Subversive Austen: from the Critic to the Reader

Subversive Austen: from the Critic to the Reader edited by Serena Baiesi, Carlotta Farese and Katie Halsey This special issue of Textus explores and contributes to the tradition of “subversive” Austen criticism, and focuses on readings which suggest the ongoing need to challenge the still influential critical paradigm depicting Austen as a conservative author. The following essays examine aspects of Austen’s subversiveness and exemplify the ways in which her work challenges established moral and social conventions through the means of irony, parody and satire. The issue also considers the Italian and European contexts, with articles discussing the contribution that readers and translators can make to understanding the novelist’s cultural role in non-English speaking countries. As a matter of fact, new critical approaches require a revision of translation strategies, which have been so far inspired by an essentially conservative reading of Austen. These are now encouraged to engage with the twofold and ambiguous language of a novelist who unmasks the hypocrisies of Georgian society with ironic writing that is extremely difficult to translate, and which has hence been hidden to non-English-speaking readerships for a long time. Moreover, this collection of essays also reflects on the ways in which the subversive features of Austen’s writing are remediated and disseminated through adaptations, imitations, sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, turning her into a global literary brand able to appeal to readers and spectators belonging to diverse social and cultural contexts.