Tags
blogging, humor, insanitybytes22, Jane Austin, life, opinion
I have read her, also read several fan fiction versions, seen movies based on her novels, and participated in book discussions. Why have I done all these things? Because allegedly she was a great novelist and good portion of society seems to believe her works have value. Therefore I concluded there must be something wrong with me because I just do not share the love. I thought perhaps if I study her better, I’ll start to understand what people see in her. Except for my love of period costumes and a proper hat, that effort has been completely futile.
This is one area where my husband comes in handy. He loathes her even worse. Should the smallest hint of Jane Austin appear on the TV he turns into a melodramatic 13 year old boy lamenting about how it would be far preferable to just poke toothpicks through his eyelids then suffer the indignity of this boredom. You can hear his groans from five miles away.
Interesting, because “boredom” is something I also experience with her, or rather I feel as if I am reading something devoid of any nutrients and lacking all human connection. It is shallow, empty, and without soul. I do not want what her characters have, in fact, I consider it all very hellish. I do NOT believe God is the least bit interested in tormenting us, but if He ever desired such a thing, I have no doubt He would just deposit me in a drawing room right out of Pride and Prejudice.
I’m quite fond of Charlotte Brontë, of Jane Eyre, so it is not the genre itself that sends me reaching for my husband’s eyeball toothpicks, but rather the writer’s voice, her style, and her inability or unwillingness to embrace emotion and the depth of human character.
Susan Ferrier, a Scottish novelist at the time wrote one of the most accurate reviews I ever read. She said, “I have been reading Emma, which is excellent; there is no story whatever, and the heroine is not better than other people; but the characters are all true to life and the style so piquant, that it does not require the adventitious aids of mystery and adventure.”
Right. Precisely! So why in the world would anyone in their right mind chose to read a story in which there is no story whatsoever, the heroine is just average, the characters are boring, and there is no mystery or adventure? That’s not a “novel,” that’s just a fashion cult. It is downright pretentious.
Now, what I plan to write next is perhaps unfair. It is totally built upon a platform of prejudice, bias, and emotional reactions. I don’t care how illogical it is, it has served me well. I simply mark and avoid all Christians who belong to the “cult of Jane Austin.” I did not just make that up, there really is this thing called the, “cult of Jane Austin.” It creeps me out six ways past Sunday. You may laugh if you like because I once drove home from a church muttering and cackling hysterically to myself with a worn copy of “Pride and Prejudice” on the seat of my car.
It was my first and last visit to that church.
I recently trolled a fellow on Twitter who was complaining about the “feminized church” and “boyfriend music.” I simply asked, have you ever read “Pride and Prejudice?” Oh yes, yes he had, in fact it was the greatest piece of literature ever written. Exactly what I thought. See, I rest my case, mark and avoid.
Texans Jack & Dodie said:
I’m so happy to read this. I truly thought it was just me. Thank you for this reveal. Ahh…I feel better.
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insanitybytes22 said:
LOL! Glad to be of help.
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The Night Wind said:
Jane Austin is popular (among the few who can still read) precisely because it is ‘devoid of any content or human connection.’ The vast majority of any literature (or TV shows or movies) for the last few decades are like this too. Even so-called fantasy or adventure stories are like this—totally predictable, no plot, no ‘human connection,’ just Jane Austin with more sex and violence.
Actually that says a lot more about the audience than it does about the authors.
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Texans Jack & Dodie said:
I can still read and am a prolific reader. Have been since I started with a Fly Went by 62 years ago.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Hmm, I wonder if Jane Austin might be for people who don’t read?? Those of us who actually do enjoy reading, have a wealth of other books to choose from instead!
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PARTNERING WITH EAGLES said:
Off topic; found this item online, is this true?:
Washington governor commits energy suicide with new plan to outlaw natural gas
https://greentyranny.news/2024-04-03-washington-governor-energy-suicide-outlaw-natural-gas.html#
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insanitybytes22 said:
Yes, he’s been committing “energy suicide” for some time now. Highest gas taxes in the nation and a coming ban on gas powered cars. We are all supposed to just run out and buy a new electric vehicle. The goal is “zero emissions.” Fortunately he is not running for another term. Praying we get somebody better. Not sure it’s possible to get somebody worse.
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The Night Wind said:
When Mike Lowry was governor, I didn’t think it was possible to get anybody worse, but we’ve managed to do so ever since.
BTW, Elon Musk was a huge donor to Inslee’s campaign and to Gavin Newsom’s too. I wonder why both states have been pushing so hard to convert to electric vehicles? Probably for the same reason that Tesla got to build a new plant in Las Vegas after Gov. Sisolak got a donation and Chicago gave Musk the contract for electrifying the subway system after Rahm Emmanuel got a big contribution.
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Judy said:
The fascination with Jane Austen isn’t about the story; it’s that readers are able to see people they know in their daily lives that are exactly like her characters. It creates a connection defying the time factor. Those I know who love JA also enjoy the idea of traveling through time. They wish they could live in that supposedly less complicated time.
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insanitybytes22 said:
I wonder if it was actually a “simpler time?” I mean these novels take place among the wealthy gentry. People all around them are actually experiencing extreme poverty, low or non existent wages, injustice, the inability to own property or vote.
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Judy said:
Agreed. Too often, they see through 20th century eyes, blind to the 19th century reality.
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HAT said:
While Napoleon is pursuing a land war in Europe. But you’d never know it.
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alphaandomega21 said:
Much like today then.
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bluebird of bitterness said:
I happen to love Jane Austen, but I’ll be the first to admit that she’s not everyone’s cup of tea. De gustibus non disputandum est, and all that rot. 🙂
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Jack Curtis said:
Well, “De gustibus non est dispputandem.” But no disagreement here … Trash after all, sells doesn’t it? With or without our approval.
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Chado said:
My brother claims the 80’s movie “Clueless” is based on Austen’s “Emma”, but even so, I can’t stand chick-lit, whether high or low-brow.
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ColorStorm said:
there is something about men drinking tea from a cup the size of a thimble that rubs me the wrong way.
And the silly fluffy dances……. how much time do men have to practice that stuff?
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alphaandomega21 said:
I did not read Jane Austen until much later in life, being aware of those at school doing English literature at ‘A’ level or at least university who studied her books.
Being English and living in the south not so very far from Hampshire where she lived, her books mean more to me because of the places she writes about which I am familiar.
I saw films and series before I read the books and of course with the National Trust houses these give a sense of life in her time.
So I think you are unfair to Jane Austen. She does show up the pretentiousness of high society and indeed presents quite a cross section of society in general, albeit focusing on the upper end.
Still, I can understand why you would not like her books although I have enjoyed them.
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dumbestblogger said:
I feel like you should at least have some appreciation for Collins, and his excellent boild potatoes.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Ha! I do my best, but boiled potatoes just aren’t much to work with.
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scatterwisdom said:
insanityhbbyhtes
Jane Austin stories are adult versions of the Cinderella story, in my opinion.
My wife watches Jane Ausin movies on TV.
But if it makes her happy, watching fantasies about women…. dressed up in elaborate impossible to sit down costumes …. outwitting subservient men dressed up like pansies ……walking around elaborate gardens and paths while being served by dutiful cunning servants working in the kitchen …. while everyone plots or gossips about each other love affairs to win the prize quest to get married to the richest pansy
……,
….it reminds me of the hit song:
“Girls just want to have fun. “
Regards and goodwill blogging.
.
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insanitybytes22 said:
LOL! Great comment, Rudy. You made me laugh. I do appreciate the elegant dresses and the fancy hats. It’s all that passive aggressive plotting and plethora of pansies that makes me crazy. 🙂
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