Word: cassandra
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...dedicated Austenite, my reaction is, Who cares? The practice of psychoanalyzing historical characters is interesting but suspect, since the people involved can no longer speak for themselves. Another questionable practice is the attempt to interpret the love language of women in another era. Jane's sister Cassandra herself expurgated Austen's letters; it is obvious she found nothing "homoerotic" about what was left. We know this about Jane Austen: she wrote six great novels and several tantalizing fragments. We also know that she remained unattached throughout her life. If she had been a wife and mother, she might not have...
...JANE AUSTEN gay? This question, posed by the normally staid London Review of Books, was the headline for an essay by Stanford professor Terry Castle that subtly explored the "unconscious homoerotic dimension" of Austen's letters to her sister Cassandra. The implication has caused quite a kerfuffle among Austenites. "I think it's about as likely that Jane Austen was gay as that she was found out to be a man," was one of the more temperate responses. Says Castle, miffed: "For the readers of the LRB, I didn't really expect this to be such a stunning revelation...
...Water is another melodically intriguing tune, though Harvey's mannered vocals nearly drown it. Harvey, 25, does occasionally spin out a gratifying guitar riff; but for the most part, she's unable to style her music with subtlety or grace. Harvey would do well to listen to jazz diva Cassandra Wilson's Blue Light 'til Dawn. Wilson's bluesy, modernist, intelligent vocalizing is less theatrical but infinitely more evocative...
...Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson...
...Fields. Marsalis' lush, undulating jazz composition, performed at Lincoln Center this April and broadcast on National Public Radio, captured the pain of American slavery in piercing trumpet peals and the joy of liberation in the playful bleats of trombones. The three-hour big-band piece featured singer Cassandra Wilson, who, with her performance in Fields and the success of her transcendent album Blue Light 'Til Dawn, came into her own this year as the reigning queen of jazz...