JASP 2026: Interview with Maria Frawley, Plenary Speaker
- Emma Zuder
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
In anticipation of JASP 2026, we’re interviewing our esteemed staff and speakers. This year’s four-day symposium, JASP 2026: Pride, Prejudice, and the Pursuit of Happiness will take place June 11-14, 2026, in historic Greensburg, PA, the new JASP location for the foreseeable future. We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by exploring topics that connect Austen's Pride and Prejudice to the revolutionary context in which it was written. Activities include workshops, small-group discussions, and lectures from renowned Austen scholars. And of course, our Regency Ball is an event not to be missed!
Our next interviewee is Dr. Maria Frawley, a JASP 2026 featured plenary speaker. Dr. Frawley is a Professor of English at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., specializing in "nineteenth-century British literature, social history, and print culture" (The George Washington University). Dr. Frawley recently published Jane Austen in 50 Words (2025) with Bloomsbury Academic, and co-edited the first edition of The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen (2021). As a first-time JASP attendee, Dr. Frawley expressed her excitement to attend and speak.
What will your lecture be about?
I will explore the many ways that Pride and Prejudice addresses ideas and ideals of liberty through Austen's distinctive vocabulary.
What inspired this topic?
I recently published a book titled Jane Austen in 50 Words that examines terms that Austen returns to again and again in her fiction—words like "felicity," "disposition," "consequence," and "esteem." This project deepened my appreciation of the complexities of Austen's craft and helped me understand how deeply her fiction explores the connections between character and conduct. The theme of this year's JASP inspired me to think more deeply about Pride and Prejudice in relation to ideas of freedom and individualism and other cornerstone concepts that we in this country associate with the Declaration of Independence.
What do you enjoy most about Pride and Prejudice?
It's hard not to love Elizabeth Bennet and to admire her feisty spirit, as when she declares that she likes to cheat others of their premeditated contempt. Yet she is often, or at least sometimes, wrong, and the novel also showcases her willingness to self-correct. I greatly admire that component of the novel, even while delighting in its abundant humor.
Film stills from Pride and Prejudice (1995) dir. Simon Langton
Do you have any favorite scenes from Pride and Prejudice?
Let me count the ways, er....scenes. A favorite has to be the "showdown" scene with Lady Catherine when Elizabeth asserts her equality to Darcy and her right to determine her own path to happiness. I also love Darcy's second proposal and his statement that Elizabeth taught him "to please a woman worthy of being pleased."
What do you love about Jane Austen and her works?
Not to get too repetitive, but I learn so much from her fiction, still, now, relatively late in my adult life. I love the magic that Austen works so that entertainment and edification coalesce. The courtship plots are satisfying, yes, but more satisfying to me is the attention she gives to the way we learn to better understand ourselves.
Film stills from Pride and Prejudice (2005), dir. Joe Wright
Which JASP activity are you most looking forward to and why?
I'm very much looking forward to interacting throughout JASP with other Austen teachers and readers. I'm scared of any dancing, to be honest, as I consider myself completely uncoordinated!
Why should people attend JASP 2026?
Every Jane Austen event I attend—most of them via JASNA or regional JASNA groups -- reflects the genuine esprit de corp that is likely a result of our shared affection for and intellectual interest in Jane Austen's life and writing. We don't have nearly enough opportunities for these "life long learning experiences" with one another. I am so thrilled to be a part of JASP 2026 and to think anew about Jane Austen via this year's theme.
Do you have any other Jane Austen-related projects and contributions?
I am currently serving as a literary scholar/consultant on a new edition of Pride and Prejudice, underway with the all-woman publishing company Bond & Grace, and that is designed as an "art novel"—a beautiful coffee-table book like edition enhanced with extensive annotations and original art work. After writing Jane Austen in 50 Words and co-editing the Routledge Companion to Jane Austen, this feels like a great way to continue thinking about Jane Austen as I develop ideas for my next book project.
Since 2013, our annual, award-winning symposium has attracted lovers of Jane Austen from all walks of life. Attendees spend four days in person with fellow scholars and fans to explore one topic or novel in greater depth for an unforgettable experience. Your donations help keep pricing as low as possible.
