Jane Austen

I have a very complicated relationship with Jane Austen. I really loved the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. However when I saw a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at the Guthrie Theater with Vincent Kartheiser as Mr. Darcy, I found myself annoyed with everyone except Elizabeth Bennett. I walked away questioning how many people cast the story as being romantic when it was clearly more about economic stability and social mobility than romance. And I was struck by how 

I have picked up books that were retellings of Pride and Prejudice since then. I wanted to see if my issue was with Jane Austen or the story. I really loved Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (horror is definitely my happy place!) and enjoyed  Sonali Dev's bollywood twist in Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors. However, everything else seemed to bore me.

 My biggest challenge would be that Jane Austen is my father's favorite writer. I tried to read her work when I was younger but never found it as compelling. However, i remember often feeling like to prove that i was an educated, serious reader i had to claim her as a favorite writer even though it wasnt true. I would articulate a distaste for Austen.

However as my father  has opened his mind to horror for me, I figured I should revisit Jane Austen for him. Fortunately since Austen's work is in public domain I was able to secure her complete works for only a few dollars on Kindle. Owning her work in some format would help me. While I LOVE using Libby, I knew that I would need something I could keep so that I could take as long as I needed to get through any of her work.

I did find myself picking up Sense and Sensibility about a year ago. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. However, it was the relationship between Eleanor and Marianne that I found entertaining. The relationship between sisters proved to be more cimpelling than any of the romances. None of the male characters were likable to me. When I saw the movie adaptation with Hugh Grant, that portrayal of the character seemed so charming. However on the page, I found him quite dull. WIlliughby was the most interesting of all of the suitors even if his behavior proved unsavory. 

Pride and Prejudice would take a little more work. I've held the belief that it is a truth universally known that it is the most over hyped piece of literature. To wet my own curiousities I found Great Courses lectures on Austen and her times. As someone who loves sociology and cultural history it was learning more about the courtship rituals of the time that would capture my attention. This is what opened my eyes to the satire portrayed in Pride and Prejudice. The witty dialogue that Austen is known for is based upon the nuances of social class and marriage. Austen does have an approach to words that are fluffy and her humor is subtle, which may be why a lot of people still delight in her work. But despite her way with words, marriage proposals read more like a business transaction than a declaration of love.

This leads me to my caveat with both of these novels is that having attractive men play the male characters in the movies is what makes them sexy. Without Colin Firth, I really did not find Mr. Darcy at all likeable even on the page. But his sharp tongue makes him somewhat compelling.

What really troubles me is not about Austens stories or intent. My trepidation women still romanticize these books and that era when Austen is more of a satirist than a romantic. When I dive into her works I am thankful that I live in a world where as a woman I can pave my own way financially.