"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature." ~Jane Austen, Northanger AbbeyI find myself in Austen's pages.
Is this too bold a statement...to compare myself to not only to her characters, but also to the spirited and passionate authoress herself?
I find a mixture of Elizabeth Bennet and Marianne Dashwood blended within my soul, as these are the characters that have been rumored to bear the most resemblance to the one who birthed them in ink and page.
Perhaps it is because I find myself just as comfortable and at home alone with a pen and paper as I do in a crowd of laughing friends.
Or is it my passionate ability to love, and yet the finding of myself to be hurt more often than not when my sensibilities fall lower than my imagined dreams...
...my need to vent my frustrations, my romantic imaginings, and my own slightly foolish ramblings by emblazoning my thoughts in literature.
Or maybe it's just because I've caught myself watching two of my favorite screen actors -- the stunningly beautiful Anne Hathaway and the dashingly handsome James MacAvoy -- perform the historical dance that was the romance between Jane Austen and Tom LeFroy.
Whatever the reasons, I've always found an affinity toward Jane Austen and her various works -- on the page far more than at the movies, but my love for both is strong.
I want to make a mark on the world like she did. I want to brave some new world, to make some new-cut path for the future world to walk upon.
For it was Jane Austen who made my writings possible. She cut down the brambles and burned the thorns that blocked the path for a woman to take up a pen and make something of herself in the world of the written.
If I could chose a new place in which to live, it would be to return to the late 1700s...
...to put on a floor-length cotton dress, take a book in my hand, and make a great change to the world...
...if only to spend just one long afternoon
becoming Jane.
A novel must show how the world truly is, how characters genuinely think, how events actually occur. A novel should somehow reveal the true source of our actions. ~Jane Austen, Becoming Jane
I love that quote! I feel the same way... if I love someone, I love you for real and forever.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love that movie! I have read all but two of her books, (both are on my to-read list) and I must say that apart from feeling romantic and dreamy, I always feel more intelligent after reading them. I also think in a British accent for a while afterwards. ;) The are most definitely on my list of most beloved books. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I've read any of Jane Austen's books but I remember enjoying Sense & Sensibility (more so than P&P). I'll have to put the rest of them on my to-read list. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post! And I love Jane Austen and her exceedingly charming works. However, I haven't read all of them though I hope to do so someday.
ReplyDelete"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." And the person who has not pleasure in a good Austen novel must be quite mad. =P
ReplyDeleteJane Austen is one of those clever people with whom I would have loved to had a conversation. She and C.S. Lewis are at the top of that list, actually.
I'm in the midst of reading Mansfield Park--her only novel that I haven't read yet. It's such a perfectly delightful thing to do--to immerse oneself in one of Austen's novels.
Also, James McAvoy is brilliant. Just sayin'. ;)
I must ask--which is your favorite of Austen's novels? I tend to lean toward Northanger Abbey...
~Jenn
I am a HUGE P&P fan..and Sense and Sensibility...and Emma...and Northanger Abbey...and Persuasion...and Mansfield Park...oops, that's all of them, isn't it? Honestly, asking me to chose my favorite Austen is like asking a parent to chose a favorite child. <3
ReplyDeleteOh, Rachel, darling. I love you oooohhhh sooo much. We share the same loves, in just about everything. This post totally made my day. Love it :))
ReplyDelete-Jocee <3
Oh, {like everyone else said} I love this post! :) I seem to blend the characters of Lizzy, Emma, and mostly Marianne in my personality, although I can never be sure, as they are the only three books I have read. I know, I am working on that :P Well i had better end this comment... I saw a post titled "dancer" so I must go and read it. Most likely I will be sifting through all of your archives reading the day away...
ReplyDeleteBlessings and <3