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“SURPRISED AND NOT SURPRISED:”
VARIETIES OF ASTONISHMENT IN AUSTEN’S NOVELS
Ch is ophe R. Mille
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2025.69.10
Abs ac : This a icle explo es he ways in which Jane Aus en epu posed he
eigh een h-cen u y idiom o su p ise and shock. Aside om a ew scandalous
e ela ions ha ha k back o eigh een h-cen u y na a i e données, Aus en’s no els a e
no designed o deli e majo su p ises o he eade , and none o hei he oines is
subjec o he kind o physical assaul s isi ed upon Pamela and E elina. Ne e heless,
Aus en’s cha ac e s equen ly exp ess eelings o su p ise and shock: such s a emen s
ypically se e mo e as ehicles o mo al o social judgmen han as spon aneous
esponses o he sudden. Ra he han na a ing su p ising e en s, Aus en is in e es ed
in wha migh be called he sociolinguis ics o su p ise. The a icle concludes wi h a
conside a ion o Aus en’s poe ics o shock. In he ea ly no el No hange Abbey, Aus en
mimicked he ob ious jump-sca es o Go hic no els; his a icle shows how she wen on
o bo ow om hei pe cep ual and a ec i e syn ax in he la e no els.
Keywo ds: su p ise, shock, emo ion, Go hic, na a i e, poe ics, auma
In e ms o e ymology, bo h su p ise and shock ha e iolence in hei pas .
“Su p ise,” de i ed om he Old F ench su p end e, o iginally deno ed a mili a y
a ack; “shock” e e ed o a iolen encoun e wi h an enemy. These wo ds ook
di e en lexical pa hs in la e usage, which can be acked in Samuel Johnson’s
1755 Dic iona y. Johnson o e s h ee senses o su p ise (“ o ake unawa es,” “ o
as onish by some hing wonde ul,” “ o con use o pe plex by some hing sudden”)
and mo e na owly de ines he e b shock as “ o shake by iolence” and “ o o end;
o disgus .”1 In he eme ging eigh een h-cen u y discou se o aes he ics, su p ise
1 Johnson’s Dic iona y Online, “su p ise” and “o end,” accessed 16 June 2025, h ps://
johnsonsdic iona yonline.com/.
Ch is ophe R. Mille
128
came o deno e he pleasu e o no el y;2 i was no un il he ad en o mode nis
aes he ics ha shock would be alo ized as an emo ional componen o he new
and challenging.
Bo h su p ise and shock could be said o d i e he na a i e pulse o
eigh een h-cen u y ic ion, bu su p ise is a mo e equen ly in oked, o i is
mo e e sa ile in i s ange o in lec ions – deno ing bo h dis ess and pleasu e,
physical a ack and in e nal e lec ion, spon aneous eac ion and e ospec i e
judgmen . In Samuel Richa dson’s Pamela (1740), o ins ance, he e a e plen y o
inciden s ha a eade migh ind shocking, bu he le e -w i ing p o agonis
mo e ypically desc ibes he expe ience in e ms o su p ise, which ca ies bo h
cogni i e and b u ely physical meanings. To speak o he sel as su p ised is no
only o desc ibe he unexpec ed; i is o aise he spec e o ape o epu a ional
uin a he hands o he employe , M . B. In he second hal o he no el, when
Pamela becomes M . B’s iancée a he han ic im, she unwi ingly desc ibes he
ans o ma ion o he ea lie su p ises in o a o m o aes he ic pleasu e, ema king
ha he a ails would amoun o “a su p izing kind o No el.”3 She does no say
“a shocking kind o no el,” o such ph asing would mo e ankly acknowledge
he sexual menace ha Richa dson seeks o con ain and Pamela wishes o o ge ;
i would say he quie pa ou loud.
In a ew exempla y no els om la e in he cen u y, he e is a no able ise in
he equency o “shock,” as indica ed in he able below:
Uses o
“su p ise”
Uses o
“shock”
Ra io
(app ox.)
Pamela
(1740) 43 10 4:1
Memoi s o a Woman o Pleasu e
(1748)
32 12 3:1
Tom Jones
(1749) 158 48 3:1
The Cas le o O an o
(1764) 9 8 1:1
E elina
(1778) 109 52 2:1
The Mys e ies o Udolpho
(1794) 103 61 2:1
2 In Addison’s o mula ion o no el y, “E e y hing ha is new o uncommon aises a Pleasu e
in he Imagina ion, because i ills he Soul wi h an ag eeable Su p ise, g a i ies i s
Cu iosi y, and gi es i an Idea o which is was no be o e possess .” Joseph Addison, The
Spec a o (no. 412, 23 June 1712), ed. Donald F. Bond (Ox o d: Cla endon P ess, 1965), 3:541.
3 Samuel Richa dson, Pamela; O , Vi ue Rewa ded, ed. Thomas Keyme and Alice Wakely
(Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2001), 246.
“Su p ised and No Su p ised”
129
Uses o
“su p ise”
Uses o
“shock”
Ra io
(app ox.)
Aus en:
No hange Abbey
39 11 3:1
Sense and Sensibili y
67 21 3:1
P ide and P ejudice
77 16 4:1
Mans ield Pa k
62 16 4:1
Emma
74 20 4:1
Pe suasion
37 10 4:1
Table 1: Ra ios o “Su p ise” o “Shock” in 18 h-Cen u y No els and Aus en’s
No su p isingly, Ann Radcli e’s Go hic omance, The Mys e ies o Udolpho (1794),
ea u es a high incidence o “shock” and i s a ian s; bu so, oo, does F ances
Bu ney’s no el o manne s, E elina (1778), which ocuses on a p o incial nai ’s
exposu e o he u ban shocks o London. A selec i e in en o y o wha is said o
shock E elina, some imes o he b ink o ain ing, would include a physical
al e ca ion be ween E elina’s F ench g andmo he and he boo ish Cap ain
Mi an; a sudden encoun e wi h a man who appea s o be on he e ge o ending
his li e wi h a pis ol; and a bewilde ing un-in wi h p os i u es in he Vauxhall
Pleasu e Ga dens. The ascendancy o “shock” in eigh een h-cen u y ic ion migh
be a ibu ed in pa o an a enua ion o “su p ise.” Wi h he shee ubiqui y o
su p ise, a mo e powe ul complemen a y e m migh be necessa y o indica e he
ex emi y o a cha ac e ’s expe ience. Tha lexical dis inc ion is egis e ed in a scene
in Hen y Mackenzie’s no el, The Man o Feeling (1771), in which he p o agonis
Ha ley akes a ou o Bedlam. As a man o compassiona e sensibili y, he inds he
spec acle o men al illness “inexp essibly shocking,” bo h o he abjec mise y he
wi nesses and o he “inhuman p ac ice” o ea ing ha mise y as jus ano he
London “show” o he “idle isi an .” The jaded guide, on he o he hand, has
become numb o human su e ing, and he is “su p ised” a he squeamish eac ion
o his gues s.4 Isn’ his wha hey paid o see?
In his a icle I wan o explo e a ew no able ways in which Jane Aus en
epu posed he eigh een h-cen u y idiom o su p ise and shock. Many o he
no els ea u e shocking e ela ions ha ha k back o eigh een h-cen u y na a i e
données – a hea less seduc ion, an elopemen , an adul e ous a ai , a widowed
4 Hen y Mackenzie, The Man o Feeling, ed. B ian Vicke s (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y
P ess, 1987), 30.
Ch is ophe R. Mille
130
sui o ’s me cena y pas – bu aside om such isola ed scandals, hey a e no
ypically designed o deli e majo su p ises o he eade . (In Emma, he na a i e
wi hholding o he sec e engagemen be ween F ank Chu chill and Jane Fai ax
s ands ou as a a e ins ance o au ho ial sub e uge.) And none o he he oines is
subjec o he kind o physical assaul s isi ed upon Pamela and E elina. On he
o he hand, Aus en’s cha ac e s equen ly exp ess eelings o su p ise and shock,
and as I will show, such s a emen s ypically se e mo e as ehicles o mo al o
social judgmen han as spon aneous esponses o he sudden.
Mo e han na a ing su p ising e en s, Aus en is in e es ed in wha migh be called
he sociolinguis ics o su p ise. This is no o say, howe e , ha she en i ely aban-
doned he poe ics o shock: he ep esen a ion o he cha ac e s’ genuine, embodied
esponses o he sudden o su p ising. In an ea lie s udy, I a gued ha Aus en’s
ea ly no el No hange Abbey no only pa odied he ob ious shock-e ec s o Go hic
ic ion bu also bo owed hei pe cep ual and a ec i e syn ax in sub le ways.5
He e, I ex end ha p emise o conside key momen s o shock in he la e no els.
The Sociolinguis ics o Su p ise
In he axonomy o mode n psychology, su p ise is commonly iden i ied as
a “p ima y” emo ion oo ed in immedia e esponses o s imuli, as opposed o
“seconda y” o socially condi ioned emo ions such as emba assmen , guil , o
p ide.6 Bu in Aus en’s a ec i e ocabula y, exp essions o su p ise o en blu ha
dis inc ion: a he han me ely con eying a eac ion o he unexpec ed, hey
egis e a judgmen o he undesi ed, o a con on a ion wi h he ep essed.
Aus en’s a en ion o he nuances o ha esponse is epi omized in Sense and
Sensibili y, when Elino Dashwood’s mo he e eals ha he s olid Colonel
B andon is in lo e wi h he sis e Ma ianne. In his momen , Elino is desc ibed as
“ eeling by u ns bo h pleased and pained, su p ised and no su p ised.”7 The
a en ion ha Colonel B andon has paid o Ma ianne should no come as s a ling
news, bu Elino ’s eac ion ep esen s a peculia species o su p ise, one ha
sp ings no om he wholly unexpec ed bu om he will ully o e looked. Elino
5 See my chap e on Aus en in Su p ise: The Poe ics o he Unexpec ed om Mil on o Aus en
(I haca, NY: Co nell Uni e si y P ess, 2015), 141-70.
6 See Sil an Tompkins, Shame and I s Sis e s: A Sil an Tompkins Reade , ed. E e Koso sky
Sedgwick and Adam F ank (Du ham, NC: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 1995), 107; and
An onio Damasio, The Feeling o Wha Happens: Body and Emo ion in he Making o
Consciousness (New Yo k: Ha cou B ace, 1999), 50.
7 Jane Aus en, Sense and Sensibili y, ed. James Kinsley (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess,
2004), 255. Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex .
“Su p ised and No Su p ised”
131
is pleased because she pe sonally app o es o he colonel, bu she is sympa he ically
pained on behal o he sis e ’s oman ic p e e ences. Though she does no ully
app o e o Ma ianne’s a ec ion o Willoughby, she imagina i ely pa icipa es in
he sis e ’s an asy enough o eel he shock o a di e gence om i . I is one hing
o suspec he Colonel’s oman ic in e es , i is ano he o be con on ed wi h i s
shee ac ici y.
In such momen s, Aus en con eys a cha ac e ’s genuine eeling o su p ise
while implici ly aising a ques ion abou i s cause o con ex . In Sense and
Sensibili y, he episode o Ma ianne Dashwood’s mino inju y om a all exempli ies
ha bi ocal a en ion. A e wo days o con inemen du ing inclemen wea he ,
Ma ianne en u es ou o a walk, only o be “chag ined and su p ised” when she
is caugh in a downpou and sp ains he ankle in a umble down a slippe y hill (32).
Should she ha e been su p ised? Jus be o e he ill- a ed ou ing, Aus en desc ibes
he ypically B i ish me eo ological condi ions wi h exquisi e ambigui y as “ he
pa ial sunshine o a showe y sky” (31). Tha ipping poin p o ides one among
many ways ha he no el di e en ia es be ween he Dashwood sis e s: while
Ma ianne places he hope in he pa ial sunshine, Eleano heeds he showe y sky,
s aying indoo s o wo k on he d awings. In essence, Aus en espec s he emo ional
eali y o Ma ianne’s su p ise while implying ha some hings should no come
as a o al su p ise.
Th oughou Aus en’s no els, exp essions o su p ise o en unc ion as a le e
o e hical o social judgmen . The e a e examples o his eac ion oo nume ous o
lis he e, bu I would like o ocus on a ew cases in which one cha ac e ’s su p ise
becomes con es ed and an implici judgmen is laid ba e. In such cases, he
ope a i e ques ion is: “Why should you be su p ised?” In P ide and P ejudice, a e
la ly ejec ing M . Collins’s ma iage p oposal, Elizabe h Benne is as onished o
ind ha he e s while sui o has quickly mo ed on o ind a willing ma e in he
iend Cha lo e Lucas. Bu Cha lo e challenges he iend’s dismay: “Why
should you be su p ised, my dea Eliza?” The ques ion exposes Elizabe h’s
idealis ic assump ions abou inding a li e pa ne , in con as o Cha lo e’s
p agma ic calcula ion o he chances on he ma iage ma ke . As Cha lo e la ly
pu s i , “I am no oman ic, you know; I ne e was.”8 Tha decla a ion o empe amen
masks a deepe u h abou age: a wen y-se en, Cha lo e canno a o d o be
oman ic, bu Elizabe h a wen y s ill holds ou hope o be e p ospec s. The
unsen imen al speed wi h which Collins edi ec s his cou se migh come as a shock,
bu Aus en implies ha Cha lo e’s accep ance o he p oposal should no be
a o al su p ise.
8 Jane Aus en, P ide and P ejudice, ed. James Kinsley (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess,
2004), 96. Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex .
Ch is ophe R. Mille
132
In Mans ield Pa k in pa icula , he e is a s iking numbe o ins ances in which
one cha ac e challenges ano he cha ac e ’s p o ession o su p ise. In hese cases,
he con es ed poin u ns on issues o expec ed beha iou . Lady Be am b ings
news ha she hinks will su p ise he husband Si Thomas – ha M s. G an has
in i ed hei poo ela ion Fanny P ice o dinne . Edmund insis s ha i is “ e y
na u al” ha M s. G an should in i e “so ag eeable a isi o ,” and Si Thomas
concludes: “The only su p ize I can eel is, ha his should be he i s ime o i s
being paid.”9 Edmund objec s o his b o he Tom’s en husiasm o pu ing on
a play called “Lo e s’ Vows” while hei a he is away in he Wes Indies, and
Tom e o s: “Wha is he e o su p ise you in i ?” (99) Fo Tom, he e is no hing
su p ising abou he a he acy play o he s aging o i ; bu o Edmund he u u e
cle gyman, i is a isky ansg ession. Tom’s de ian ques ion exposes a undamen al
i in he b o he ’s assump ions abou deco um and amily esponsibili y. In
a di e en con ex , Edmund aises he same challenge when Ma y C aw o d
exp esses dismay a his decision o ake o de s in he Chu ch: “Why should i
su p ise you?” (72) Why indeed? Ma y canno be speaking om any deep knowledge
o Edmund’s cha ac e o alen s, because she ba ely knows him. In essence, Ma y’s
exp essed su p ise se es as a p oxy o he disapp o al, as well as a egis e o he
disappoin men – o she is genuinely a ac ed o Edmund bu would p e e o be
ma ied o a man des ined o a mo e exal ed posi ion in he wo ld.
The decision ha causes uni e sal su p ise in Mans ield Pa k is Fanny P ice’s
ejec ion o Hen y C aw o d’s ma iage p oposal – o he Be am ela i es insis
ha Fanny should be g a e ul o such an oppo uni y o social ad ancemen .
Indeed, Si Thomas is s unned in o se e al minu es o silence by Fanny’s s ead as
e usal. He insis s ha Fanny should ha e ead he signs o his in en ions and been
p epa ed o say yes: “This canno ha e aken you by su p ise.” (247) To he
con a y, Fanny insis s o he cousin Edmund ha she was genuinely as onished
by Hen y’s decla a ion: “He ook me wholly by su p ise. I had no an idea ha his
beha io o me be o e had any meaning; and su ely I was no o be eaching mysel
o like him only because he was aking, wha seemed, e y idle no ice o me.” (277)
I Fanny is indeed su p ised by Hen y’s p oposal, i may be ha she is simply
nai e abou he semio ics o cou ship, bu i is mo e likely ha she has ep essed
he ob ious; she did no wan his a en ions o mean wha e e yone else ook hem
o mean. Aside om judging Hen y o be an unse ious li , Fanny esis s his
a en ion because she sec e ly lo es he cousin Edmund, and only he eade has
access o ha eeling.
9 Jane Aus en, Mans ield Pa k, ed. James Kinsley (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2003), 171.
I ha e e ained he a iable spelling o “su p ise”/ “su p ize” in his edi ion. Subsequen
e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex .
“Su p ised and No Su p ised”
133
P o essions o shock in Aus en’s no els dese e o be conside ed as a sepa a e
ca ego y om su p ise, o hei hype bolic endencies make hem e en mo e ipe
o sc u iny. One o he bes -known i e a ions o he “shocking” in Aus en’s ic ion
appea s in a scene in No hange Abbey. I u ns on a con usion o e he alence o
ha wo d – he di e ence be ween a eal dis u bance and an aes he icized
sensa ion. In a con e sa ion wi h he new iends Hen y Tilney and his sis e
Eleano , he he oine Ca he ine Mo land decla es, “I ha e hea d ha some hing
e y shocking indeed will soon come ou o London.”10 Tha s a emen ala ms
Eleano , who assumes ha Ca he ine is alluding o some kind o poli ical un es
o iolen up ising. Bu Hen y in e enes o cla i y ha Ca he ine is me ely
e e ing o he an icipa ed publica ion o an unnamed no el. The momen a y
con usion ep esen s, in mic ocosm, Ca he ine’s con la ion o Go hic an asy wi h
mo e pedes ian eali y. Bu how, we migh wonde , could Hen y be so
clai oyan as o know which shocking hing Ca he ine is alking abou ? I would
answe his ques ion in wo ways. Fi s , Hen y has al eady su p ised Ca he ine by
decla ing ha he has ead he comple e wo ks o Radcli e, upending he
assump ion ha “young men despised no els amazingly” (78). Hen y’s co ec
guess is he e o e based on a sha ed li e a y en husiasm, bu i is also in o med by
he gende ed p esump ion ha a young woman canno possibly know any hing
abou cu en e en s. In he cou se o his scene, Hen y has been mansplaining he
aes he ic p inciples o he pic u esque be o e mo ing on o he less pleasan opic
o enclosu e laws; and, as he na a o pu s i , “he sho ly ound himsel a i ed
a poli ics, and om poli ics i was an easy s ep o silence.” (81) Wi hin ha
awkwa d pause, Ca he ine’s mo i a ion o b inging up he “shocking” hing is
o con ibu e o an o he wise one-sided con e sa ion. I is also possible ha she
has picked up his wo d om he o he new iend Isabella Tho pe, who is gi en
o desc ibing a a ie y o pe ec ly mundane hings as shocking.
So p e alen is he idiom o shock in No hange Abbey ha i seeps in o he
na a o ’s language. While Ca he ine is ou ing he g ounds o he Abbey wi h
Eleano Tilney, hey en e a oman ically gloomy g o e o i ees, while Gene al
Tilney pa s company wi h hem. Ca he ine is “shocked o ind how much he
spi i s we e elie ed by he sepa a ion,” bu he na a o quickly e ises ha
cha ac e iza ion: “The shock howe e being less eal han he elie , o e ed i no
inju y; and she began o alk wi h easy gaie y o he deligh ul melancholy which
such a g o e inspi ed.” (131) To say ha he shock was less “ eal” is o sugges
10 Jane Aus en, No hange Abbey, ed. James Kinsley and John Da ie (Ox o d: Ox o d
Uni e si y P ess, 2003), 81. Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses
in he ex .
Ch is ophe R. Mille
134
ha i was me ely a he o ical de ice, some hing ha Ca he ine he sel migh ha e
said i she we e na a ing he own hough s. The na a o could ha e simply epo ed
ha Ca he ine was elie ed; bu Aus en p e e s o o eg ound a sel -co ec ion,
a mo e p ecise calib a ion o he cha ac e ’s eelings. Wha Ca he ine uly
expe iences, hen, is no shock bu he “deligh ul melancholy” o he g o e – he
pleasan ly aes he ic ibe o he Go hic wi hou he equisi e ho o o as onishmen .
The ins ances o shock in No hange Abbey can be la gely a ibu ed o ha
no el’s play ul engagemen wi h he con en ions o Go hic omance, bu Aus en
pays simila a en ion o he idiom o he “shocking” – i s uses and abuses –
h oughou he la e no els. In gene al, a mo e emale cha ac e s han male
cha ac e s use his idiom. And like Ca he ine Mo land’s ema k abou “some hing
shocking” coming ou o London, many p o essions o shock unc ion as a dash o
con e sa ional seasoning, e bal spice o he dull o un ema kable. Fo ins ance,
in Sense and Sensibili y, M s. Palme desc ibes he p ospec o bad wea he
in e e ing wi h he plans as “a e y shocking hing” (83). And she explains ha
he husband “canno bea ” o w i e le e s because “he says i is qui e shocking.”
Tha commen d aws an immedia e ebuke om M . Palme : “Don’ palm you
abuses o language on me.” (86) He does ha e a poin : su ely ha wo d ne e
passed his lips, and M s. Palme is indeed abusing i s meaning. And ye M s.
Palme migh be o gi en o ha e bal license: in a conspicuously unhappy
ma iage, he i ascible M . Palme ba ely says any hing a all, and in ha acuum,
he speech pa e ns can be unde s ood as a o m o o e compensa ion.
Aus en simila ly sc u inizes he colloquial hype bole o he shocking in Emma.
Ea ly in he no el, he he oine’s elde ly a he ema ks ha Geo ge Knigh ley
mus ha e expe ienced a “shocking walk” by a eling a mile o Ha ield on oo .
Knigh ley is a oo poli e o accuse M . Woodhouse o abusing he English
language; ins ead, he demu s ha he has me ely enjoyed “a beau i ul moonligh
nigh .”11 Wha is said o be shocking e lec s he hypochond iacal sensi i i ies o
he elde ly speake . In allego ical minia u e, Aus en con as s he exci able
p o ec i eness o Emma’s a he wi h he chee ul ha diness o he u u e husband.
Indeed, a he end o he no el, he news o Emma’s engagemen o Knigh ley is
said o come as a “conside able shock” o him – one ha can be amended only by
Emma and Knigh ley mo ing in wi h him a e hei ma iage (366).
P o essions o shock o en ca y a sha p social judgmen . When M . El on’s
new wi e decla es he sel o be “a li le shocked” (227) a a house’s lack o wo
d awing ooms, she is boas ing o he own assump ions abou luxu y in con as
11 Jane Aus en, Emma, ed. James Kinsley (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2003), 9.
Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex .
“Su p ised and No Su p ised”
135
wi h he pu a i ely lowe s anda ds o Highbu y. A he end o he no el, when
M s. El on lea ns ha Knigh ley in ends o mo e in wi h Emma and he a he
a e he wedding, i is no su p ise ha she calls i a “shocking plan” (369). As he
wo d “shocking” ci cula es h ough he con e sa ional discou se o he no el, i
akes on di e en in lec ions. The endlessly alka i e Miss Ba es is e y ond o he
wo d – bu she does no use i in he same judgmen al way. In one scene, she
ela es a cha ac e is ically long-winded s o y abou ecei ing a gi o apples om
Knigh ley’s es a e. She begins he anecdo e by epo ing ha she was “ eally qui e
shocked” by he deli e y and “excessi ely shocked indeed” o ind ou ha
Knigh ley’s own s o e o apples was nea ly deple ed (187). Soon a e , she ge s o
exp ess he g a i ude o Knigh ley himsel , and wi hin jus a ew sen ences, she
says h ee imes ha she was “so shocked” o be he ecipien o such gene osi y
(193). The e a e wo ways o unde s and Miss Ba es’s idiom o shock. Fi s , he
wo d unc ions as a kind o con e sa ional enhancemen o uly dull ma e s, in
in e se p opo ion o he p o incial eno o an unma ied, middle-aged woman’s
li e in he sleepy illage o Highbu y. On a deepe le el, i egis e s a sel -
consciousness abou being he needy ecipien o cha i y: o say ha she is shocked
o ecei e he las o M . Knigh ley’s apple ha es is no o say ha he gi is
o ally unexpec ed; a he , i egis e s an una icula ed eeling o discom o abou
he eliance on such simple gi s.
As I ha e no ed, a mo e emale cha ac e s in Aus en’s ic ion han male
cha ac e s p onounce hings o be “shocking” o a e said o be shocked ou igh ,
jus as emale cha ac e s a e mo e ulne able o a ious o ms o su p ise and
mo e willing o admi su p ise. We can see ha di e ence a wo k in a amous
scene in Emma. Du ing a picnic ga he ing on Box Hill, Emma hough lessly mocks
Miss Ba es o being bo h o e ly alka i e and ex emely dull. Emma he sel does
no ealize he o ense she has caused un il Knigh ley chas ises he o i . This is
a majo u ning poin in he no el, o i o ces Emma o eckon wi h he own laws
and o ealize how deeply she alues Knigh ley’s ega d. She is s ill umina ing
o e he e en i e chap e s la e , and in a passage o ee indi ec discou se, she
ecalls, wi h chag in, how “shocked” Knigh ley was by he beha iou (326). This
may be an accu a e summa y o Knigh ley’s eeling in he momen , bu i does no
epo wha he ac ually says. The dis inc ion is impo an , because Knigh ley does
no exp ess his own eelings; he asks Emma how she could be “so un eeling o
Miss Ba es” and insis s ha Miss Ba es “ el you ull meaning” (294). I is possible
ha Emma’s bad beha iou has come as an unwelcome con i ma ion o some hing
Knigh ley has obse ed in he cha ac e . In his way, Knigh ley migh be said o
be bo h su p ised and no su p ised by wha he has wi nessed.
Ch is ophe R. Mille
142
“ ouse and o i y he mind by he highes p ecep s, and he s onges examples
o mo al and eligious endu ances” (85).
The e is mo e han one i ony in Anne’s ad ice. E en in he momen , he acu ely
sel -awa e Anne knows ha she has no p o i ed om he kind o syllabus she has
ecommended, ha “she had been eloquen on a poin in which he own conduc
would ill bea examina ion” (85). Mo eo e , in he poe y- s.-p ose deba e ha
Aus en s ages, she lea es ou he own gen e o ic ion, which migh concei ably
o e Benwick some welcome di e sion. In No hange Abbey, she had hea ily
de ended he cul u al alue o no els, a guing ha “ou p oduc ions ha e
a o ded mo e ex ensi e and una ec ed pleasu e han hose o any o he li e a y
co po a ion in he wo ld” (23). Bu his is no a banne ha Anne akes up: on his
and o he ma e s, she is no in allible.
Finally, despi e Anne’s suspicions abou he dele e ious e ec s o ly ical
e usions, poe y u ns ou o be a o m o sal a ion in he end. Du ing Louisa’s
con alescence, Cap ain Benwick si s a he elbow while “ eading e ses, o
whispe ing o he , all day long” (176). In a way ha Anne could no ha e
p edic ed, poe y helps o anima e a ela ionship ha esul s in an engagemen ,
which in u n enables Anne’s own e e sal o conjugal o unes. In he wa ning
abou he dange s o e se, Anne does no conside ha , as Wo dswo h insis ed,
he me e ed language o poe y o e s “ he co-p esence o some hing egula ,”
some hing ha modula es s a es o passiona e eeling. Con a y o he
assump ion, poe y abou hea b eak does no necessa ily exace ba e ha
condi ion. By he same oken, a p ose desc ip ion o a cha ac e ’s su p ise o shock
does no necessa ily ep oduce ha exac eeling in he mind o a eade , and he
e ec s o any o m o w i ing a e a iable and unp edic able. Asse ing he
supe io i y o his own li e a y gen e o e he no el, Wo dswo h insis ed ha “ he
e se will be ead a hund ed imes whe e he p ose is ead once.”17 Wi h espec
o Louisa Musg o e’s poe ic he apy, Wo dswo h may ha e a good poin – one
ha challenges Anne’s na ow assump ions abou eading p ac ices. Then again,
I ha e o assume ha he ne e expe ienced he pleasu e o e- eading Jane Aus en.
17 William Wo dswo h, “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads (1800), The P ose Wo ks, ed. W.J.B. Owen
and Jane Wo hing on Smyse , 3 ols. (Ox o d: Cla endon P ess, 1974), 1:146, 150. In
esponse o Wo dswo h, Cole idge o e s a di e en accoun o me e, sugges ing ha
i subconsciously holds and heigh ens he eade ’s a en ion by p oducing “ he
con inued exci emen o su p ize.” In likening i s e ec s o “a medica ed a mosphe e”
and “wine du ing anima ed con e sa ion,” he ambiguously implies bo h s imula ion
and elaxa ion. Samuel Taylo Cole idge, Biog aphia Li e a ia, ed. James Engell and W.
Jackson Ba e, The Collec ed Wo ks o Samuel Taylo Cole idge, 16 ols. (P ince on, NJ:
P ince on Uni e si y P ess, 1983), 7:66.
“Su p ised and No Su p ised”
143
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