How Jane Austen Changed Fiction Forever

 

SOURCES

Emily Miller, "Austenesque"

Louise Flavin, "Free Indirect Discourse and the Clever Heroine of Emma"

MUSIC (via Epidemic Sound)

Coq Au Vin - Arthur Benson
Out of Service - Kikoru
Warmest Regards - Experia
Saltwater Glide - Trevor Kowalski
Jazey - Gregory David


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The Nerdwriter is a series of video essays about art, culture, politics, philosophy and more.

[AllTheArtsy]

Virginia Woolf was not mistaken when she said, "of all great writers she [Austen] is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness." Because Austen makes it seem so easy. When you read Austen, you think you're so smart, witty and funny. All the while she is also making fun of you and how much you think you know. That's whynreading her is also so fun, because it's delightful every time you see the genius she's laid downand you missed the last few times.

[floraidh]

One of my favorite moments with regards to books, was when I finally got my husband to read Pride and Prejudice. Like so many people he hadn't read it because it was 'just' a romance so when our son was a baby we would take turns reading out loud to him at bed time while the other person did dishes and listened to the story through the baby monitor. Among many others we read P&P. It was so much fun to hear him read the words and laugh or comment on the plot or how snarky Austen was in her writing, how he identified with some characters and saw other people in his life in others. He's never been one to read books in that manner. It completely changed his view on Austen's work and it was so much fun to watch him experience it.

[colinneagle]

I've never heard of the term Free Indirect Speech before, but it sounds like one of those linguistic concepts that we intuitively understand but can't explain. It makes perfect sense that Jane Austen would excel at this since, as far as I understand it, Free Indirect Speech is like when a friend is telling you a funny story about another person, jumping back and forth from the events as your friend observed them, and explaining the imagined interior thoughts and motivations of the third character

[Claudia-wvqv]

in the oxford world's classics edition of pride and prejudice there's a bit of the introduction dedicated to this which is very good and very accessible too

[originaozz]

For me it's Jane Austen accessibility that made me love her writing. The way she described everything felt so rich with personalities and it's just a pure joy to read. It also paint a clear picture of each character's intention, not just their action. Many called it simplistic, but it's easier said than done.

[CinemaStix]

Always elevates my day when a new Nerdwriter essay drops. Always has. Especially those touching on topics not approached nearly often enough, or with nearly as much care, on this platform.
-DB

[margo]

I think Austen’s genius lies in her showing us how little things have changed as to what people feel is romantic, funny and suspenseful. She wrote classics.

[rifan_j]

It's about time Nerdwriter1 talked about Miss Austen! Love to hear more about one of the greatest, the wittiest novelists of all time. Having read all of her works, I can say that her books have changed my perspective on what great fiction truly is. It's an experience I want to revisit again and again.

[campbell]

I can’t believe I’ve never heard this concept directly explained 😭 I didn’t even know what it was called or how exactly to spot it!! Soooo good

[pplattee]

Her stories have so many layers starting from personal level to big societal projections. all her characters have imperfections which is beautiful 💞 The way the standard protagonist traits are to her second leads shows her uniqueness of writing

[kccgurl]

Yeah, it's crazy how belittled Jane Austen is despite being one of the greatest writers of all time in the English language. I remember taking an English class in college and the relief I felt when my 60 year old male professor introduced us to her as a genius and one of his favorite writers. It was the first time I had heard a man ever care about her writing or give her the respect it deserved. He even talked about how Jane Austen is belittled and looked down on because there is this sense that she's just a romance writer for silly, desperate women. Of course, what she actually wrote is some of the sharpest satire of all time. Those who actually know and study english literature have immense respect for her, but still she is trivialized in the popular imagination.

[MariaVosa]

Austen wove complex character driven stories with suspense and humour - and made it look easy! I never thought about this "free indirect speech" but the moment it is pointed out I immediately see it. Her books written over 200 years ago can easily be read today - she was utterly singular! Thank you for this great little video.

[andiemorgan]

Great explanation of Free Indirect Speech.
It was a literary technique pioneered by 18th century novelists Henry Fielding and Frances Burney.
Burney, being one of Austen's prime influencer.

[johncampbell]

In your next video, you might indicate that across the Channel, Gustave Flaubert perfected the technique, known by critics as “le discours indirect libre, ” or free indirect discourse. His novel “Madame Bovary” (1857) is the perfect example of this style. Austen, writing four decades earlier, came to his attention years after she had already brilliantly achieved this. Thank you for your superb video.

[miramosa]

It's been a *while* but one of the things I remember really appreciating about Pride and Prejudice was the little summaries at the end of each chapter: The character dynamics and how they interact with society, especially one whose intricacies you don't know, get quite involved and the addition of a sarcastic shit of a Dad doesn't make it better. She was able to seamlessly, and without seeming patronizing, summarize what had happened in the chapter at the end for the people who had missed some details.

[easybot_exe]

it's been years since i last seen nerdwriter's video, still as good as i remembered

[xxkerosenexkidxx]

Yess! I've missed this! One of my favourite lit YouTubers comes back with Jane Austen at the perfect time!

[richteffekt]

Good take! Thank you. Can I say, I enjoy the slight toning down of the trademark Nerdwriter ...cadence. Maybe it's because of the prevalence of other people's texts quoted in this one but yeah, just wanted to leave this here: I found it easier to follow with the more subtle breaks and pauses. Anyway, great stuff, thank you.

[elijahcassidy]

I've been a massive fan of both the Pride and Prejudice mini series and the film all my life, and this afternoon I finished reading the book for the first time. So even though I'm well acquainted with the story itself, it was the first time I formed any opinion on Jane Austin's writing style. I had a lot of thoughts and I was interested continue diving into them, so I pop on youtube and sure enough one of my favorite creators JUST NOW uploaded a video talking about exactly that!

[MakeMeThinkAgain]

Excellent. Here's an idea I would love to see you run with: Lydia is very underestimated character in P&P. Yes, we understand that she is a naughty girl who nearly ruins everything for her sisters, but if you overlook all that for a moment and just look at things from her perspective you see a strong willed young woman who goes after what she wants and never regrets it for a second. She is not one of the seduced young women. She isn't even high minded Like Marianne, she's more of a Mary Vetsera. And we are given to understand that her mother was very similar.

To my mind this is very much like the way Austen gives her leads their happily-ever-after while also showing the reality of married life with the supporting characters.