Jane
Austen’s Fresh Perspective
by Lori Smith
Jane Austen
loved to watch people. She enjoyed going
to art exhibits, but watching the people looking at the art was more her
thing. One gets the sense that she was
constantly studying those whose lives intersected with hers, seeing in them
greed and charity, mercenary marriages and real romance, kindness and
pride.
In her writing,
she loved to skewer the ridiculous, to isolate and display the character flaws
of people at every level of society—the bombastic nature of Pride and Prejudice’s Lady Catherine de
Bourgh, the faithless grasping of Northanger
Abbey’s Isabella Thorpe, even the vanity of her dear Elizabeth Bennet. Which is why, if she were here today, she
just might rejoice at the sheer amount of absurd behavior on display.
Hook-ups.
Reality TV. Everyone looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Maxed out credit
cards. Overwhelming debt. Our obsession
with romance and finding “the one.”
Maybe we’ve been
going along with the flow long enough that these things don’t seem crazy to
us. Which is why stepping back and
looking at things through Austen’s eyes can provide a fresh dose of valuable
common sense.
Austen relished
life, truly, without ever having much money. She’s one of the greatest writers
in the English language, but she never looked for fame. She was a woman of
substance—thoughtful, continually seeking self-knowledge—and expected that of
both her fictional characters and her friends.
She thought romance should involve the mind as well as the heart. She wanted to be happy, and believed that
happiness and contentment were to be found primarily in sound moral character.
She
represents the wonderful, sensible antithesis to so much of what we believe
today.
Two hundred
years after her novels were released, Austen is still extraordinarily
popular. Maybe because her stories
embody what we have lost. I think she
still has so much to teach us.
Bio:

For her last book, A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into
Adventure, Love, and Faith, Lori spent a month in England tracing Austen’s
life and works. Readers voted to give that book the Jane Austen Regency World
Award for best nonfiction.
Time article: entertainment.time.com/2012/06/04/jane-on-the-brain-austen-advice-book-trend-peaks/
World Magazine review: www.writerlorismith.com/2012/06/world-magazine-review/
Blogs: www.writerlorismith.com, www.austenquotes.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/writerlorismith
Twitter: @writerlorismith
Book Trailer:
Thank you Lori for your insights into your latest novel!
Are you a Jane Austen fan? Stop by tomorrow for my review and a giveaway of Lori's book The Jane Austen Guide to Life.
I love Jane Austin! Looking forward to coming back for the review/giveaway of this book :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have never read up on Jane Austin, I will be looking forward to the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love her books! What fun it must be to get to write them about her.
ReplyDeleteI've never read this book.lol Sounds good though.
ReplyDeleteI've never read this either, but it looks interesting. My sister adores Jane Austin - I should ask her what she thinks!
ReplyDelete