Winchester plan for £100,000 Jane Austen statue triggers ‘Disneyfication’ fears https://t.co/Ks1LvK89Vf
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) March 1, 2024
Acclaimed British author Jane Austen died over two hundred years ago, yet still retains legions of fans around the world. I am not one of them, although, in my wild bachelor days, I once read Pride and Prejudice in order to impress a girl (it worked).
The earthly remains of Jane Austen are buried inside Winchester Cathedral. There is a plan underway to erect a statue near that site to honor her life and work. Many of her fans, The Guardian reports, strenuously object.
These fans argue that Austen was an intensely private person and would prefer not to be regarded this way. Furthermore, they are concerned about the "Disneyfication" of Austen's grave if fans travel there to take selfies with the statue. Worse, the statue may attract even more American tourists to the area than is the norm.
Sculptor Martin Jennings responds to these complaints by arguing that now, after her death, Austen belongs to the whole world. Her reserved nature in life need not be endured now by the living.
-via Marginal Revolution