Jane Austen - why the fuss?

[mazz]

I agree newcomer, I have been a critic of you at one time I take it back as now I am more familiar with your knowledge in your posts. I think you get more from Austen the more you read it. I think she has an incredible ability with words. Maybe the subject matter is simple for some but it's about life. The old man and the sea, is about catching a fish... and it's a perfect story. Anyway in regards to the Bennet girls i don't think it says anywhere in the book that any of them draw or paint. I can draw, I play the piano poorly and I like to write letters, maybe that's why I'm doing this. oops my phones ringing. Seriously, I like what you said though. Thanks to Scher. for posting the info.

[Newcomer]

Dear Mazz,
I hope that you shall remain a critic of me as I consider it a compliment when one considers my notes serious enough to criticize. Knowledge is mostly memory but memory without emotions lacks understanding. And laugter is a uniquely human trait.
And don't forget to dance, even if one's partner is barely tolerable.

[mazz]

well it's been a month...oh dear can there be any other opinions on the subject?

[DianaT]

Unlikes most things in life, Jane Austen gets better with every re-read--she doesn't suffer from the margin of diminishing returns. Austen is appropriate for any mood I am in. When I am happy, I love Austen; when I am depressed, Austen makes me laugh. Some of my favorite authors cannot do that for me; only when I am ready can I enjoy Jude the Obscure or my favorite novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Diana

[tinustijger]

Let me finish with an analogy. A dog is taken into a flower garden. The woman admires the roses, the various shades of red, a red that's almost black, the velvety reds, the soft blush of pink. Her eyes move to the yellows, then lingers on the pure whites, the petals tinged with pink, with scarlet, with the softest yellow. She is ecstatic. The dog looks at her and thinks – why the fuss?
Dogs are color blind.

Cracked me up! So right though!

[Lady Elizabeth]

I love Jane Austen's work!!!!! Who wouldn't???? She paid attention to details, and has always managed to pull me into one of her books.

[Ashley Rose]

I find Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice wonderful! I love Lizzy's sarcastic nature and Jane's quiet manner. I believe that most people give classics a bad reputation. They think that all classic literature can be summed up by one word, "boring!" I love the innocence that Jane's characters exude. It seems to me that many people today have lost their childish enthusiasm and yes their innocence! Classic literature is like a time machine. Everytime I need to escape I can pick up a Jane Austen novel or read Charlotte Bronte.

As for giving Jane a makeover I think that its a waste. Who really cares if she is beautiful or plain? It doesn't diminish her writing abilities. It shows you how todays society has become more superficial! I find it sad and pathetic!

[andave_ya]

Ashley Rose, I agree with you wholeheartedly! EVERYONE (exaggeration: read most) call classics boring without understanding why they're classics -- they've withstood the test of time!

[cactus]

I picked up Pride and Prejudice accidentially at the library when I was 16 and fell in love with Jane Austen. In Australia we do not study Jane Austen or Charles Dickens or anyone of that caliber.. pity I say. Since then I have probably read Pride and Prejudice over 20 times. When I miss it, I open up passages I love most and read it over and over.

A few years later when I moved out of home and my younger sister occupied my room and happened upon my copy of Pride and Prejudice, she subsequently fell in love with Jane Austen... Darcy... and of course.. Colin Firth (in that order).

I believe given the right opportunity, young people will continue to fall in love with Jane Austen's novels.. although I understand that they are not always everyone's cup of tea.. For a true Austenite like me, it always help to revive my interest to a more intense degree when a new Jane Austen film or TV series is made.

[SleepyWitch]

hey, I've just reread Pride and Prejudice and this time round I even finished it. actually, I finished it in less than a week, which is the shortest it's ever taken me to read a classic.
so, yeah, I don't think she's the worst author in the world anymore.
I laughed out loud several times while reading the book.
On the other hand, I've always found it hilarious and the irony never escaped me. So if I didn't like it before, it's not because I didn't understand it.
I doubt I could have finished the whole book, though, if it wasn't for the 1995 BBC film starring Colin Firth at least this way, I could imagine his face and gestures whenever Darcy appeared in the book. This made it much more enjoyable, becaues Austen doesn't really describe her characters' appearance appart from saying that they have a 'fine figure' or how tall they are, so that makes it difficult for me to visualize what I'm reading.....
what I still don't like is the subject matter, though (all this marriage business). I don't know if I should read another Austen straigth away. If I had to read all of her books in a row, I think I'd go berserk.
Anway, what to read next? Persuasion? Emma?.
(please not Emma ....)

[manolia]

Hehe having Colin Firth in mind really helps

I'd say, read "Persuasion" next or "Sense and sensibility". I personally didn't much like "Emma".

[Scheherazade]

I find Northanger Abbey far more entertaining than her other books. No doubt, Austen is not at her best as an author in this book but it is very endearing and quirky.

[Niamh]

Persuasion is the better choice of the two.

[LadyWentworth]

As soon as I saw your choices I was going to immediately tell you to read Persuasion, but somebody else beat me to it! It is actually, in its own little way, much different than Pride and Prejudice. Plus, it is a much better story. At least, I think it is.

[Prometheus]

I love Jane Austen's work!!!!! Who wouldn't???? She paid attention to details, and has always managed to pull me into one of her books.

I, for one, don't 'love' them at all. I've only read Emma, and I find it really boring and tedious! Unfortunately, we study it for A-Level Lit, so my only choice is to force myself to read it; siding with the lot who can't see what all the fuss is about.

...I'm told Austen gets better the more you read her, which is one prophecy I'd like to see fulfilled.

Hello, all, btw.