You're right, that scene in Emma certainly did showcase how tedious people who love the sound of their own voice are. So tedious,in fact, that I put it down and have no intentions of going back to it. 😅
I skipped chunks of this article so I can go play The Excavation of Hobs Barrow and report back later. All in all, what a great way to show love for the development of immersion and I love your phrase metatextual fatigue!
There are boring chapters about politics in 'War and Peace' arguing against the Great Man theory of history. But maybe Tolstoy thought those bits were really exciting and important? Rather than boring us all deliberately. Also some of Chaucer's narrators in the Canterbury Tales: the Knight goes to great lengths to tell us he doesn't have time to describe all three of the votive temples while carefully listing all their features that he isn't going to describe. Maybe to make us appreciate the simple directness of the Miller's Tale that follows. And the narrator "Chaucer" 's own Tale is so boring that the other pilgrims have to make him stop and shut up.
I was thinking of this when I was chatting with everyone about Chaucer in that other thread! Chaucer being the most boring pilgrim might actually be one of my favourite examples. I hadn't thought about the other prologues but you're absolutely right.
I love this point about getting the reader to feel what the character is feeling (plus, of course, all the clues which Emma quite wrongly imagines into Jane having a love affair with Mr Dixon are packed in there, like the key clue in a proliferation of red herrings) - so we're implicated in Emma's shame when she recognises her own fallibility. Maybe even twice over, if we also believed the Mr Dixon Affair idea...
It reminds me of Umberto Eco, who describes in the essay he published about writing The Name of The Rose, that lots of early feedback from friends told him that the first 100 pages went far too slowly, that they were dull and he should cut them and start the novel where things get interesting. And he refused: he said that the reader needed that time, that long read, to get used to the rhythm of the monastery, of how things are in that life: to move in and acclimatise, as it were. And if any readers gave up before that, then they weren't the right reader for the book.
Oooh I love that, Emma, that's such a great example! It definitely requires a lot of bravery and firmness of purpose in a writer. You have to trust that enough people will keep reading to sing the book's praises once the effect of those passages has come to fruition. I remember a guy sending me his novel to read once and it was so poorly written that I started wondering whether he was a genius and was sending up that kind of narrative. I thought it was either going to be the greatest novel I'd ever read or (as it turned out) just incredibly shabby writing. It was extremely sexist too, just in case you were feeling bad for him...
There are pages of 18th Century tin mining/landowning economics in the early Poldark novels*. Then I think someone must have had a chat with Winston Graham and told him to lay off it, I quite liked it though. Now you've noted that the "boring bits" are needed to drive the story I can see all the economics gave excellent context for why everyone (especially pantomime villain George Warleggan) was behaving the way they did.
*The first five are pretty good reads, then they go a bit downhill.
Thank you, Fi, that's a great example. It actually makes me feel more inclined to read the Poldark novels which I'd always thought were 'just' romances (my least favourite genre). Maybe I should give them a go!
Really enjoyed this discussion of Emma and the clever, complex way Austen involves us in the protagonist's emotions. I'd never heard the phrase 'metatextual fatigue' but I've often thought of using it... didn't know it had a name. Thank you, Rebekah!
Ooh I haven’t read Les Mis but I’ve read Notre Dame and The Man Who Laughs and Hugo is such a good candidate for this. I’ll have to give them a re-read…
I’ve never heard of Hobb’s Barrow, but it sounds right up my alley. I was a fan of all the early computer games like Myst and Riven and other exploration games especially with a touchof horror.💕
I love your explanation of this literary technique, and I’m going to be watching for it in my reading.
This was a really interesting read, and a great breakdown of a term I had never come across before, although I'm sure I have encountered the technique. There is a similar character in The Brothers Karamazov, who also goes on at great length and overshares to everyone she meets, and the reader shares the embarrassment of characters around her on her behalf (though she is very sweet and well-meaning, and one of the few to seemingly have a happy ending).
I also had no idea you were a gamer! Hob's Barrow has been on my wishlist for a while, might get it soon.
I'm not sure if you are aware, but there's a an older game which may or may not have been an influence on Hob's Barrow, which I think you might like (at least, it has a lot of overlap with your areas of interest). It's called The Last Door, and is a point-and-click game with beautiful pixel art, by the creators of Blasphemous. It is a mixture of gothic, cosmic and folk horror, with a lot of influence from Lovecraft, and one of its episodes is heavily inspired by The Wicker Man. It's a really unique and atmospheric game, and it's not too long.
Thanks so much, Ashlander! I basically made a name for it to use in this article because I couldn't remember/find the name for it. It's something I've always loved, I think it plays to my sense of humour. I desperately need to read The Brothers Karamazov, it's been recommended to me so many times and sounds like my ideal novel. Doing a PhD I was reading so many books and plays I just didn't have time for any extra-curriculars so I've got a lot of catching up.
The Last Door sounds brilliant, I'll have to play it. Anything that has 'Lovecraft' and 'The Wicker Man' in the description is perfect for me. I've done a couple of other game reviews and I've got a few more lined up (all horror-adjacent, of course!) https://rebekahkingwriter.substack.com/t/game-recommendation
You're right, that scene in Emma certainly did showcase how tedious people who love the sound of their own voice are. So tedious,in fact, that I put it down and have no intentions of going back to it. 😅
Ah yes that is the downside of trying to bore your audience!
It's on my steam wishlist 😅
Tell me what you think if you play it!
Fascinating! I noted in my latest reread of Emma how brilliantly and literally Austen illustrates people who talk too much. Mrs Elton is another one.
Yes definitely! She’s such a good observer of the minutiae of conversations, no one captures that quite so well.
I skipped chunks of this article so I can go play The Excavation of Hobs Barrow and report back later. All in all, what a great way to show love for the development of immersion and I love your phrase metatextual fatigue!
Thanks so much, Jamie, you HAVE to let me know what you thought!
There are boring chapters about politics in 'War and Peace' arguing against the Great Man theory of history. But maybe Tolstoy thought those bits were really exciting and important? Rather than boring us all deliberately. Also some of Chaucer's narrators in the Canterbury Tales: the Knight goes to great lengths to tell us he doesn't have time to describe all three of the votive temples while carefully listing all their features that he isn't going to describe. Maybe to make us appreciate the simple directness of the Miller's Tale that follows. And the narrator "Chaucer" 's own Tale is so boring that the other pilgrims have to make him stop and shut up.
I was thinking of this when I was chatting with everyone about Chaucer in that other thread! Chaucer being the most boring pilgrim might actually be one of my favourite examples. I hadn't thought about the other prologues but you're absolutely right.
I love this point about getting the reader to feel what the character is feeling (plus, of course, all the clues which Emma quite wrongly imagines into Jane having a love affair with Mr Dixon are packed in there, like the key clue in a proliferation of red herrings) - so we're implicated in Emma's shame when she recognises her own fallibility. Maybe even twice over, if we also believed the Mr Dixon Affair idea...
It reminds me of Umberto Eco, who describes in the essay he published about writing The Name of The Rose, that lots of early feedback from friends told him that the first 100 pages went far too slowly, that they were dull and he should cut them and start the novel where things get interesting. And he refused: he said that the reader needed that time, that long read, to get used to the rhythm of the monastery, of how things are in that life: to move in and acclimatise, as it were. And if any readers gave up before that, then they weren't the right reader for the book.
Oooh I love that, Emma, that's such a great example! It definitely requires a lot of bravery and firmness of purpose in a writer. You have to trust that enough people will keep reading to sing the book's praises once the effect of those passages has come to fruition. I remember a guy sending me his novel to read once and it was so poorly written that I started wondering whether he was a genius and was sending up that kind of narrative. I thought it was either going to be the greatest novel I'd ever read or (as it turned out) just incredibly shabby writing. It was extremely sexist too, just in case you were feeling bad for him...
There are pages of 18th Century tin mining/landowning economics in the early Poldark novels*. Then I think someone must have had a chat with Winston Graham and told him to lay off it, I quite liked it though. Now you've noted that the "boring bits" are needed to drive the story I can see all the economics gave excellent context for why everyone (especially pantomime villain George Warleggan) was behaving the way they did.
*The first five are pretty good reads, then they go a bit downhill.
Thank you, Fi, that's a great example. It actually makes me feel more inclined to read the Poldark novels which I'd always thought were 'just' romances (my least favourite genre). Maybe I should give them a go!
Incredibly interesting and I loved the Emma explanation. You do have to be brilliant to get away with boring the reader!
Thanks so much, Anna! Absolutely, and you have to be very brave and self-assured too to say "I know I'm breaking all the rules but trust me..."
Really enjoyed this discussion of Emma and the clever, complex way Austen involves us in the protagonist's emotions. I'd never heard the phrase 'metatextual fatigue' but I've often thought of using it... didn't know it had a name. Thank you, Rebekah!
Thank you so much, Roz! I basically invented the term for the article, maybe I should flag that...it felt like it should have a name!
Les Miserables feels like it could be a candidate for metatextual fatigue, but I’m not sure to what end.
Ooh I haven’t read Les Mis but I’ve read Notre Dame and The Man Who Laughs and Hugo is such a good candidate for this. I’ll have to give them a re-read…
I’ve never heard of Hobb’s Barrow, but it sounds right up my alley. I was a fan of all the early computer games like Myst and Riven and other exploration games especially with a touchof horror.💕
I love your explanation of this literary technique, and I’m going to be watching for it in my reading.
Another fabulous article, Rebekah!
Thanks so much, Sheila! I’ll have to check out some of the earlier games, I’ve not played Myst or Riven but they both look very up my street.
They are not so much horror, but they are beautiful to look at, for the time they were made, and very immersive.
I do love games like that, little atmospheric worlds you can get lost in
This was a really interesting read, and a great breakdown of a term I had never come across before, although I'm sure I have encountered the technique. There is a similar character in The Brothers Karamazov, who also goes on at great length and overshares to everyone she meets, and the reader shares the embarrassment of characters around her on her behalf (though she is very sweet and well-meaning, and one of the few to seemingly have a happy ending).
I also had no idea you were a gamer! Hob's Barrow has been on my wishlist for a while, might get it soon.
I'm not sure if you are aware, but there's a an older game which may or may not have been an influence on Hob's Barrow, which I think you might like (at least, it has a lot of overlap with your areas of interest). It's called The Last Door, and is a point-and-click game with beautiful pixel art, by the creators of Blasphemous. It is a mixture of gothic, cosmic and folk horror, with a lot of influence from Lovecraft, and one of its episodes is heavily inspired by The Wicker Man. It's a really unique and atmospheric game, and it's not too long.
Thanks so much, Ashlander! I basically made a name for it to use in this article because I couldn't remember/find the name for it. It's something I've always loved, I think it plays to my sense of humour. I desperately need to read The Brothers Karamazov, it's been recommended to me so many times and sounds like my ideal novel. Doing a PhD I was reading so many books and plays I just didn't have time for any extra-curriculars so I've got a lot of catching up.
The Last Door sounds brilliant, I'll have to play it. Anything that has 'Lovecraft' and 'The Wicker Man' in the description is perfect for me. I've done a couple of other game reviews and I've got a few more lined up (all horror-adjacent, of course!) https://rebekahkingwriter.substack.com/t/game-recommendation
Thank you for taking us on this ride! I’m intrigued and I learned a lot.
Thank you so much, Lyns, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Let me know if you play Hob’s Barrow…