The stories of Jane Austen are the stories that girls want in their own lives. They show the classy and sophisticated woman of a time that has pasted. These woman experience hard-ache and hard-times. Through out the trials of life they are able to keep their head held high and handle things with a grace that is not evident today. In our culture the example of celebrity woman define what the beauty and actions of a woman are. So Paris Hilton may not be like your next door neighbor, but she does said a message. She tells us that beauty and wealth can bring you happiness and that you can act any way you want. The woman of Jane Austin don’t have these same priorities. You see woman who go about their business with this reserved grace that is so charming. In Sense and Sensibility you see how these woman move to a small cottage after being forced out of their home. Yes, they complain about it, but they are able to adapt to the situation. We live in a culture that is so unwilling to adapt to changes in our world or is just plain selfish.
Jane understood the relationship that woman have with one another; whether this was the relationship of friends, a mother, or sisters. In Pride and Prejudice their is a maternal character that would love to marry off anything that is single. It is interesting to watch as this character plans to get an elevated place in the social sphere because of who this young girl marries. Some mothers still do this. They want to know who their girl is dating or they are interested in the gossip of who has who. Jane also values the conversation that sisters have with each other. Their are countless conversations where two sisters are laying in bed talking of the men that they are interacting with. These conversations are similar to the ones that girls still have today. We overanalyze and question every interaction between the opposite sex. We still lay in bed and discuss the life that is happening around us. Jane valued the friendship that girls had with one another. Look at the letters that she wrote back and forth with her cousins and aunts. She was always offering advice and encouragement for living. It is a great example of how we should treat one another. Jane understood how woman related to each other.
Jane also understood what is needed for a good romance to occur. She never married, but saw the qualities that persuaded people to get married. Her stories showed the quiet devotion of a woman who longingly wanted a strong and courageous man that would do the right thing. These men would do something that would capture the attention of these girls. Every girl in Jane’s books are different. They are all happy with a different kind of man. In Pride and Prejudice they each fall for a different type of man because they are different woman. Jane understood that love came in a different box for each person.
The quiet and calm nature of her characters and the loving relationships that they had with others make them amiable woman to become. They have this humble grace that is amazing. They had fun, they dance, they run through the fields when it rains, they poke fun at weird boys, and they laugh. They are genuinely enjoying the world that Jane Austen has created for them. It is refreshing to leave the crazy world of today and escape to the simple times of Jane Austen.
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