This kind of thing is why people think Janeites are weird
We find we must speak our opinion most decidedly about this story, which everyone has no doubt seen by now, about well-meaning Janeites (or, one assumes, more properly their family) who have embarked upon a campaign of dumping their loved ones’ ashes, without permission, in the garden at Chawton Cottage.
In an open letter to the Jane Austen Society, collections manager Louise West wrote: ‘While we understand many admirers of Jane Austen would love to have ashes laid here, it is something we do not allow.
‘It is distressing for visitors to see mounds of human ash, particularly so for our gardener. Also, it is of no benefit to the garden!’
“Mounds of human ash?” Mounds of human ash? MOUNDS? We would like to say to anyone who has performed such an action or is contemplating it:
What the Ferrars is wrong with you people?
It’s one thing to discreetly sprinkle a tiny amount of Aunt “Jane’s” earthly remains in the hedgerows, much like Tim McGraw surreptitiously sprinkled a bit of his old man on the mound at Citizens Bank Park whilst throwing out the first ball during the World Series. It’s quite clear from the article that no one at the museum would object to such a tribute (or likely even know about it), and it’s a nice bit of symbolism. But MOUNDS? And without asking permission?
We always defend the wackier manifestations of our fandom to the snooty and humorless Out There, because we know nearly all of it is tongue in cheek and meant in good fun. Hey, we’ve got the action figure, we’ve got the finger puppet, we snark about Team Darcy occasionally but we’re not sitting in some ivory tower wagging our finger at the unwashed hordes disrespecting saintly Jane. We run a BLOG for crying in a bucket. But there is a line and yes, mounds of human remains left in gardens crosses it! Such actions display a level of cluelessness that leaves us quite at a loss.
This sort of behavior leaves your fellow Janeites open to the mockery of the media and the Great Unwashed (two cohorts that no doubt would share a great deal of real estate in a Venn diagram), such as a commentary in the Guardian by Charlotte Higgins:
Anyway, leaving aside the Gardeners’ Question Time minutiae, what on earth is going on here? I like an Austen novel as much as the next person – I probably reread my way through the complete works every couple of years – but I am baffled as to why one would want to be laid to rest among the flowerbeds of Chawton. The only explanation is the currently unstoppable power of the Austen cult, fuelled by Colin Firth in a wet blouse, by Andrew Davies’s adaptations, and by Hollywood. I’m all for enjoying books, but the cult of Austen has reached ridiculous proportions. In a post-feminist world that should know better, she seems to be adored as the comforting provider of romantic, happy-endings nonsense instead of the sharp and acerbic social satirist she deserves to be seen as.
Oh, don’t worry, Charlotte dear. Some of us not only recognize the satire and humor, but revel in it, and even expand upon with things such as a Cluebat of Janeite Righteousness. We use it on lazy, elitist journalists who herd all Janeites into a box and then sneer at us. Our Cluebat, let us show you it.
Naturally we will always defend our fellow Janeites, especially against such unfair, lazy “journalism” as committed in this article, but we can’t prevent it from being written in the first place. And we beg you all, when considering such bright ideas as dumping mounds of human remains in a museum garden not equipped for such things: just think a little. Then go read Jane Austen’s books again, and think some more.
Thanks to the many Alert Janeites who sent us this link, including Lisa, Kirsten, Cate, J. Ganis, and Maria L.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:21 am
Ugh! Although I must say I’m not really surprised. Once, visiting Anne Brontë’s grave in Scarborough, we also found a mound of ashes over it. I understand (sort of, anyway) the commitment that goes with the gesture, but I got a pretty disgusting image of Anne down there receiving unwelcome visitors.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 am
Anne Brontë? One would expect that kind of thing more from the Wuthering Heights crowd.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
Wow, this is all new to me, although I am enjoying the image of Janeite cat burglars with smudged faces sneaking up to the Chawton garden wall. I wouldn’t my body to end up plopped in a mound anywhere. I thought ashes were meant to float away on the wind.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Without getting too graphic, I must add that the cremation “ashes” presented to a family in a box or urn are NOT all indistinct fine ash as one might suppose. What a shock it must be for the gardeners to come upon a mound of cremains. Not one of us would appreciate this intrusion onto our property without explicit permission.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
So, are the culprits friends/relatives of a deceased Janeite who are simply following her/his wishes, or fanatics themselves who are taking it upon themselves to assume that since Mumsy liked Austen she would want to spend eternity in her garden?
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Could be either one, I guess. Since they don’t know who left them (and it seems to have happened more than once), it’s hard to tell.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Mags,
When I read “comforting provider of romantic, happy-endings nonsense”, you know, the article about “the mounds”, I remembered the lovely the Janeites Cluebat…
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Agreed, JaneGS! Why are people blaming the poor, dead Janeites? It’s the cluebag friends and relatives who are doing this. Clearly these well-meaning but temporarily-out-of-their-mind perpetrators didn’t ‘get’ the beloved admirer any more in life than in death and therefore wouldn’t ‘get’ that a true fan wouldn’t be so thoughtless.
To all the Janeites planning this type of misdeed: at least have the foresight to leave your loved one some implement like a golf-hole digger ;p
December 4th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
At another blog I visit, Sarah of http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php wrote in response to The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins:
“So the fuck what if she’s adored as the “comforting provider of romantic happy endings.” She’s not appreciated enough for her social satire and wit? You’re not happy because people don’t like her for the same reasons you do? Oh, bite me. The only thing more annoying than the Cult of Anything is self-righteous snotbags telling people they ought to know better than to like Something Awesome But, Oh Noes, For The Wrong Reasons. It’s a straight shot to Self-Important Asshat Land with an attitude like that, particularly since the foundation of your argument suffers from disintegration because you can’t spell “Darcy” correctly.”
December 5th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Mags, I admit that shock from this news has put me in a total freeze. Everyone is writing/talking about it online, but I am just numb. I am glad that you found your voice and said everything that I was feeling. Well done.
Jen K. Is a cluebag a dirtbag who has been beaned by a Cluebat or a media hag? LOL. I love it!
Cheers, LA
December 5th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
You had me at “What the Ferrars. . .” - hear, hear!