This September, pilgrims will gather in a small group in Derbyshire, England for a pilgrimage dedicated to author Jane Austen and her most widely read novel, Pride and Prejudice. The trip perfectly dovetails with the Jane Austen Centre’s festival from September 12-21, held in honor of both Austen’s work and her 250th birthday. We highly recommend you take a cue from The New York Times and immerse yourself in Austen’s world, enjoying all the extra programming this historic year. Together with Common Ground faculty member and host of the Pantsuit Politics Podcast Sarah Stewart Holland, pilgrims will journey through Derbyshire, experiencing the breathtaking estates, gardens, and hikes of Austen’s England.
As a writer, Austen uses Regency culture’s societal structures as a framework for the creation of her characters. These markers define her characters, but also can obscure the specificity of their individual selves, weaknesses, and desires. Pilgrims will spend time contemplating the relationship between status and self, asking questions like: how do we use the social structures embedded in our culture to shape our identities? How does status cloud or clarify our perceptions of our peers? What values are we embodying when we accept or reject the signals from these structures? We will engage with these questions as Lizzie Bennet does, walking through the countryside with our hems, “six inches deep in the mud.”
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
Four nights in a shared or private room at the beautiful Rutland Arms Hotel
All meals from dinner on September 22nd to breakfast on September 26th
Transportation within England from the afternoon of September 22nd to midday on September 26th
One-on-one chaplaincy sessions
Private walking tours, beautiful picnics, and museum tours
Customized journal
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