The real reason Jane Austen wrote about romance | Pride & Prejudice Ch 1 analysis, Brit Lit 101

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#janeausten #prideandprejudice #regencyera

[shirleyanne]

When i was a kid and first read the book, to me, Mrs. Bennett was the ultimate embarrassing mother. Now I feel really sorry for her. She's the parent who fully realizes how precarious their situation is. Mr. Bennett, the 18th century epitome of cool, drifts through the novel without seeming to realize how chunky things are going to get if he drops dead. It's a romance novel, but it's also a scary one and Mrs. Bennett is the only one who seems to find it so.

[OkGoGirl]

I love how Austen represented several different versions of love and marriage too. There's the incompatible one of Mr. & Mrs. Bennet, the marriage of Charlotte to Mr. Collins for the sake of economic security (which was a very real and common type of marriage then), the foolish "shot-gun" wedding of Lydia and Wickham, the happy marriage of the Gardiners, and then of course the also hopefully happy marriages of Jane & Bingley and Elizabeth & Darcy.

[PokhrajRoy.]

Jane Austen was a political commentator and satirist expertly hidden behind the veneer of what we thought was just a cute story. It’s a pantomime of society through interesting characters.

[Fairysnuff]

I think what is so interesting about Jane Austen is that she was able to write so many different kinds of heroine and admire qualities in all of them. It’s so obvious from her work that she loves and respects women of all kinds and I think that’s beautiful.

[elisecollins]

so true about men thinking jane austen is only for women - my grandfather read pride and prejudice with his book club last year and he said it was a book he never would have picked up by choice but he couldn't believe how good it was, he considers it once of the best books he's ever read now that he's given it a chance

[PokhrajRoy.]

I think Jane Austen has spicy takes that I love and also the fact that her heroines are relatable beyond one’s identity. It has a timeless quality.

[emelynbuskirk]

The English novelist Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story called "The Janeites" It's about a group of English soldiers who are fans of our Miss Jane.

[kirstena]

In Northanger Abbey as well Mr Tilney unabashedly admits to enjoying novels - clearly another reason for us to love him!

[arezoooik]

Every time I read Jane Austin's novels, I feel that they're more about the journey of maturing emotionally rather than plain romance. what makes her books so interesting is that, she creates really relatable characters with complex emotions and situations for them todisplay them so naturally, as if they are living and breathing right in front of you. It's very satisfying.

[annaboes]

I grew up in this toxic, mysogonistic sort of society where I rebelled against my own femininity when it started developing. I wanted to be very much 'not like other girls', and I would have done almost everything for that. Even though the most girls in my life where way more mature, tougher and kinder than me, all at once. Reading romance novels or anything female associated was like a guilty pleasure that I tried to keep even from myself - I would reach for science fiction or horror novels instead, even though I made sure to go for authors who I knew to write a decent romantic subplot. It wasn't romance, after all, it was sci fi, and if there were people flirting and kissing in it, well, I couldn't help that...
I'm so glad to finally live in a world where there are people who remind everyone that, no, female doesn't mean low quality or stupid. Thanks for this awesome video, I'm sure to recommend it to the young girls I'm working with nowadays. They really need to see this. 🙂

[helenavalentine]

Thank you for this discussion. I love Austen because her books are so satisfying on so many levels simultaneously. I get my romantic fix while enjoying irony, social criticism and the opportunity to think about: what makes a good life partner? what is ethical behavior in various situations? what respect is due to parents, elders, people above and below us in social status, etc. Love your channel because you discuss serious topics without pedantry and with all the enthusiasm of a lover of Jane.

[MsJubjubbird]

What makes Jane's writing so great is all the side characters she has and their little subplots. And she doesn't just dismiss them. She writes them in great detail. So you feel like you are in a little society. Plus that is where a lot of the social commentary comes from- like about the role of the clergy, the role of the military, social protocols etc. and she also makes her characters well rounded people with different facets that we can relate to- which makes it much more robust than something like Twilight- the kind of romance novel that gives the rest a bad name- which is pages and pages of a boring girl saying how much she loves a guy and not much else.

[janedashwood]

A problem with the beauty vs brains views held by Lizzie’s parents is that Mr Bennett didn’t gain this wisdom until AFTER he married for beauty. Most men highly prize beauty in a partner and won’t date, let alone marry, unless they find their partner attractive. So Mrs Bennett’s point of view has a lot of merit, because beauty and spirits go herself, Jane and Lydia suitors and eventually husbands (though Lydia’s was a shotgun wedding). Even Lizzie was pretty and has been played be truly beautiful actresses. It would be interesting to see an adaptation where Lizzie was played by an average looking woman.

[PokhrajRoy.]

Did you know that there’s a whole playlist of Jennifer Ehle reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’ out loud?

[raraavis]

Another thing worth considering...what topic besides romance and light social commentary were women supposed to write about, really? You can only write about what you know. And back then, without tv/radio, never mind the internet, you only knew what you had experienced yourself, pretty much.
And women back then didn't leave home for a higher education (university), didn't learn a trade or went into business (usually). They didn't go into politics or the military or (mostly) travel very much. Their home and local community and church was their domain and what they were most familiar with. And every girl would grow up with the importance of making a good match (or at least marrying a respectable man) firmly impressed upon her.
It would have been a rare and fortunate woman, having seen enough of the world to have much else to write about, really.

[PokhrajRoy.]

I’m LIVING for the Podcast-esque Setup and it’s a nice reminder that you’ve grown and prospered as a creator. I’m happy to see this journey.

[beckawilk]

My mother and I love Jane Austen books and movies. My father used to leave the room. Once, when we were watching P &P he was doing something in the background, it took him 1/2 an hour to become fascinated and by an hour, he was on the lounge thoroughly engrossed. (He has opinions about Lady Catherine!!!). His genre is westerns but it has taken him a lifetime to admit his favourites have the main subplot as romance. It is sad that because society characterises romance as for women only, men have to pretend not to enjoy it even though in real life romance would never occur without both sexes.

[faithfulthecall]

As a man I am definitely in agreement with you that more men need to be introduced to the joys of Ms. Austen's outstanding literature.

I think that part of the problem as to why romance novels (and films) are looked down on is because too many associate those stories today as erotic or lust-driven, instead of the slow burning, tender romances in a lot classic literature (sorry Romeo and Juliet, but you're an exception in this case). There are, of course, exceptions on both ends as well as a vast variance in the level of talent various storytellers possess. Because of that view of romance stories being driven by physical desire instead of a complete picture of who the other is romance stories get dismissed as being more shallow and without as much to say about the human condition.

[ShawnNowlan]

I think your analysis is spot on. Jane Austen actually has several stories of couples finding each other in "Pride and Prejudice" - and in almost every case, the character of the two is what makes the particular couple attracted to each other. Echoing real life, Austen doesn't separate romance from general satire or manners or incisive commentary on how society worked. I have always been particularly struck by Charlotte's discussion with Lizzie over romance and marriage, and I see it as one of the deepest insights in the book.

[slugqueengenius]

Deeply impressed with Ellie Dashwood’s feminist understanding of Jane Austin and her writing, and her deconstruction of our understanding of it in modern culture. I’m addicted to these excellent posts, but especially this one, which calls out the pernicious behavior of many women, though out patriarchal cultured societies (including modern western society), to diminish women’s interests and identify themselves as aligned with “men’s interests” in order to be considered more seriously. This has the overall effect of confirming the superiority of men and the continued subordination of women. As a reformed “guy’s girl/tomboy” I see the folly in this behavior and am astonished that Jane Austin called it out so well in the regency era- as has Ellie Dashwood by making these modern videos! Thank you.