Trinkets and Treasures: Consuming Jane Austen
Enthusiasts (whether of Jane Austen, Keira Knightley or Colin Firth) continue to churn out a relentless deluge of sequels and fan-fiction, but the Jane Austen franchise has expanded beyond mere words: there’s the stuff. We’re not just talking coffee mugs and key chains, “I ♥ Fitzwilliam” tee-shirts or “Jane is my Home Girl” bumper-stickers. Of course these items abound, and their numbers are legion. But Austenland is larger than commonplace trinkets like these: advanced consumers have moved on to items such as infants’ bibs emblazoned with Mr. Woodhouse’s imperative cry—“Gruel!”—or a clock face bearing Captain Wentworth’s plea, “Tell me not that I am too late!” It has been observed that there are now many ways to appreciate Austen beyond simply reading her works: one can tour stately houses that Austen never visited but that have recently served as movie sets, dress up in costume to re-enact scenes from the books, play Austen-trivia games, or create funny YouTube videos by over-dubbing a nature film about lions with the sound-track of the trailer to the 2005 Pride & Prejudice (a very new take on Pride and Prejudice). To these activities must be added the purchase and display of Austen artifacts: that is, the consumption of Austen. (Persuasions On-Line, v.28, No.2, Spring 2008)