Wisconsin Region

Wisconsin Celebrates Spring with Gala
March 3, 2008

“Too much of a good thing is . . . wonderful” read the program for the Wisconsin Region’s Spring Gala held in Madison in March. This sentiment was certainly true for members treated to entertaining and educational talks by Dr. Emily Auerbach and Dr. Cheryl Kinney.

In her presentation, “Prejudice and Pride: Doing Justice to Austen’s Narrative Voice,” Auerbach maintained that in any film adaptation of Austen’s novels, it is Jane Austen who is the star. The films show what a brilliant writer of dialogue she was; the scriptwriters lifted whole passages right out of the novels without changing a line. To illustrate her point, Auerbach showed a montage of scenes portraying Mr. Collins’ proposal to Elizabeth taken from the 2005 Focus Features (Kiera Knightley), 1996 BBC (Jennifer Ehle), 1940 (Greer Garson) and Bollywood “Bride and Prejudice” adaptations. We have all met a Mr. Collins, Auerbach pointed out; he is the boyfriend from hell.

Cooper, Auerbach, Kinney
Wisconsin Regional Coordinator Liz Cooper
was happy to welcome speakers Emily Auerbach (center)
and Cheryl Kinney (left).

We were also happy to welcome back our friend, Dr. Cheryl Kinney, who presented “The Idlest Haunts in the Kingdom: Discovering the Spas and Resorts of Emma.” According to Kinney, Austen mentioned specific resort towns in Emma, knowing that her readers would have understood the social and political implications of her choices. Weymouth was the most exclusive and fashionable spot—a prim and proper English resort. It was frequented by Irish landowners, which explains why Jane Fairfax went there with the Campbells. Similarly, the Eltons met in Bath as it was dropping out of fashion. They liked to go uphill from Bristol to Clifton, where the waters were thought to cure impotence and sterility.

Those Wisconsin members lucky enough to be at our Spring Gala all agreed we could have listened to our speakers for hours. As with Jane Austen, when it comes to Emily Auerbach and Cheryl Kinney, too much of a good thing is . . . wonderful.