By Karin Wiberg
Twenty-six members of JASNA-NC gathered on February 21 for our Virtual Book Club’s discussion of Evelina by Frances Burney, skillfully led by facilitator Erin Handly.
To start, Erin was kind enough to provide a synopsis for those of us who hadn’t managed to get through the book or who needed a reminder of the plot and characters. (Here’s a handy dandy Wikipedia synopsis for those who need one.)
Impressions of the Book
Initial reactions to the novel were mixed. A few people had read it with JASNA-NC back in 2000 and appreciated it more on second read. Some people loved it; some were frustrated by it. Several people noted it was difficult to get through the first few pages, but then it picked up. It was noted that the book was much heavier on plot—lots of action and “shocking stuff!”—than Austen’s novels.
Burney used a great deal of satire, which of course Austen did as well, but some folks found it over the top, farcical, and caricatured. One member said she had to read in small pieces; otherwise it would be like watching I Love Lucy for 24 hours straight. However, we must remember, as John Lydgate said, “Comparisons are odious”—don’t expect Burney to be Austen. Imagine instead a time with no mobile devices, no TV, no radio—what would one do of an evening? Perhaps read something like Evelina out loud. Imagine doing parts—it could be like a Regency Saturday Night Live skit.
More than one person observed that Burney could have used a good editor, and the ending in particular seemed rushed, a little too neat, and overly sentimental. Erin commented that Burney had written the first two volumes and the publisher pushed her to finish the third before they would buy it. On the other hand, one member was “captivated by the language” and felt like it read very quickly.
There were comparisons to Northanger Abbey with the protagonist’s lack of agency and her will being ignored. One member looked at the book from a feminist perspective, noting Evelina has no agency whatsoever. People call her “my girl.” Other people do things for her. She is nameless without a man and heavily controlled by men. She is safe only in silence. Beauty and nature are all she gets to express.
It was noted that we get to see a broader cross-section of society in Evelina than we do in Austen’s novels. We see a wider variety of classes. Much of the novel is set in London, as opposed to Austen’s, which are more rural.
Influence on and Comparison with Austen
When asked what Austen admired about Burney’s books, “satire and wit” was the foremost answer. The satire in Evelina is much like that which we see in Austen’s Juvenilia; and of course we see a subtler form in her mature novels.
Another comment was on the idea of social manners and classism. In Austen’s novels, except in the case of Emma, most heroines don’t come from an especially privileged position. One member commented on the classism of locations such as tea houses, coffee houses, and even the open (upstairs or downstairs) in Evelina. Another member said the explanatory notes in her edition helped understand what was really going on, and that they even helped understand Austen/Regency movies and what they were portraying.
It was noted that Austen may have used the name Willoughby in S&S in reference to the Willoughby in Evelina, one of Evelina’s disliked suiters. By using that name, Austen would be alerting her readers to his rakish character right away.
Our resident librarian commented that some of Austen’s subplots are things other novelists would use as main plot. Think Lydia running away, Mrs. Smith and her husband losing money, or Col. Brandon’s backstory. She also noted that novel writing started with men, especially writing for women to tell them how they should be and act. Burney may have turned the tide to primarily women writing for women, until 1814 when Walter Scott started writing novels, which made it more acceptable for men to write them again.
One reader said she was bothered by how preachy Evelina was and how much Evelina and Mr. Villars go on about how good she is. Austen is better at showing her characters rather than telling us about them.
But of course Burney’s novels sold more than Austen’s did at the time, and Evelina is still being read almost 250 years later, so she was no slouch. And Austen clearly was influenced by Burney. As one member reminded us, “We all build on what others have done.”
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Our next Virtual Book Club will be in May 2021, and we’ll be reading Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin, which is one of the selections for the June 2021 Jane Austen Summer Program.