Literary Perspectives on Lyme Regis

Persuasion 2007 Film Adaptation: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844330/
The French Lieutenant's Woman 1981 Film Adaptation: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082416/

Persuasion Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persuasion_(novel)
FLW Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Lieutenant%27s_Woman

Lyme Regis Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_Regis
Lyme Regis Official Website: http://www.lymeregistourism.co.uk/

Jane Austen Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen
John Fowles Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fowles

After reading both novels and exploring the setting and history of Lyme Regis, watch the film adaptations of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Persuasion" in their entireties.

The 1981 film adaptation of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" was nominated for five Oscars. This film, directed by Karel Reisz, stars Meryl Streep as Sarah and Jeremy Irons as Charles. It was filmed in Lyme Regis, as well as other areas of Dorset.

In this adaptation, the Victorian plot concerning Charles and Sarah is intertwined with the modern affair between Anna and Mike, the actors that play them in a film. This self-referential quality reflects the self-referential narrator of the novel. Which device do you prefer?



The 2007 made-for-tv adaptation of "Persuasion" was directed by Adrian Shergold and stars Sally Hawkins as Anne and Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth. It was filmed in Lyme Regis, as well as Bath.

This adaptation leaves out some scenes featured in the novel and rearranges many others. Did you notice any of these changes?




After watching both films, which film do you prefer? Which is more faithful its the novel of inspiration? How do the depictions of Lyme differ in each film?

Listen to the first few minutes of the NPR interview with Jeremy Irons. He comments on the 'film within a film' aspect of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" saying that the idea of actors falling in love with each other while playing a love story is very common because the lines between the story and reality are blurred. Do you think this sort of blurring of reality occurs in the Undercliff between Charles and Sarah? Is Charles able to sustain his obsession with Sarah after she flees from him because he willfully removes himself from society?


In her discussion of "Persuasion", Alice Furlaud claims that the savage social moments in Austen's work make up for the absence of discussion about the Napoleonic Wars. Did you notice any of these savage moments in"Persuasion"? Is Louisa's fall from the Cobb (and Captain Wentworth's favor) savage?

Later in the discussion, Furlaud likens Anne to a Victorian heroine because she is so meek. However, Anne and Frederick Wentworth have the happiest ending of all of Austen's couples. Is Anne's 'meekness' to blame for their happiness? Why are Wentworth and Anne so compatable, even after 8 years apart?

Both John Fowles and Jane Austen resided in Lyme during their lifetimes. Fowles was a permanent resident of Lyme, while Austen visited the area many times with her family. Austen also lived in Bath, a more fashionable resort town that catered to the rich. The second half of "Persuasion" is set in the rigid city Bath, which contrasts with the more relaxed landscapes of Lyme and the Uppercross.

Read Austen's Description of Lyme and compare it to Anne's feelings about Bath, below.

"Persuasion" Chapter 11
"They were come too late in the year for any amusement or variety which Lyme, as a public place, might offer. The rooms were shut up, the lodgers almost all gone, scarcely any family but of the residents left; and, as there is nothing to admire in the buildings themselves, the remarkable situation of the town, the principal street almost hurrying into the water, the walk to the Cobb, skirting round the pleasant little bay, which, in the season, is animated with bathing machines and company; the Cobb itself, its old wonders and new improvements, with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town, are what the stranger's eye will seek; and a very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better."

"Persuasion" Chapter 14
"Anne... persisted in a very determined, though very silent disinclination for Bath; caught the first dim view of the extensive buildings, smoking in rain, without any wish of seeing them better; felt their progress through the streets to be, however disagreeable, yet too rapid; for who would be glad to see her when she arrived? And looked back, with fond regret, to the bustles of Uppercross and the seclusion of Kellynch."

(Here's a great external shot of the long series of townhoses known as the Circus in Bath, 0:25-0:45)

Anne becomes better acquainted with Mr. Elliot in Bath. Why, in your opinion, do Anne's father and sister thrive in Bath society while Anne suffers? How are lower class people, such as Mrs. Smith, recieved in Bath?

Is the society of Lyme in "The French Lieutenant's Woman" more like the society of Bath in "Persuasion"? Do you think that society really changed in the 50 years that seperate these two stories, or are all the differences the result of narratorial/authorial bias?

Besides their common setting of Lyme, both "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Persuasion" are intertextual novels. In other words, both novels reference the work of other writers. This lesson provides a deeper look at some of the text's mentioned in the novels.

Fowles provides an epigraph for every chapter of "The French Lieutenant's Woman". He often quotes from the works of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Thomas Hardy, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and A. H. Clough. The inclusion of these writings illustrates the social, political, and scientific climate Fowles' characters inhabit. However, some of the texts referenced in the novel provide an insight into the deeper feelings of the characters.

The only poem that Fowles includes in its entirety is Matthew Arnold's "To Marguerite". Why does Fowles provide the entire text of the poem in chapter 58 of the novel? As Fowles mentions earlier, "We all write poems; it is simply that poets are the ones who write in words." Is "To Marguerite" the written representation of Charles's feelings toward Sarah? How do the images in the poem compare to the images of Sarah on the Cobb in chapters 1 and 2?

Jane Austen references romantic poets such as Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, in "Persuasion".
The morose character of Captain Benwick spends much of his time reading the works of these poets. Anne Elliot herself is often disposed to imagine herself in more romantic circumstances, although she claims: "the strong feelings which [romantic poetry] alone could estimate truly were the very feelings which ought to taste it but sparingly" (Chapter 11).

Lord Byron's poem "And thou art dead, as young and fair", could echo the sentiments of Captain Benwick toward his deceased fiancee. Why would Anne caution against constantly exposing oneself to the sort of emotions mentioned in the poem?

Clothing and fashion are important indicators of social rank and character tn both "Persuasion" and "The French Lieutenant's Woman". Although both novels are set in the 19th Century, the fashions changed dramatically from the day Louisa Musgrove fell off the cob and the morning, fifty years later, when Charles first encounters Sarah staring out to sea.

Notice the difference between Anne's simple muslin dress and the clothes of her sister and father in the following scene from the film adaptation of Persuasion (1:00-2:23).

In this scene from "The French Lieutenant's Woman" the simple, somber dress of Sarah can be easily compared to Ernestina's more fashionable clothes. Towards the beginning of the clip, Mary's serving dress is also visible (2:17-4:40). Does Sarah's dress more closely resemble Ernestina's or Mary's? Is this diffrence a reflection of social status or personal character?

The clothing differences between Sarah and Ernestina are also emphasized in the novel. In chapter 1, Ernestina is described as being "dressed in the height of fashion, for another wind was blowing in 1867: the beginning of a revolt against the crinoline and large bonnet," wearing, "a magenta skirt of an almost daring narrowness-- and shortness... and perched over the netted chignon, one of the impertinent little flat "port pie" hats... a millinery style that the resident ladies of Lyme would not dare to wear for at least another year."

Sarah, on the other hand, wears her "eternal indigo dress", Until Charles meets her years later in London, where she is wearing "the full uniform of the New Woman, flagrantly rejecting all formal contemporary notions of female fashion" (Chapter 46).

Why does this change occur in Sarah? (It may be a good idea research Victorian fashion to fully understand this transformation).

Fashion-Era is a great starting point for researching historical fashion. Check out the sections on the Late Victorian Era as well as the Victorian and Edwardian Seaside to gain insight into the clothes worn in "The French Lieutenant's Woman". Fashion-Era also has a great Regency section.

Another one of Lyme's defining features is the region known as the Undercliff. An undercliff is a landslip near a costal area that leads to interesting geologic formations as well as unique vegetation (Wikipedia). Although Austen mentions Lyme's Undercliff in passing, this region of Lyme becomes an important location in Fowles' "The French Lieutenant's Woman".

Read the descriptions of the Undercliff from "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Persuasion" as well as the poem by Wordsworth. Then complete the activity.

The French Lieutenant's Woman, Ch. 10
"The cultivated chequer of green and red-brown breaks, with a kind of joyous indiscipline, into a cascade of trees and undergrowth. There are no roofs. If one flies low enough one can see that the terrain is very abrupt, cut by deep chasms and accented by strange bluffs and towers of chalk and flint, which loom over the strange foliage around them like the walls of ruined castles."

Persuasion, Ch. 11
"With its green chasms between romantic rocks, where the scattered forest trees and orchards of luxuriant growth declare that many a generation must have passed away since the first partial falling of the cliff" is one of the many places that "must be visited, and visited again, to make the worth of Lyme understood" .


Appreciating the beauty of nature is very much in the Romantic literary tradition. Read William Wordsworth's poem, "Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey on revisiting the banks of the Wye Valley during a tour, July 13, 1798" and compare it to the two descriptions of the Undercliff provided above.

Why is the seclusion of the Undercliff important to the plot of "The French Lieutenant's Woman"? How does Mrs. Poulteney's idea of the Undercliff compare with what really happens there? (You can watch this scene (6:50 onward) from the film to refresh your memory).

One of the unique features of Lyme is the Cobb-- a stone wall from the 13th century that was designed to protect the harbor from rough waters. This unique piece of architecture is an important setting in both "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Persuasion".

The first scene of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" takes place on the Cobb. Fowles' description of the "somber, curving mole" and the figure that "stood motionless, staring, staring out to sea, more a living memorial to the drowned" (Chapter 1), sets the somber and mysterious tone of the novel.

The film adaptation of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" begins with a similar scene. Watch the first 1:30 of the following clip of the 1981 film.

How does the film scene compare to Fowles' description in chapters 1 and 2 of the novel? Which scene, in your opinion, is more effective?

The Cobb is the location of Louisa Musgrove's accident in "Persuasion". Austen's simple phrasing leaves much of the drama of the scene to be imagined: "She fell on the pavement on the Lower Cobb, and was taken up lifeless! There was no wound, no blood, no visible bruise; but her eyes were closed, she breathed not, her face was like death. The horror of the moment to all who stood around!" (Chapter 12).

The film adaptation of "Persuasion" dramatizes Louisa's fall, and features other scenes on the Cobb. Watch this clip of the film, from 0:22-2:48 as well as 4:45-5:35. Here is another scene the filmmakers chose to set on the Cobb (from 4:36-6:20). How does the dramatic setting of the Cobb the last clip contribute to what is being discussed?

Does the Cobb have a symbolic meaning in either or both of the texts? Would you consider it a romantic location?

In the first chapter of "The French Lieutenant's Woman," John Fowles calls Lyme "a town that had its heyday in the Middle Ages and has been declining ever since." Yet in Jane Austen's "Persuasion" the narrator claims: "the young people were all wild to see Lyme."

What could account for the disparity between these two descriptions? Is it related to authorial bias, or is it something related to the history of the town?

Let's begin by researching the town of Lyme.

Description

Unlike the famed white cliffs of Dover, or the gritty smokestacks of London, the city of Lyme Regis is not a common setting in English Literature. In fact, Lyme is featured prominently in only two classic works of literature—Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and John Fowles’ “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”. In this unit, you will explore Lyme through the perspectives of these two texts. Not only will you discover the history of the region, you will also gain further understanding of the novels through research and contemplation.

As you can see, the assignments and discussion questions for this unit are collectively posted on to a blog. I have chosen this medium in order to facilitate discussion and the sharing of ideas and information. Every student will be required to respond to the questions I raise in each lesson, but not every response must be formal. Feel free to be creative, to link to other sites, to film a video and post it on YouTube, to ask questions of your peers. Both “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and “Persuasion” are novels concerning self discovery—use this blog as a way to navigate through ideas and discover what you truly think, feel, and believe.

Objectives

• Improved research skills
• Improved ability to utilize media creatively
• Improved ability to see commonalities in literary works