I agree with Cassandra
Posted by Golda on August 03, 1998 at 14:28:02:
In response to Open secrets, written by Caroline on August 01, 1998 at 16:14:06
] ] One of the points made about Cassandra's censoring of JA's letters is that she seems to have removed all mention of physical illness. I'm not sure, but I think it's Deirdre le Faye who discusses this, in her edition of the letters. Nobody seems to have any good idea about why Cass did this, except, perhaps, that it was considered as not something to put in print and allow the whole world to bandy about. (snip) I think of it in terms of myself - I have plenty of family "problems" myself, but I don't splash them all over the internet, because they are irrelevant to everyone else.
Since we live in the age of Jerry Springer, we forget that there are some people who like to keep their personal relationships and problems secret. It is only in recent years that many people have started to wear their dysfunctionality on their sleeve like a badge of honor. I don't think that Cassandra had any idea of how enduring her sister's novels would be. Nor do I think she could have predicted that literary scholars would study Jane and the Austen family and friends so deeply, as well as turn their house into a museum. But there must have been some interest, and Cassandra wanted to protect her sister's memory. I would have done the same thing (still would). And if I suddenly become famous, I'll be counting on my sister to destroy any non-flattering evidence. :-)
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