Subtext: Historic Kitchen

My Dearest Emma
Chelsea-Anne Salter
video on digital screen, 2022
Displayed in the Historic Kitchen

Inspired by the romance of Jane Austen and her ideas around gender expectations and roles, My Dearest Emma re-appropriates the language of the marriage proposals in her novel Emma. Coupled with her handwritten additions to her father’s marriage register in the Church in which he preached, the film explores how romance filled Austen’s life and yet she never said, “I do”.

Read Chelsea-Anne’s Letter to Jane ✉️

or listen to her read it 🎧