h ee ex s, Aus en’s a i ude owa ds he hea e in
gene al, and his amously con o e sial play in pa icula , ha e been
discussed a leng h.1 Howe e , hese issues ha e only occasionally been
1 See G. Kelly, Reading Aloud in “Mans ield Pa k”, in “Nine een h-Cen u y
Fic ion”, XXXVII, June 1982, pp. 29-49; C. Pedley, “Te i ic and Unp incipled
Composi ions”: The Recep ion o “Lo e s’ Vows” and “Mans ield Pa k”, in

Pa ole Ruba e / Pu loined Le e s
42
examined in he con ex o a possible, mo e gene al ela ionship o he
wo k o Elizabe h Inchbald. This pape will ake p ecisely his app oach,
ocusing in pa icula on he links connec ing Inchbald’s i s no el A
Simple S o y (1791), Lo e ’s Vows and Mans ield Pa k. I will a gue ha
many aspec s o Aus en’s no el ecall A Simple S o y, and I will show how
b inging his no el in o he pic u e would enhance ou unde s anding o
Aus en’s in e ex ual p ac ices and shed new ligh on he ways in which she
engages wi h he sou ces o ques ion and e ise he hema ic, ideological,
and o mal ea u es o di e en gen es.2 The ‘ iangula ’ ela ionship
be ween Mans ield Pa k, Lo e s’ Vows, and A Simple S o y mo es ac oss
he bounda y be ween no elis ic and d ama ic w i ing, allows o a new
unde s anding o he con as be ween he wo he oines o Mans ield Pa k,
and con i ms ecen c i ical in e p e a ions sugges ing ha Aus en’s a i ude
migh be mo e adical hen en isaged by adi ional eadings o he wo k.
When Lo e s’ Vows was s aged o he i s ime a Co en Ga den –
on 11 Oc obe 1798 – i gained an unexpec ed iumph. The popula i y o
he play was immedia e, sp ead all o e England, and las ed well un il
1815. Howe e , i s success was in ac coun e balanced by a la ge numbe
o a acks and nega i e e iews ha depic ed he play as mo ally and
“Philological Qua e ly”, LXXIV, Summe 1995, pp. 297-316; P. Gay, Thea icali y
and he Thea icals in “Mans ield Pa k”, in “Pe suasions: The Jane Aus en Jou nal”,
17, 1995, pp. 121-129; P. By ne, Jane Aus en and he Thea e, London, Hambledon and
London, 2002; P. Gay, Jane Aus en and he Thea e, Camb idge, Camb idge Uni e si y
P ess, 2002; E. G. S anley, Jane Aus en’s “Mans ield Pa k” and Ko zebue’s “Das Kind
de Liebe”, “Lo e s’ Vows”: “ ha we should ha e such a scene o play!?”, in “A chi
ü das S udium de neue en Sp achen und Li e a u en, CCXLII, 2005, pp. 300-317; S.
Allen Fo d, I Is All Abou “Lo e s’ Vows”: Ko zebue, Inchbald, and he Playe s o
“Mans ield Pa k”, in “Pe suasions. The Jane Aus en Jou nal On-Line”, XXVII, Win e
2006, web add ess www.jasna.o g/pe suasions/ on-line/ ol27no1/ o d.h m; C. Fa ese,
F om Ge man in o English, om No el in o Play: “Lo e s’ Vows” and “Das Kind de
Liebe”, in The Languages o Pe o mance in B i ish Roman icism, edi o s L. M.
C isa ulli and C. Pie opoli, Be n, Pe e Lang, 2008, pp. 201-217.
2 See C. Fa ese, Elizabe h Inchbald: scandalo e con enzione. Romanzo e ea o
nell’Inghil e a della Reggenza, Roma, A acne, 2012, pp. 75-107.
Ca lo a Fa ese, “Comedy in i s Wo s Fo m”? Seduced and Seduc i e He oines
43
poli ically ques ionable, especially o he p esence o Amelia, a he oine
who is in lo e wi h he u o Anhal , a P o es an minis e o whom she will
e en ually ge ma ied.3 Al hough oday i migh be di icul o us o
unde s and why his seemingly ha mless play caused such a iolen
eac ion, I would a gue ha Inchbald’s con empo a ies we e no en i ely
mis aken in denouncing i s adical ea u es. In pa icula , he e is an aspec
o he play ha seems o su pass in daun lessness Inchbald’s no o iously
adical no els – A Simple S o y, published in 1791, and Na u e and A
published in 1796. Al hough usually labelled as Jacobin no els, hese wo
books espec he con en ions o he heme o he seduced he oine inso a
as hey show how he consequences o a ansg ession canno be bu a al,
and hei he oines pay a high p ice o hei un uly beha iou .4
2. Vindica ing he coque e: Inchbald’s Miss Milne
A Simple S o y is pa icula ly in e es ing o us as i s pa allels wi h
Lo e s’ Vows a e indeed s iking. The no el ells he lo e s o y be ween he
coque e Miss Milne and he u o Do i o h, a Ca holic p ies who – a e
ha ing inhe i ed his amily o une, ollowing he sudden dea h o his
3 See W. Rei zel, “Mans ield Pa k” and “Lo e s’ Vows”, in “Re iew o English
S udies”, IX, 36, 1933, pp. 451-456; A. Jenkins, I’ll Tell You Wha . The Li e o
Elizabe h Inchbald, Lexing on, The Uni e si y P ess o Ken ucky, 2003, p. 427; C.
Bode, “Un i o an English S age?” Inchbald’s “Lo e s’ Vows” and Ko zebue’s “Das
Kind de Liebe”, in “Eu opean Roman ic Re iew”, XVI, 3, 2005, pp. 297-309.
4 As o he ela ionship be ween Elizabe h Inchbald and English Jacobinism see
G. Kelly, The English Jacobin No el 1780-1805, Ox o d, Cla endon P ess, 1976; T. L.
Hoagwood, Elizabe h Inchbald, Joanna Baillie, and Re olu iona y Rep esen a ion in
he Roman ic Pe iod, in Rebellious Hea s. B i ish Women W i e s and he F ench
Re olu ion, Edi ed by A. C aciun and K. E. Lokke, Albany (N. Y.), S a e Uni e si y o
New Yo k P ess, 2001, pp. 293-316; A. Ga nai, Re olu iona y Imaginings in he 1790s.
Cha lo e Smi h, Ma y Robinson, Elizabe h Inchbald, Basings oke, Palg a e Macmillan,
2009; B. P. Robe son, Elizabe h Inchbald’s Repu a ion. A Publishing and Recep ion
His o y, London – New Yo k, Rou ledge, 2013.
Pa ole Ruba e / Pu loined Le e s
44
cousin – will e en ually enounce his ows and ma y he . Du ing a
p olonged absence o he husband, Miss Milne commi s adul e y and, as a
consequence, will be epudia ed and die in disg ace. He ani y and
oolishness con as wi h he beha iou o he daugh e Ma ilda, who is a
model o obedience and, in he inal pa o he no el, will eap he ewa d
o he i ue. No wi hs anding his puni i e s uc u e, Miss Milne has
always been pe cei ed by eade s as an ex emely ambiguous cha ac e . On
one hand, she lacks he “nega i e i ues o eminine p op ie y”, bu on he
o he she possesses “ he ou going ones ha anscend ha ideal –
passiona e lo e, gene osi y, wa m, eckless sympa hy”.5 In he 1791 e iew
o he book, Ma y Wolls onec a was p obably he i s o he many
eade s who no iced ha he cha ac e ’s mo al de ec s a e “so ened, o
a he g ace ully wi hd awn om no ice by he gla e o such splendid, ye
allacious i ues, as low om sensibili y”.6 In o he wo ds, Miss Milne is
a sinne whose sin is caused, and o some ex en jus i ied, by he ‘ i ues’
o passion and sensibili y; a sinne o whom he eade canno help bu eel
a s ong sympa hy, ine i ably unde mining he mo al condemna ion
sugges ed by he s uc u e o he no el. Indeed, acco ding o
Wolls onec a ’s unsympa he ic e iew, he posi i e desc ip ion o he
“ ain” and “giddy”7 Miss Milne se iously unde mined he p aisewo hy
mo al pu pose o A Simple S o y – o ad oca e he impo ance o emale
educa ion o he de elopmen o a young woman’s sel -awa eness. Bu he
no el’s dange s and limi s s igma ised by Wolls onec a we e
pa adoxically o be app ecia ed and in e p e ed as quali ies by subsequen
5 K. M. Roge s, Feminism in Eigh een h-Cen u y England, U bana, Uni e si y
o Illinois P ess, 1982, p. 198.
6 [M. Wolls onec a ], [ e iew o “A Simple S o y”], “The Analy ical Re iew o
his o y o li e a u e, domes ic and o eign, on an enla ged plan”, X, May-Augus 1791,
p. 101. 7 Ibidem.
Ca lo a Fa ese, “Comedy in i s Wo s Fo m”? Seduced and Seduc i e He oines
45
eade s. A pe cep i e Vic o ian eade like Julia Ka anagh, o ins ance,
was bewilde ed by he mode ni y and no el y o Miss Milne ’s cha ac e
and in he 1863 Biog aphical Ske ches she unde lined how “ he e is
no hing he oic abou he ”:
“She is a new woman, a ue one, a e y aul y one, in oduced o he i s ime
in he wo ld. The e had been no Miss Milne be o e his one, no such g a e ul
embodimen o woman’s ailings held ou , no o imi a ion o admi a ion, bu o a su e
and deepe eeling – sympa hy.”8
Ka anagh’s in e p e a ion is insigh ul because he li e a y alue and
he adically inno a i e na u e o he no el did no lay, as Wolls onec a
would ha e i , in he de ence o a a ional educa ion o women, bu a he
in he a icula ion o emale desi e and agency h ough he igu e o Miss
Milne , who seems o embody “ he emale sexuali y ha women w i e s o
Inchbald’s ime we e busy in denying in he in e es s o hei own
espec abili y.”9
He uncon en ional passion o he u o , who is a cle gyman and
whom she lo es “wi h all he passion o a mis ess, and wi h all he
ende ness o a wi e”,10 is s ikingly simila o he ela ionship be ween
Amelia and Anhal in Lo e s’ Vows. One could indeed say he comedy
p o ides a so o happy-ending e sion o he agic s o y old in he no el:
Amelia’s coque y and explici beha iou a e no punished; on he con a y,
she is ewa ded by he a he ’s consen o he ma iage. I A Simple S o y
o e s a con as be ween ice and i ue (i.e. be ween Miss Milne and he
daugh e Ma ilda), in Lo e s’ Vows we ind a e y di e en pa e n, as
8 J. Ka anagh, English Women o Le e s: Biog aphical Ske ches, London, Hu s
& Blacke , 1863, p. 80.
9 J. Spence , In oduc ion, in E. Inchbald, A Simple S o y, edi ed by J. M. S.
Tompkins, In oduc ion by J. Spence , Ox o d and New Yo k, Ox o d Uni e si y P ess,
1998, p. XIV.
10 E. Inchbald, A Simple S o y, ci ., p. 72.
Pa ole Ruba e / Pu loined Le e s
52
Lo e s’ Vows and h ough Lo e s’ Vows – she in ended o e e o a wo k
whose s ylis ic a ini y wi h he own has been no iced.27 A de ail ha could
sugges Aus en’s knowledge o A Simple S o y is he ac ha Emma’s M
Knigh ley desc ibes he news o Robe Ma in’s engagemen wi h Ha ie
as a “simple s o y”.28 Though in e es ing, his obse a ion does no p o ide
any solid e idence, and i is ai o acknowledge ha we canno ha e any
ce ain ies in his espec , al hough i could be a gued ha an a id eade
such as Jane Aus en, wi h a speci ic inclina ion o no els w i en by
women, was likely o come ac oss a wo k such as A Simple S o y ha
enjoyed g ea popula i y and success. Fu he mo e, he simila i ies be ween
he wo no els a e nume ous. Bo h Miss Milne and Ma y C aw o d’s
mis akes a e asc ibed i s o all o he lack o a p ope educa ion, as hey
a e said o be he p oduc o an upb inging based mo e on “ ashionable
accomplishmen s” han on “good p inciples and mo als”.29 Ano he s iking
simila i y be ween he wo no els is he p o ac ed absence o he wo
pa ia chal igu es – Lo d Elmwood-Do i o h and Si Thomas Be am –
who unde ake long jou neys in o de o look a e hei business, and in
bo h cases a el o he Wes Indies. While in A Simple S o y Lo d
Elmwood’s absence allows Miss Milne o be ay him, in Mans ield Pa k
he absence o he pa e amilias pe mi s he undis u bed mise en scene o
Lo e s’ Vows, wi h all he ansg essions and dange ous li a ions ha he
p i a e hea ical enables. I could also be a gued ha he ma iage be ween
Miss Milne and Do i o h (who enounces his ows and becomes Lo d
Elmwood ollowing he unexpec ed dea h o a cousin) seems o un old he
27 J. Spence , In oduc ion, ci . p. VII: “Inchbald’s concise, i onic na a i e s yle
an icipa es Aus en”.
28 J. Aus en, Emma, edi ed by R. C onin and D. McMillan, Camb idge,
Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2005, p. 515 (III, 18). See P. By ne, A Simple S o y. F om
Inchbald o Aus en, in “Roman icism”, V, 2, 1999, pp. 161-172.
29 Ibidem, p. 165.

Ca lo a Fa ese, “Comedy in i s Wo s Fo m”? Seduced and Seduc i e He oines
53
po en ial plo ha , in Mans ield Pa k, is sugges ed by he illness o Tom
Be am, che ished by Ma y C aw o d, and inally dis up ed by he
eco e y o he hei o Mans ield.
The e is, mo eo e , a c ucial ea u e o Mans ield Pa k ha does no
ind a pa allel in Lo e s’ Vows, bu co esponds e y closely o A Simple
S o y: he con as s uc u e which, in bo h no els, ou lines he bina y
opposi ion be ween a i uous he oine, ese ed and espec ul o
pa ia chal au ho i y (Ma ilda-Fanny), o a cha ming coque e who does no
hesi a e o iola e he ules o eminine p op ie y (Miss Milne -Ma y). This
opposi ion, which in bo h cases esul s in he punishmen o he ebellious
he oine, is (as we ha e al eady seen) comple ely absen om Lo e s’ Vows,
whe e Amelia accomplishes he designs by imposing o he a he he
choice o a u u e husband. The dialogue be ween Jane Aus en’s no el and
Lo e s’ Vows highligh s, among he many analogies, also an essen ial
di e ence be ween he wo ex s: Fanny P ice has o accep a mino ole
wi hin he s aging o Lo e s’ Vows because he p ope ole ( ha o he
i uous young woman who espec s adi ional alues and no ms) is in ac
absen o m he play. Indeed, his ole igh ully belongs o a no el like A
Simple S o y, in which Ma ilda, he exempla y daugh e o Miss Milne ,
ob ains exac ly wha Fanny will achie e in Mans ield Pa k.
Including A Simple S o y in Aus en’s in e ex ual amewo k
encou ages us o conside he possibili y ha she migh ha e compa ed he
wo pa e ns o e ed by Inchbald’s oeu e and decided o ejec ha o
Lo e s’ Vows in a ou o he a mo e pessimis ic bina y s uc u e o A
Simple S o y based on he con as be ween he wo he oines. On one side,
we ind he o icial p o agonis , Fanny P ice, p obably he leas lo ed o all
Aus en he oines because o he appa en lack o li eliness and wi ; on he
Pa ole Ruba e / Pu loined Le e s
54
o he side, we ind Ma y C aw o d, he an i-he oine, o whom, acco ding o
some c i ics, Aus en lends he ues oice.30 Exac ly, as wi h Inchbald’s
Miss Milne , Ma y solici s sympa hy om eade s despi e he e iden
aul s, and his sympa hy isks o unde mine he message con eyed by he
edi ying s uc u e o he plo in which he young woman who beha es
imp ope ly and u e s he desi e, canno bu su ende o he dull bu solidly
conse a i e Fanny.
4. The sense o an ending
O cou se, i is pe ec ly possible o gi e a mo alis ic and, as i we e,
‘ eac iona y’ eading o he s a egy I am ou lining. We could in ac hink
ha Jane Aus en migh ha e ollowed Inchbald’s pa h backwa ds, om he
play o he no el, in o de o es o e and indica e he “poli ically and
mo ally conse a i e”31 s uc u e o he con as no el, which allowed a
clea dis inc ion be ween ice, o be punished, and i ue, o be ewa ded.
Aus en would hus ha e ejec ed he seduc i e bu dange ous immo ali y o
a wo k like Lo e s’ Vows, which has o be ega ded as an example o
“comedy in i s wo s o m”.32 Howe e , his eading seems ha de o
de end in he ligh o he new in e p e a ions o Aus en’s a i ude owa ds
he hea e and ecen c i ical eadings ha end o ou line a p o ile o he
au ho ha , i no p ope ly sub e si e, is ce ainly much less conse a i e
han he one widely accep ed in he pas .33 My own sugges ion ha Amelia
30 See B. Ba aglia, La zi ella ille e a a. Pa odia e i onia nei omanzi di Jane
Aus en, Napoli, Liguo i, 2009, pp. 111-184.
31 P. Gay, Thea icali y and he Thea icals in “Mans ield Pa k”, ci ., p. 126.
32 J. Aus en, Mans ield Pa k, ci ., p. 160 (I, 14).
33 See among o he s C. L. Johnson, Women, Poli ics and he No el, Chicago and
London, The Uni e si y o Chicago P ess, 1988; D. Nokes, Jane Aus en. A Li e,
London, Fou h Es a e, 1997; C. Tui e, Roman ic Aus en, Camb idge, Camb idge
Uni e si y P ess, 2002; W. H. Galpe in, The His o ical Aus en, Philadelphia, Uni e si y
Ca lo a Fa ese, “Comedy in i s Wo s Fo m”? Seduced and Seduc i e He oines
55
unc ions as a model o bo h Fanny and Ma y seems o weaken he s ess
in adi ional in e p e a ions on he opposi ion be ween he wo he oines as
well as be ween he no el and he play, sugges ing ha bo h ela ionships
migh in ol e a high deg ee o “symme y” a he han me e con as .34
F om his new pe spec i e i would be possible o a gue ha , by making
e e ence o he no el o a Jacobin w i e whose ep esen a ion o an
ou spoken young woman is so compelling ha i con adic s he mo alis ic
message en us ed o he s uc u e o he book as a whole, Jane Aus en is
sub ly sugges ing o he eade s he na u e o he e y ideological and
ex ual s a egy she is pu suing in Mans ield Pa k.
Some c i ics ha e a gued ha , in Mans ield Pa k, Aus en a icula es
a double language: he language o he con en ional mo alis ic na a o ,
and he language o an i onic au ho who denounces he pa iali y and
un eliabili y o he e y exempla y mo al ale she p e ends o ell.35 In his
ligh , we could belie e ha , by alluding o Inchbald’s wo k in gene al, and
o A Simple S o y in pa icula , Jane Aus en is indeed e e ing o a model
whose message she in ends o ei e a e. Indeed, he happy ending o
Lo e s’ Vows is ejec ed by Aus en and denounced as misleading, bu no
(as he adi ional in e p e a ion would ha e i ) because i is sub e si e o
immo al, bu a he because i is o e ly op imis ic. Real li e does no wo k
like ‘comedy’; eal li e is mo e simila o a no el like Mans ield Pa k o A
Simple S o y, whe e he he oines need o con o m o con en ions and
expec ed s anda ds o beha iou , as wi h Fanny o Ma ilda, o be punished
o Pennsyl ania P ess, 2003; J. Heyd -S e enson, Aus en’s Unbecoming Conjunc ions.
Sub e si e Laugh e , Embodied His o y, Basings oke, Palg a e Macmillan, 2005; P.
By ne, The Real Jane Aus en. A Li e in Small Things, London, Ha pe P ess, 2013.
34 A. S. Bya and I. Sod é, “Mans ield Pa k”, ci ., p. 19: “I ’s a symme y ha ’s
also b ough ou by hei ela ionship o Amelia in Lo e s’ Vows, who in a way
ep esen s bo h o hem [Fanny and Ma y]”.
35 See B. Ba aglia, La zi ella ille e a a. Pa odia e i onia nei omanzi di Jane
Aus en, ci ., p. 114.
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like Ma y C aw o d and Miss Milne . The conclusion o he no el is
“deeply und ama ic”36 inso a as i con adic s he u opian ou come o he
comedy: pa ia chal o de is es o ed and he sub e si e hea ical ca ni al
o he “ac ing week”37 is o go en.38 The wo ds used by Aus en o con i m
ha his is o be ega ded as a happy ending a e so ambiguous ha ,
i onically, hey migh seem o sugges o he eade ha his is no he case:
“Wi h so much ue me i and ue lo e, and no wan o o une o iends,
he happiness o he ma ied cousins mus appea as secu e as ea hly
happiness can be”.39
36 P. Gay, Thea icali y and he Thea icals in “Mans ield Pa k”, ci ., p. 128.
37 J. Aus en, Mans ield Pa k, ci ., p. 414 (III, 5).
38 See B. Ba aglia, La zi ella ille e a a. Pa odia e i onia nei omanzi di Jane
Aus en, ci ., pp. 175-184.
39 J. Aus en, Mans ield Pa k, ci ., p. 547 (III, 17). Emphasis added.
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Pa ole uba e. Ri is a in e nazionale di s udi sulla ci azione /
Pu loined Le e s. An In e na ional Jou nal o Quo a ion S udies