5 REASONS WHY WE LOVE JANE AUSTEN

Why do Jane Austen’s stories, after over 200 years, have resonance with so many of us? 🧵👇

1. Escape.

We like escaping to the world of her stories because it feels safe. It is a world pretty different from our own.

If only life were so easy that we could spend our days reading, writing letters, taking exercise, and bantering with friends, family and neighbors.

2. The struggle.

Yes, all of Austen’s stories are about women and marriage. But these are women whose choices are pretty limited. If she doesn’t marry well, she may be sentenced to a life of boredom, drudgery, penury, prostitution, early death, and above all powerlessness.

3. Emotion vs. intellect.

An enduring theme in Austen’s stories is how people must learn to master their feelings – or they must learn to get more in touch with them. They must learn to make choices in both their heart and their head.

4. Her characters.

Her well-rounded complex characters who command our sympathy, and comic characters that are essentially caricatures, is one reason why her novels continue to be made over and over again for the screen.

5. Her language and wit.

While she is certainly a product of her time period, her facility with language, elegant and witty, still shines through today. One of the most famous first lines of an English book is from Pride and Prejudice, for the very reason that it is such a great example of dry humor.

5 Reasons Why We Love Jane Austen

5 REASONS WHY WE LOVE JANE AUSTEN Why do Jane Austen’s stories, after over 200 years, ha

The all-in-one writing platform.

Write, publish everywhere, see what works, and become a better writer - all in one place.