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Both the reading and the listening passages talk about the portrait of Jane Austen. In the reading passage, the author writes that the teenage girl in the full-length portrait is definitely Jane Austen. However, in the listening passage, the lecturer disagrees.
First, in the reading passage, the author says that the family of Jane Austen gave permission to the publication and endorsed that the girl in the portrait is Jane Austen. But the lecturer argues that Jane Austen had died for 70 years and no one had really seen her, so the endorsement actually holds little authority.
Second, the author also says that the portrait resembles Cassandra’s sketch, which is known as Jane Austen. However, the lecturer contends that there were many relatives in Austen’s family. The teenage girl in the portrait could be the niece of Jane Austen.
Third, the author further states that the portrait is of Humphrey’s style. Humphrey, a society portrait painter, was active when Austen was young. Nevertheless, the lecturer believes that the style of the portrait does not mean anything. Besides, the stamp on the canvas proved that it was sold by a merchant when Austen was 27 years old; she was no longer a teenage girl.
In conclusion, although the author claims that the teenage girl in the full-length portrait is Jane Austen. However, the lecturer disagrees. He brings up three points to argue that Jane Austen is not the subject.