Books and stories find us at the right time – whether to be written or read. This year, I am enjoying a backwards relationship with Jane Austen, and I am having a marvellous time discovering her. Of course, I knew about her for years. I’ve learnt about her in school. I took her existence for granted – she is one of the classics. I didn’t question how remarkable it was for a woman of her time to become a writer, or why there weren’t more women writers. For a long time, I was shaped by the view of the world that it was men who did, created, and invented things, and that was that; only sometimes, there would be a woman who would somehow manage to be almost as good as the men. How little did I know.
Therefore, when I was going through the phase in my life when I was reading classics, I did try to read one of Jane Austen’s books. It was Emma. And I didn’t like it. It didn’t grab my attention. I thought it was just a love story, that all of her books were love stories, and that it wasn’t for me. Did the women have nothing better to worry about than men? I liked to read about more than just relationships. In my twenties, I didn’t have the patience and understanding that I have now. I didn’t understand how much women needed to have the right relationship – I was a young woman travelling the world, doing as I pleased, not thinking about how recent and unusual such a privilege was. So, Emma was lying at the back of the bookshelf ever since, and I never returned to her.
Then, I watched the film Emma, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow, and it only confirmed that it wasn’t for me. I simply didn’t get it. I didn’t get many films with Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love was definitely not worth an Oscar for her, especially not in the year that Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett was nominated), but I still put the blame at Jane Austen’s door – it was a story about people going around and talking too much about relationships.
I was resolute that I wouldn’t be reading Jane Austen’s books and wouldn’t have to bother watching any adaptations. Yes, she is great, but not for me.
So, this year, when there has been so much talk about Jane Austen and her big anniversaries, I thought I would just let it go by. But then, I had nothing to watch. And the Pride and Prejudice TV series was on the BBC iPlayer, and I heard it mentioned so many times that I wanted to know what the references (and fuss) were about. I watched it and it was good. Not my favourite story, but good and interesting. I thought that I may as well watch the other adaptations and then not have to read any of them, but know the storylines and understand what people are talking about when mentioning plots and characters. With my child starting secondary school, it was good to brush up on things that would eventually be encountered in the curriculum.
I’d seen the TV adaptations of Pride and Prejudice as well as the movie because Alan Rickman is simply great in anything. I’d also watched everything else on the BBC that was on offer. Some older adaptations like Persuasion and a very weirdly made Northanger Abbey, which I had to finish out of sheer dedication, but am very thankful that it wasn’t the first one to start, because I would never have gotten into Austen if it had been. Also, I finally know what Emma is about; the TV adaptation had done a much better job at keeping me watching and staying curious, although the character of Emma is indeed hard to like.
While at it, I also watched the lovely new series of Miss Austen and got a little more knowledge of the background and perhaps sources of inspiration. Then, I thought that I was done with Austen. But I got the bug already.
I was happy to find a documentary Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius and it was fascinating to learn all the details. Thanks to my age and experience, I have already been more sensitive to the plight of women through the ages (and now, of course) and have a better understanding of their obsession with marriage and social standing. Women in Jane Austen’s time had so few options and freedoms, and many of the things that would annoy me years ago were now making perfect sense because I get it, I understand it better.
But learning about Jane and her willpower, combined with the luck that the man in her life – her father – was supportive and encouraging of her being a writer, was what made me fall in love with her. Learning about her trying to make it on the market and facing refusals simply because she wasn’t known, didn’t have any connections, and was an outsider, was a reminder of the publishing world today, where connections and marketability are so very similarly important as back then. A struggling writer must like another struggling writer.
During that time, I’d also noticed that our local theatre was showing Pride and Prejudice this spring. Of course, I had to go and see it. And it was marvellous. Funny and enjoyable. The whole day, for me, which I’d spent in town by myself, was like being out on a date with Jane Austen.
So, I finished the documentary, wondered what would have happened if Jane Austen weren’t so ill, and then I went and ordered her complete works and am happy to read them, helped by them being so well incorporated into the story of her life in the documentary. The books she had written were shaped by her experiences, just like most of the books we read and write. That is why I think that I have a backwards relationship with Jane Austen. Most things I really like, I find the book first and then see the adaptation on TV or film.
I can report that Northanger Abbey, as a book, is good. Now I’m enjoying Pride and Prejudice, and again, I’m looking forward to the evenings when I can have a bit of reading time. I have gone full circle. I now consider Jane Austen as an author very much for me, I am proud to know her and happy to read her.
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