
Jane Austen shaped a vision of personal flourishing that still feels modern - lermontov
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/jane-austen-is-everything/534186/?single_page=true
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eludwig
What always come through for me in Jane's writing is the love she has for
humanity in general and her main characters in particular.

Yes, I get that her writing is consider by some to be about spoiled, stupid,
privileged white people and why the heck should anyone care? But I feel like
this is a red herring. She writes about a group that she has chosen (for
whatever reason) and uses the interactions within that group to explore love,
life, civility -- all the human foibles. The Regency nobility is her palette
and humanity is her paint.

Let's talk plot and pacing? She's a master, imo. Her prose is beautiful and
satisfying. Her books are fast reads, wonderfully skillful, funny and ironic.
For those that have never read her, please do, you'll be doing yourself a
favor. "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma" are great places to start.

Yes, I guess I'm a fanboy. :D

~~~
cafard
"Gentry", surely, rather than "nobility". I remember no titles other than the
obnoxious Lady Catherine de Burgh(?) in P&P; but then I'm not really a
Janeite.

I don't think that you have to be a fanboy to enjoy Austen's novels. Some
readers do seem to read her novels an awful lot, it's true.

(And I do not and will not believe that she would have tolerated the
expression "personal flourishing" in her prose.)

~~~
AnimalMuppet
> And I do not and will not believe that she would have tolerated the
> expression "personal flourishing" in her prose.

No, I think she would have used it. It would be something the heroine would be
chasing at the beginning of the book, and came to see as foolish as the book
went on. (Or perhaps learned that it wasn't found by chasing it.)

------
roceasta
As a young man of low social acumen I particularly benefitted from the TV/film
adaptations. The best are faithful to Austen's texts and contain added
knowledge from the actors and directors. For instance they show something of
how the author's scenes might manifest in terms of speech tone and facial
expression. My favourites are:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_s...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_\(1995_TV_series\))
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_Sensibility_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_Sensibility_\(film\))

