In Trisha's post a few weeks ago, she said she was
dissecting Jane Austen's work to see why it was still so popular. That sounded
like a very entertaining task she had set herself, so I decided to join her.
Here's my opinion. I'd love to hear yours.
(Unfortunately there are a few spoilers here--don't click on
the appropriate link if you don't want to know. At the very end I spoil Howl's Moving Castle
What makes Jane Austen so enduringly popular? In my opinion, there are two main reasons. Let's call them the Anti-Apocalypse Principle and the Howl Effect.
The Anti-Apocalypse Principle
Jane Austen is enduringly popular because of her romances.
(Is anyone surprised?) But her romances remain popular because of the rigid
social and religious conventions that defined her era. When so much is
forbidden, even a glance can be filled with romance. And a touch? Wow.
Contrast that to sexual tension that is constantly pushing the
envelope...eventually there is nowhere left to go. (I really, really don't want
to know if you disagree with that sentence. :)
Trying to write a romantic storyline in a world where
anything and everything is acceptable follows the exact same principle Sabrina
wrote about in her post yesterday about writing the end of the world:
"Frankly, the overall ubiquity of world-ending plotlines makes the whole thing a little boring, and can take away from the tension. Some writers try to up it by making this the end of all existence. One wonders where they'll go from there: the end of existence, and you still have to do laundry first?"
The Anti-Apocalypse Principle in Action:
Pride and Prejudice
The Howl Effect
Howl's Moving
Castle Moving Castle
And then--at the end--this is the spoiler!--you find out
he's been in love with her all along! It's the most fantastic ending ever. But
the fun part is reading it again--and again--to see if you can figure out when it happened. His
character becomes more rich and our belief that happy endings are possible for
everyone increases with every reading.
I think Jane Austen does the same thing. Characters seem
doomed for unhappy endings--not marrying the person you love is much more dire
when you have no chance of taking care of your self. And when, at the end, they
end up perfectly happy, we read and reread (and watch and rewatch) so that we
can find the clues that happiness was waiting for them (and for us??) all along.
The Howl Effect In Action:
Sense and Sensibility
What do you think?
Two words: fantastic dialog. Jane Austin wrote witty, fast paced, humorous bordering on tragic, fantastic dialog. That's why I love her.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I hadn't thought about that, but I agree completely.
DeleteAhh, enlightenment! How is it that I'd never realized how completely social restrictions affected the tension in her books? So totally true! 'If only they would just talk to each other,' we think. But they can't.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post and excellent insight.
Oh, and I agree w. Adam, too. The dialogue is exceptional.
Thanks Susan!
DeleteI agree with you. And I love the way the movie handles the ending of Sense and Sensibility with Edward and Miss Dashwood--perfect!!
ReplyDeleteYes it is. I could watch it over and over. :)
DeleteI can't believe it never occurred to me that the reason I read Howl's Moving Castle from front to back 4 times in as many days was because I was looking to pinpoint the moment Howl fell in love with Sophie. I knew I was looking for something, I just never questioned what exactly. Excellent post. Thank you for exploring this. I think I'm terribly under qualified and it's nice to see someone do the topic justice.
ReplyDeleteI think you are selling yourself short on that one, Trisha. And I did the exact same thing with Howl's Moving Castle. :)
DeleteThat's one of my favorite things about Diana Wynne Jones. All her best books are like that. You don't see where these amazing plot threads are going until the very, very end - and then you can have many happy rereads trying to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your other favorite DWJ books, Sabrina? I've mostly only read the Chrestomanci books and the Castle books, and I'd love to know what else to try.
DeleteAs it happens, my post next week is going to be about my favorite DWJ books!
DeleteYay!
ReplyDeleteExcellent points Melanie.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adam about the clever dialogue too. Man, that woman was witty, but Jane Austen was also so brilliant. Her cleverly disguised social commentaries (many of which are still relevant today IMO) definitely contributed to her works enduring the test of time. Her books truly are classics.