Jane Austen: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]
* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]
* [[Conversational Troping]]
* [[Conversational Troping]]
* [[Daddys Girl]]
* [[Daddy's Girl]]
* [[Dancesand Balls]]
* [[Dances and Balls]]
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Her narrative persona as well as many characters.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Her narrative persona as well as many characters.
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything]]: In ''[[The Jane Austen Book Club]]'', the characters all participate in storylines which deliberately call back to one of her novels - sometimes with bonus crossover craziness as well!
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: In ''[[The Jane Austen Book Club]]'', the characters all participate in storylines which deliberately call back to one of her novels - sometimes with bonus crossover craziness as well!
* [[Double in Law Marriage]]
* [[Double In-Law Marriage]]
* [[Fan Community Nicknames]]: "Janeites".
* [[Fan Community Nicknames]]: "Janeites".
* [[First Love]]: An important element in the novels of [[Jane Austen]], who uses the [[First Love]] trope often under the role of [[Wrong Guy First]], and her examples are as follows: In ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', Lizzy is infatuated with Wickham before she eventually realizes that he is not a decent person and that Darcy, a man she scorned, is a true gentleman. The concept of the first love is also humorously undermined when Mr. Collins rapidly transfers his affections from Jane to Lizzy to Charlotte Lucas. In ''[[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', Marianne has to move past Willoughby before appreciating the worth of Colonel Brandon. Prior to the story beginning, Edward Ferrars has imprudently gotten engaged to Lucy Steele, which prevents him from courting Elinor. These are all examples of [[First Love|First Loves]] going wrong, but Austen also has a few examples among her repertoire of [[First Love]] turning out right: In ''[[Persuasion]]'', Anne's early romance with Captain Wentworth had been scuttled by her family, but she never forgot him. Their paths cross again years later and she has to watch him court others before eventually winning him back. In ''[[Emma]]'', Emma thinks she's in love with Frank Churchill, but when she discovers her true feelings for another she realises she never really loved Frank. Meanwhile, she persuades Harriet that her first love wasn't good enough for her, so Harriet sets her sights on various unattainable men before gratefully accepting her first love's proposal again. In ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', Edmund has to get burned by Mary Crawford before he recognises Fanny's worth and Fanny is almost tempted away from Edmund, her first love, by Mary's brother Henry.
* [[First Love]]: An important element in the novels of [[Jane Austen]], who uses the [[First Love]] trope often under the role of [[Wrong Guy First]], and her examples are as follows: In ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', Lizzy is infatuated with Wickham before she eventually realizes that he is not a decent person and that Darcy, a man she scorned, is a true gentleman. The concept of the first love is also humorously undermined when Mr. Collins rapidly transfers his affections from Jane to Lizzy to Charlotte Lucas. In ''[[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', Marianne has to move past Willoughby before appreciating the worth of Colonel Brandon. Prior to the story beginning, Edward Ferrars has imprudently gotten engaged to Lucy Steele, which prevents him from courting Elinor. These are all examples of [[First Love|First Loves]] going wrong, but Austen also has a few examples among her repertoire of [[First Love]] turning out right: In ''[[Persuasion]]'', Anne's early romance with Captain Wentworth had been scuttled by her family, but she never forgot him. Their paths cross again years later and she has to watch him court others before eventually winning him back. In ''[[Emma]]'', Emma thinks she's in love with Frank Churchill, but when she discovers her true feelings for another she realises she never really loved Frank. Meanwhile, she persuades Harriet that her first love wasn't good enough for her, so Harriet sets her sights on various unattainable men before gratefully accepting her first love's proposal again. In ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', Edmund has to get burned by Mary Crawford before he recognises Fanny's worth and Fanny is almost tempted away from Edmund, her first love, by Mary's brother Henry.
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* [[Marry for Love]]: Most, if not all, of her protagonists have a desire to do this.
* [[Marry for Love]]: Most, if not all, of her protagonists have a desire to do this.
* [[Massive Numbered Siblings]]: Catherine Moreland, Elizabeth Bennet, and Fanny Price have them, as do Emma Woodhouse's nieces and nephews.
* [[Massive Numbered Siblings]]: Catherine Moreland, Elizabeth Bennet, and Fanny Price have them, as do Emma Woodhouse's nieces and nephews.
* [[May December Romance]]: In keeping with the common practice of the day, there is sometimes a considerable age gap between the lovers in Austen's stories. One example would be Colonel Brandon of ''Sense and Sensibility'', who at the age of thirty-seven married nineteen-year-old Marianne.
* [[May-December Romance]]: In keeping with the common practice of the day, there is sometimes a considerable age gap between the lovers in Austen's stories. One example would be Colonel Brandon of ''Sense and Sensibility'', who at the age of thirty-seven married nineteen-year-old Marianne.
* [[Missing Mom]]: A common, though not universal, feature of an Austen heroine. In ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', Lizzy and Jane's mother, Mrs. Bennet, is a model of selfish impropriety (despite her legitimately insecure circumstances); ''[[Mansfield Park]]'' shows Mrs. Price and Lady Bertram as manifestly incompetent; and Lady Elliot from ''[[Persuasion]]'' and Mrs. Woodhouse from ''[[Emma]]'' are both dead.
* [[Missing Mom]]: A common, though not universal, feature of an Austen heroine. In ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', Lizzy and Jane's mother, Mrs. Bennet, is a model of selfish impropriety (despite her legitimately insecure circumstances); ''[[Mansfield Park]]'' shows Mrs. Price and Lady Bertram as manifestly incompetent; and Lady Elliot from ''[[Persuasion]]'' and Mrs. Woodhouse from ''[[Emma]]'' are both dead.
* [[My God What Have I Done]]: Part of her [[Signature Style]] is the great disillusionment characters suffer regarding some part of their worldview or conduct. C. S. Lewis saw this trope as the key to her works.
* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Part of her [[Signature Style]] is the great disillusionment characters suffer regarding some part of their worldview or conduct. C. S. Lewis saw this trope as the key to her works.
** The major exception to this trope is [[Persuasion|Anne Elliot]], who exchanges it for [[I Regret Nothing]] by the end of her story. The change is logical enough, as this trope sums up her inner monologue, more or less, for the first nearly-all of the novel. [[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Elinor Dashwood]] also seems to be an exception, though since her novel has dual heroines, one who fits and one who doesn't, the exception isn't as obvious as Anne Elliot.
** The major exception to this trope is [[Persuasion|Anne Elliot]], who exchanges it for [[I Regret Nothing]] by the end of her story. The change is logical enough, as this trope sums up her inner monologue, more or less, for the first nearly-all of the novel. [[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Elinor Dashwood]] also seems to be an exception, though since her novel has dual heroines, one who fits and one who doesn't, the exception isn't as obvious as Anne Elliot.
* [[The Noun and The Noun]]
* [[The Noun and The Noun]]
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** The boys often have one, too. [[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Edward Ferrars]] has {{spoiler|Lucy Steele}}, [[Northanger Abbey (Literature)|James Morland]] has {{spoiler|Isabella Thorpe}} and [[Mansfield Park|Edmund Bertram]] has {{spoiler|Mary Crawford}}.
** The boys often have one, too. [[Sense and Sensibility (Literature)|Edward Ferrars]] has {{spoiler|Lucy Steele}}, [[Northanger Abbey (Literature)|James Morland]] has {{spoiler|Isabella Thorpe}} and [[Mansfield Park|Edmund Bertram]] has {{spoiler|Mary Crawford}}.
* [[Rouge Angles of Satin]]: Something of a subversion. Austen's works are littered with what would be considered misspellings by today's standards. What is important to remember is that at the time that she was writing, the English language had not yet been standardized and variations in spelling, punctuation, etc. were widely accepted.
* [[Rouge Angles of Satin]]: Something of a subversion. Austen's works are littered with what would be considered misspellings by today's standards. What is important to remember is that at the time that she was writing, the English language had not yet been standardized and variations in spelling, punctuation, etc. were widely accepted.
* [[Screw the Money I Have Rules]]: Marrying for love frequently requires this.
* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: Marrying for love frequently requires this.
* [[Self Made Man]]: Austen was a major advocate for them.
* [[Self-Made Man]]: Austen was a major advocate for them.
* [[Sibling Rivalry]]
* [[Sibling Rivalry]]
* [[Sibling Yin Yang]]
* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]
* [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man]]
* [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man]]
* [[Spoof Aesop]]
* [[Spoof Aesop]]

Revision as of 22:20, 8 January 2014

English author who lived in the late 18th/early 19th century and wrote six novels between 1790 and 1817 before dying at the age of 41. Her books were published anonymously during her lifetime, but she is now one of the most famous authors in the English language.

Her novels all follow a similar formula: gentlewoman sooner or later falls in love with man but can't marry him because he's engaged to someone else/he's in love with someone else/etc. Often there are cads to tempt her as well, but ultimately she ends up with the good guy who won't steal all her money and/or abandon her somewhere. There's far more variety among her heroines in terms of personality, though. She specialized in two types: the lively, witty, restless heroine who never fears to speak her mind (Elizabeth Bennet, Marianne Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse); and the quiet, Stoic Woobie who rarely if ever speaks her mind since everyone misjudges her anyway (Elinor Dashwood, Fanny Price, Anne Elliot).

Austen is well-known for her wit, satire, and proto-feminism; serious critics consider her to be the equal of Cervantes, Milton, and Shakespeare. Virginia Woolf called her the first truly great female author, and the first good English author to have a distinctly feminine writing style. Rex Stout considered her the greatest English writer ever -- yes, even above Shakespeare. Heady praise from a man who claimed to have previously believed that men did everything better than women.

Jane Austen also has the distinction of being one of the few classic authors beloved by both the academy (her novels are a popular choice for School Study Media) and popular culture, thanks to the devoted Austen fan community who call themselves "Janeites." Her novels are also frequently adapted into films, especially Pride and Prejudice and Emma (which was also the inspiration for Clueless).

The novels, in order of publication:


Persuasion was published posthumously by her brother in a volume along with Northanger Abbey, although the latter was actually the first she completed (Jane herself often wondered why its initial publisher paid for the book and then didn't publish it). There's also lots of juvenalia that she probably didn't expect anyone to read (outside her closest family), let alone publish, and two unfinished novels called The Watsons, which she abandoned in the wake of her father's death, and Sanditon, left unfinished by her own death.

Appearances in other media:

Her novels provide examples of:

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