Roger Gard (1936–2000)
Auteur de Jane Austen's Novels: The Art of Clarity
A propos de l'auteur
Œuvres de Roger Gard
Oeuvres associées
Le Rouge et le Noir (1830) — Directeur de publication, quelques éditions; Traducteur, quelques éditions — 9,544 exemplaires
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
Membres
Critiques
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 6
- Aussi par
- 2
- Membres
- 74
- Popularité
- #238,154
- Évaluation
- 3.8
- Critiques
- 1
- ISBN
- 9
Gard's writing is not a model of clarity either: his sentences are often convoluted, extremely long, include untranslated French passages, and forced me to seek a dictionary a number of times. One also needs to have read more 18th & 19th century literature than I have, since Gard is forever attempting to make a point by comparing Austen to some other work that I haven't read and that isn't sufficiently explained. I have read Madame Bovary, but I don't remember anything about her greyhound, so the comparison to Pug in Mansfield Park eludes me. That said, perhaps this is the sort of thing that professionals in literary criticism expect; indeed, I've read a lot worse, so perhaps I should only say that I don't recommend it to most people.
Gard does have a very worthwhile overall point, though. He argues that, contrary to what literary historians may argue, it is not necessary to do extensive research into Austen's life and times to understand her works. They are clear as they stand. I personally have read a number of the types of books that he mentions, like Alison Sulloway's Jane Austen and the Province of Womanhood, which I liked and Gard doesn't. I would agree with him that such reading is not necessary to understand Austen's work, although it can be interesting. I have an interest in the period beyond my enjoyment of Jane Austen, so I found it fascinating, but I don't think that I suddenly understand the books much better. I thank Gard for his confidence in common readers.… (plus d'informations)