首页
登录
职称英语
"Some literary works are mortal; Jane Austen’s are immortal," writes Harold
"Some literary works are mortal; Jane Austen’s are immortal," writes Harold
游客
2024-12-24
19
管理
问题
"Some literary works are mortal; Jane Austen’s are immortal," writes Harold Bloom in his foreword to this delightful volume. In it, 33 writers—from Virginia Woolf to Jay Mclnerney, from Somerset Maugham to Fay Weldon, from Martin Amis to A.S. Byatt— explain the whys and wherefores of our love affair with this provincial spinster, whose six novels have embedded themselves so powerfully in the minds and lives of countless readers over the past two centuries.
The breadth of Austen’s appeal is indeed extraordinary. All her works deal with love and courtship, but she is much more adept at reaching a wide audience than other romantic novelists. Young and old, men and women, scholars and those reading solely for pleasure—all find that her writing satisfies again and again. Not only is she one of the most read authors in the canon; she is one of the most reread.
Yet Austen is never merely a comfort blanket, for her novels make readers think as much as they allow them to escape into another world. She may be the greatest propagandist for bourgeois marriage that English literature has produced, yet she is never smug and her happy endings are tempered by wise realism. As for her prose style, even the greatest cynic has to marvel at the control with which she employs her characteristic irony.
Each one of Austen’s novels has its champions, though apart from the author herself, who feared it was rather too sparkling, it would be hard to find anyone who was not captivated by the vibrant wit of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, too, is universally praised for its extraordinary mastery of narrative form, and for making readers love its flawed, and even unlikeable, heroine; she who attempts to control the lives of those around her but is blinded by her own self-satisfaction. Readers’ favourites, however, often change according to their moods and situations. The autumnal feel of "Persuasion", in which Anne Elliot gets a second chance at love, tends to appeal to older readers; others may find their sympathies shifting between the characters over time, especially with Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey.
The least easy for modern readers is Mansfield Park. Unlike the confident Elizabeth Bennet or the overconfident Emma Woodhouse, its heroine, Fanny Price, is quiet, timid and moralistically opposed to amateur theatricals. It is only by imagining ourselves into the world of the early 19th century that we can begin to empathize with Fanny’s scruples. Yet if readers accept the historical context they can then appreciate that Austen is actually dealing with the much more universal moral problem of selfishness.
As Susannah Carson writes in her excellent introduction, today’s critics are split between those who emphasize Austen’s timeless understanding of human nature, and those who stress the very real differences between her time and our own. This volume illustrates both, and it shows how, after 200 years, it is still possible to have new insights. Have you ever noticed that silly Mrs Bennet, whom everyone loves to mock, ends up having the last laugh in Pride and Prejudice? That her machinations to marry off her daughters all work out? Austen’s irony is so deliciously multilayered that every rereading will yield a fresh perspective. This book offers many such discoveries, and it would make a perfect Christmas present for anyone who loves Austen. (From The Economist; 557 words) [br] What does the sentence ".. .Austen is never merely a comfort blanket" mean?
选项
A、Her novels can offer readers enjoyment of retreating to another world.
B、Her novels are good for both serious thinking and leisure reading.
C、Her novels can give you more than a comfort blanket can offer.
D、Her novels are not only suitable for bedside reading.
答案
B
解析
语义题。作者在第三段开头的比喻后,做出解释,“for her novels make readers think as much as they allow them to escape into another world.”她的小说不仅适合于休闲阅读,还可以让读者去思考。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3882582.html
相关试题推荐
JaneAustenwasanEnglishnovelist,whospentherlifeinmiddle-classsoc
JaneAustenwasanEnglishnovelist,whospentherlifeinmiddle-classsoc
JaneAustenwasanEnglishnovelist,whospentherlifeinmiddle-classsoc
JaneAustenwasanEnglishnovelist,whospentherlifeinmiddle-classsoc
______istheforerunnerofthefeminismandthefeminismliterary.A、CharlotteB
TheRomanticPeriodinAmericanLiteraryhistorystartedwiththepublicationof
Themainliterarystreamofthe18thcenturywas______,—anamalgamofromant
Crane’s______isalandmarkinAmericanliteraryNaturalism.A、TheOpenBoatB、The
Themostrecognizableliterarymovementthatgaverisetothetwentieth-century
______isoneofthekeyfiguresof19thcenturyAmericanliteraryrealism.A、Henr
随机试题
关于追加投资额的说法,下列正确的是()。A、持仓头寸获利后立即平仓,不再追加投资B、持仓头寸获利后追加的投资额应等于上次的投资额C、持仓头寸获利后追
Britishairisfarcleanerthanitwasafewdecadesago.Fewerpeopleusec
对于承重墙梁其最大跨度允许值为( )。A.6m B.12m C.9m D
商标注册的原则有( )。A.自愿注册与强制注册相结合的原则 B.商标标志合
根据我国现行规定,关于预备费的说法中,正确的是( )。 A、基本预备费以工程
2~3岁小儿,正常心率是()。A.120~140次/分 B.110~130次
1999年版FIDIC标准合同族的新黄皮书是指()。A、《施工合同条件》B、
用药错误的主要类型包括A.转抄错误 B.调剂错误 C.给药错误 D.监测错
在下列青春期龈炎的临床特征中,不正确的是A:好发于前牙唇侧 B:临床上与药物性
男性,45岁,酗酒后8小时出现中上腹疼痛,放射至两侧腰部,伴恶心、呕吐。体检:腹
最新回复
(
0
)