Thursday, January 17, 2008
Jane Austen takes Manhattan
What do you think is the significance of all the Jane Austen references in "Metropolitan," particularly the ones to her novel "Mansfield Park," where much is made of young wealthy people putting on a play. And don't forget the Austenesque "virtuous heroine." Does our movie have a "virtuous heroine"? Is it an Austenesque satire of the upper crust or something else?
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I wish my memory of “Mansfield Park” was sharper. In the young people decide to stage a play when the patriarch is away? The production gets bigger and more expensive and the youth transgress further and further on the narrow and stiff mores of their class and place. A close analogy fails since the string of deb balls and parties is sanctioned and produced by their class. But more loosely, the kids in the movie are mostly off on their own since they are up all night. The references to parents are mostly about them being asleep. The deb scene is certainly artificial in the way of theater.
Audrey seems to be delighted to be “rescued” by Tom, but also amused that he would consider such a “heroic” action necessary. It is made all the more like a scene from a play when Tom deploys a toy gun. Audrey doesn’t seem much like an Austen character, but I not sure I can say why.
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