Time to Cave In and Talk About Jane Austen

First a note to the gentlemen: Jane Austen is an author. Jane Eyre is a book. Your significant other may pretend it’s charming the first few times you mix up the two, but after a while it becomes tedious. Austenian novels are the ladies’ version of football, and just as it irks when a lady asks “When will they hit a home run?” it also annoys when you go off on your tirade about how these movies are just for girls. Sure, these novels are centered on female characters and have a distinct lack of explosions and sword fighting, but I always recommend gentlemen read at least Pride and Prejudice, if only because they’re going to be compared to Mr. Darcy by all their girlfriends whether they know who Mr. Darcy is or not, and they might as well know what preconceptions they’re up against.


What exactly is the appeal of Jane Austen’s novels? Here we are, two hundred years later, and this relatively small body of works (only six novels, two of which are rather short) remain absorbing, amusing, and strangely relevant. I often recommend Austen’s works to teenagers because it was from them I learned a lot of how to deal with romantic situations.  (I can spot a modern-day Willoughby or Wickham a mile away. Ask any of my friends who I’ve forced to agree with me.)

To me, one of the main draws of Jane Austen’s works is how she portrays people’s worth.  A lot of her heroines and heroes are the requisite handsome (yeah, that’s right, both girls and guys are “handsome”)…but that’s not what defines them as good or worthy of heroism.  Throughout Austen’s works, a character is not only defined by their looks or wealth or social status, but also how they behave. They are judged by whether they have manners (Pride and Prejudice), or morals (Mansfield Park) and on their past actions (Sense and Sensibility). I’m not alone in this attraction: many reviews or blogs I’ve read about Austen’s works often voice a longing for that “lost refinement” that used to be the norm in Regency England. 

So here I am, writing YET ANOTHER blog post among thousands (or millions?) of others.  My qualifications? 

-          Having bought the complete Jane Austen collection for $14.00 (my entire life savings) at a home-school conference when I was thirteen.

-          Finishing all of the novels by the time I was fifteen. 

-          Reading several Jane Austen biographies for a research paper I did in college.  (The research paper was just an excuse to read a ton of Jane Austen biographies, of course.)

-          Extensive conversation with anyone who would talk about these novels with me.

-          Watching every. Single. Adaptation. I have definite opinions about which are the “best,” though I don’t expect everyone concur…although of course they should.