For the next seven days, Laurel Ann and Vic will devote Austenprose, Jane Austen's World, and Jane Austen Today to Jane Austen's siblings. This event is in celebration of JASNA's general annual meeting in Philadelphia, whose erudite discussions will center on Jane Austen's sister and brothers. Our first post will be about Cassandra, Jane's devoted sister. Two recent movies about Jane's life featured Cassandra. This week we ask you: which actress did you prefer in the role? Greta Schachi played Cassandra towards the end of Jane's life, and Anna Maxwell Martin portrayed Cassandra when she was young and grieving over the death of her fiance.Which actress do you prefer as Cassandra?
Greta Scacchi, Cassandra, Miss Austen Regrets
Greta plays a world weary Cassandra, who is the mainstay of the women at Chawton Cottage, helping to run the household with her mother, including gardening, sewing, and cooking. These activities enabled Jane to concentrate on her writing. The Times Online offered this description of the character as supportive sister: "As the elder, wiser sister to the fiery Jane (Olivia Williams), her Cassandra is a bedraggled bread baker, chicken plucker and general rural dogsbody without a dusting of make-up or a single bonnet change in ten years of screen life." Cassandra nurses Jane through her terrible final illness, and Greta's scenes with Olivia Williams as a critically ill Jane Austen were among the most touching of the Jane Austen movie adaptations as I have ever seen.
Anna Maxwell Martin, Cassandra, Becoming JaneAnna plays a younger Cassandra, one who is deeply in love with her fiance Thomas Fowle. When he dies on a trip to the West Indies, Cassandra's grief is profound and lasting. (Cassandra never married and received an annuity for life from his small estate.) Anna's sensitive portrayal of a woman in love and who has lost the love of her life is quite moving, and brought me to tears. In this BBC podcast, Anna spoke about her role as Cassandra and her interpretation of Jane's sister: " she was very much a levelling force for Jane – Jane was the misfit of the family really – very ambitious, wanted to be a writer. Whereas Cassandra was very aware of her duty to her family, which was a hugely prevalent thing at the time - marrying for the right reasons, to the right person. Jane didn’t feel any of those obligations because she had another passion, and Cassandra was really the one who tried to …she was a sounding-board for Jane, but also she tried to level her a bit and that didn’t really work!"
Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World
