Why I love Jane Austen
Criticise her all you will, it's nothing to me; Jane Austen is my dearest friend.
The woman is perfection. She is a witty, dry, perceptive, insanely intelligent goddess. As a 17 year old myself, I can only marvel at her epistolary novel 'Lady Susan', which she wrote at my age. Austen and I first met in 2005, when I was 8 and she 230. This was the year of the infamous portrayal of Elizabeth by Keira Knightley. Forgive me Reader, for I have sinned; that film holds a special place in my heart. It's extravagant, Hollywood and inaccurate, but it was the first time I met the characters; I remember my young grin as the footman announced 'a Mrs Bennett, Miss Bennett, Miss Bennett and a- Miss Bennett.' (Innaccurate, of course but amusing nevertheless.) I'm not stubborn enough that my view of each character remains loyal to the film's portrayal, but I do believe that the film captures their essence pretty well. 
Later, in 2008 when Sense and Sensibilty arrived on the BBC, I fell in love with her plots all over again. I moved straight on to read Pride and Prejudice. Admittedly, as an 11 year old still in primary school, much of the novel's genius was lost on me. Nevertheless, I rooted for Darcy and Elizabeth, bickered with Lydia as if she were my own sister and detested Wickham (not to be confused with Willoughby!) with a burning passion. The confusion between names is something which continues to trouble me to this day: the more Austen you read, the more confusing it gets. Musgrove, for example, a name which features in both 'The Watsons' and 'Persuasion', for very different characters, had my opinions somewhat confused. I am now studying AS Level English, where my beloved 'Pride and Prejudice' is my set text.Eva O'Flynn, 17, is an aspiring English student. She writes for the blog, Reviews and Rants, where this article originally appeared. It is used here with permission.
Posted in: #janeausten, eva o'flynn, Jane Austen, janeites, Kiera Knightley, Love, pride and prejudice, reviews and rants
2 comments
I very much enjoyed this essay with its wonderful appreciation of Jane Austen. Perhaps to Slightly clear up a little confusion, the name of the character in The Watsons is Musgrave, whereas the name in Persuasion is Musgrove. It still gets confusing, doesn’t it?
I very much enjoyed your essay, Ms. O’Flynn, which is wonderfully well written. I agree with your reasons for liking Jane Austen so much, though I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t actually read her works—I’ve only seen filmed versions of them. Up till now, I’ve been hesitant to attempt them but no longer feel quite so intimidated by the prospect. As much as I’ve enjoyed the films I’ve seen that are based on her novels, they always leave me wanting more—more time with the stories, more time with the language, more time with the characters, the settings, etc. I now realize that it’s probably almost impossible to capture all of the rich subtlety of Ms. Austen’s prose onto film. Although such productions may provide glimpses into the Regency Era and the people featured in her stories, none truly can do full justice to her original tales. In short, they definitely deserve to be read! I recently bought a copy of “Northanger Abbey” after recently enjoying a TV version from a few years ago on dvd. I’d really like to read all the details in Ms. Austen’s original novel. So I plan on attempting it, as well as going back to “Pride & Prejudice”, which I actually did start to read once, after seeing the Keira Knightley film, but then abandoned. I think I’m ready for the originals now, and your enthusiastic comments about how much Ms. Austen means to you, has helped me realize that. For that I thank you, and thank you again for a truly great article, one so excellently expressed!