I can’t call myself a Janeite.
I like Jane Austen, I do. I just don’t think that someone like me, who’s only read two of her novels to date (Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion), can claim the title of “Janeite.”
But those two novels that I read? I loved them.
Which is why I was shocked to read an editorial on the HuffPo the other day entitled “Why I Hate Jane Austen.” Go ahead and read it. I will wait here while you form your own opinions before I thrust mine upon you.
The article didn’t make me mad or anything– just sad. The writer of this piece had such a different experience reading Jane Austen than I did, disdaining her novels as having messages that have no meaning in the 21st century unless “you’re a girl who just wants a boyfriend.”
Ouch.
I won’t lie to you, a great deal of the reason I loved Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion WAS what I like to refer to as the swoon factor. Captain Wentworth and Anne’s connection made me clutch my heart. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s journey sent me into raptures. But I hardly think that that’s all the have to offer in the way of “messages.”
The editorial mentions, but glosses over, “familial relationships.” I want to linger on them a little bit longer because I don’t think that they were given the attention they deserve when they’re pretty big deals in Austen’s novels. For most people, familial relationships are still relationships that a great deal of their lives revolve around and they play big parts in both Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice. Elizabeth’s love for her sisters leads her in some of her actions. A great deal of Anne’s life is dictated by trying to keep her family happy. We’re usually tied to our families, for better or worse. Most people can relate to those things.
The writer also leaves out the theme of distinctions between class systems. Obviously, it’s not quite what it was in Austen’s day, but if you tell me there isn’t still a gap, you’re lying. In Pride & Prejudice, there’s also the idea of how intensely a first impression influences your view of someone. And later, the idea that those impressions can change. In Persuasion, we have the idea that people should decide things for themselves, without letting others decide for them. Themes of judgment play a hand in both novels.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a romance novel. Love is a big part of life. I just happen to disagree that Jane Austen’s novels have more to offer.
