A Janeite's First JASNA AGM: Part 2

November 4, 2016

Dear Jane,

Now, then, shall we begin with Part two of my JASNA AGM adventures? I heartily believe that there is no better time than the present (except whilst dawdling, of course) so here goes nothing, my friend.

Friday 21 2016: Friday began bright and early with a hug goodbye from my dear sister, Rachael and a hot cup of coffee from the local coffee shop. Now, although I had already been at the AGM for three days, the official opening was actually on Friday afternoon so naturally, there was great excitement throughout the hotel in anticipation. Happily, before the above-mentioned opening ceremeony, if you will, I attended a “show and tell” of sorts by the Jane Austen House Museum in which the curator showed curious Janeites various objects from the (your!) house that relate to your novel, Emma.

Afterwards (and 
this is the truly exciting part, Jane), we all queued up to await a grand, pink barouche that would shuttle JASNA attendees to the Folger Library in order to view their famed, “Will & Jane” exhibit. What an exhilarating and diverting trip this was! Not only was this barouche of the double-decker variety but we also saw some glorious DC monuments and museums on our way to the museum. Also, this particular barouche has a likeness of you plastered on one side of it in the form of a “bobble-head.” I can only imagine your confusion at reading such phrases, Jane, but just know that it was simply marvelous.

As you can imagine,
the queue for the barouche
was quite long!

THE PINK BAROUCHE!
Thank you, Folger Library!

Once at the museum (which you may remember I visited in September with my sisters), we had the chance to take a “shirtie” with Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy shirt as well as closely examine everything on display that related to our favorite authoress. I did not know this the last time I visited, but the Folger has on display your beloved sister, Cassandra’s, very own copy of Emma. It was quite a beautiful sight to behold. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the exhibition with my fellow Janeites close at hand.

My "shirtie" with THE SHIRT.

We arrived back at the hotel in time for the opening remarks and first keynote speaker. I must confess that the first lecture by Dr. Bharat Tandon was rather beyond my understanding at times. Of course, it was a very well researched paper and there were a great number of large words uttered but truthfully, much of the content went over my head. I was reassured when I heard that this was true for a few other of my acquaintances.

Following Dr. Tandon’s lecture were two “breakout sessions.” These are shorter lectures that we choose to attend based on our interests. (There is a list given out in advance so that we may choose those which most intrigue us.) I decided to attend “Funny Lady: Dangerous Humor and Female Empowerment in Austen’s Emma by Mackenzie Broderick,” and “Dependence or Independence by Dr. Sheryl Craig.” Both talks were well researched and exceedingly captivating, Jane.

After the two sessions came to an end it was, alas, time to break for dinner. I was all set to dine with a charming group of young ladies from my New York chapter but was called away on more pressing business before I could sit down to eat with them. Now brace yourself, Jane, for what I am about to tell you is of a most grievous nature.

First, a short history of how this grievous news came to fruition. Unfortunately, and to my utter dismay, I found that my beautiful Regency dress was *ahem* rather too tight to wear to the ball on Saturday evening (in truth, it was not inclined to acquiesce my desire for it to zip) so my mother (being the charming creature that she is) spoke with me over the phone and we came up with a lovely outfit that would do the job admirably. As she is so kind, she promised to send it to Rachael’s apartment by post in time for the ball. Anyway, my dear Mama called to tell me that the parcel was in fact lost in the mail and that I should call to find out if it could be redelivered.

Now, being the rational lady that I am, I naturally broke down into tears feeling that the world as I knew it was over and that there was no point in carrying on. All I could do was call the post office, attempt to have the garment redelivered and put it in the Lord’s hand. My poor Mother had to deal with my hysterics in the mean time. After a spell I calmed down knowing that I had the “Salon Concert at Hartfield” to look forward to that evening and did my best to move past the melancholy moment.

Ensemble Musica
Humona

How thankful I am that I attended the concert that evening for it was ever so delightful and relaxing. With the charming musical group, Ensemble Musica Humona, playing pieces from your (yes, yours, Jane!) very own hand-written music manuscript, one only had to close one’s eyes to imagine we were sitting either in Miss Woodhouse’s salon at Hartfield or with you in your parlour.

I must also mention that before the concert I attended a lovely lecture by Sue Bell of the Jane Austen House Museum on the quilt you sewed with your mother and sister. It was wonderful to learn of all the restoration and research being done on it, Jane. Can you believe it survives to this day?

Your lovely quilt!

As you can imagine, Friday was quite the exhausting day and I was more than ready for a long sleep by the end of it!

Saturday 22 2016: Unfortunately, though I did indeed sleep, it could not be a long one as breakfast was to be served at the hotel between eight o’clock and nine o’clock in the morning. It was of the utmost imperative that I arrive as early as possible, Jane, for breakfast is my favorite and I was sorely in need of coffee! Happily, I was able to sit with the Juvenilia ladies from New York and it was a most pleasant meal.

After our delicious breakfast, it was time for the second keynote speaker to dazzle our crowd of adoring Janeites. Dr. Susan Allen Ford had the job and gave a wonderful lecture entitled, “Not What You Would Think Anything Of.” It was an entrancing talk that delved into the more Gothic components of Emma, which, was a notion that I had never before thought of before when reading the novel. Dr. Ford gave well-researched evidence to suggest that there truly are some very Gothic moments in Emma that are masked wonderfully well with your sharp wit and masterful storytelling. Dr. Ford also emphasized the importance of what the characters in Emma are themselves reading. She particularly noted the differences in reading material between Harriet Smith and Robert Martin; as you can imagine their book lists were quite different. Whereas Mr. Martin (a farmer) read little more than the Agricultural Reports, Harriet read gothic novels such as Ann Radcliff’s, The Romance of the Forest and The Children of the Abbey by Regina Maria Roche. In truth, I could write you a letter solely focused on this particular lecture, but I shall, perhaps, leave that for a later time. It was certainly a most diverting and engrossing talk, Jane!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of two more “breakout” sessions before everyone departed to dress for the ball and banquet that evening. (As most ladies were not travelling with a lady’s maid, ample time had to be allotted for us all to look as elegant as possible for the evening’s events.) The two sessions I attended were “The Post-Office: Epistolary Networks, Private Space, and Postal Culture” and “One Very Superior Party: Mrs. Elton Shews the Inhabitants of Highbury…”

The first talk, given by Dr. L. Bao Bui, was a riveting look at the importance of letters in Emma. More particularly, though, the importance of the writer, the sender and the reader of said letters. A modern lady may not understand how very important the art of letter writing is until she truly takes a moment to think about it, Jane. That being said, however, Dr. Bui seemed to think that in today’s society, we do not treasure messages (be it text or email) the way people of the Regency Era treasured letters. Speaking from the perspective of a lady, I believe that Dr. Bui should note that we too repeatedly read text messages and emails, especially from those we admire; that much has not changed! Harriet Smith and Emma Woodhouse are no different than the young ladies of today, for we too shall always analyze each word said to us in an exchange with a gentleman we may fancy. This is, perhaps, one of the many reasons why millions of people still read your novels today, Jane. You are eternally relatable.  

Then, after a hurried phone call with my dear mama (who had blessedly been trying to contact the postal office in order to track down my lost dress) told me that she was unable to obtain any specific information and found that the office nearest my sister’s abode was closed on Saturdays. With this information, though I felt forlorn, I was ready to do my utmost to put it behind me and find a suitable dress for the evening. I was determined to visit nearby shops after the last breakout session and assemble an outfit as best I could.

Mistress Kim Wilson.

Happily, the final session (“One Very Superior Party”) was exceedingly charming and quickly cheered me up. Miss Kim Wilson was the speaker and she was highly qualified as she is the authoress of numerous books including, Tea With Jane Austen (which I am happy to report that I own) and At Home with Jane Austen (which I wish to own). During her talk, Miss Wilson spoke to us about the various sorts of evening parties that were given in your time, Jane, and how we may go about hosting one of our own. I had no idea just how many different varieties of gatherings there were: dinner parties, card parties, musical evenings, balls or small dances, routs or evening parties. All are different and all require different preparations from both the hosts and the guests. To think that one had to prepare so thoroughly for mere social engagements! Perhaps I shall attempt to host one of my own someday…

As you can see, Jane, this letter is already quite long. Therefore, instead of continuing on just now, I shall leave you in suspense about the evening's ball and what I ended up wearing to it. I shall write again soon as not to leave you too long in the dark! Forgive me!

Yours Faithfully,

Amanda