So, I realize this may be unpopular or even controversial: I was never drawn to Jane Austen’s novels. When I look back, I think it has to do with not wanting to read stories written for “girls” and not really being interested in stories about finding a man and getting married. It’s always a little dicey to read about women in classic literature – they are often either portrayed as silly, vain, petty, jealous, or bitchy, and with an appalling lack of curiosity OR as saintly women with extraordinary grace, charm, patience and tolerance. I’ve never had much patience with either depiction of womanhood.

Of course, when I read these novels as an adult, I see that Jane Austen’s stories do not have overly simplified characterizations. Her books are literature. The stories are lovely narratives that tell us about women (and men), particularly those living at a certain time in history. Though I am more drawn to Charles Dickens than Jane Austen, I can appreciate not only her stories but also her characters, which are fully formed and engaging.

Emma. The underlying story is fun and clever: Emma believes herself to be intuitive and perceptive about other people and their relationships, while the reader is seeing that she doesn’t have it quite right. Some people she sees as cold are actually very nice, those she sees as clever have a darker side, those she sees as silly or ignorant can actually be quite perceptive and kind. She helps along one relationship (the Westons) and sees herself as a consummate matchmaker. Unfortunately, she steers one friend away from the man who will eventually be her husband and encourages this friend to fall for a man who is actually in love with Emma herself. Meanwhile, Emma thinks she loves one man but then tries to match her friend to him after she (Emma) realizes she does not love him. Yikes, it’s confusing to follow these shifting partnerships. In fact, Emma completely misses the surprise relationship of the book, making it entertaining to see her miss the boat again and yet somehow not doubt her matchmaking prowess.

I appreciate Austen’s humor and wit, as parts of the book are very amusing. This is not a “romance” novel … but is a “relationship” novel. When these relationships are incorporated within a broader story, they come to reflect not only people but aspects of families and communities. In Emma, we see people through Emma’s eyes, and therefore we do not really hear their full story unless she wants to share it. Emma herself has some mix of good and bad qualities – she is a good person who sometimes gets caught up by her own jealousy, self-confidence, or sense of superiority. She experiences growth through the book, as she becomes a more understanding and self-aware person. This was gratifying to see. One of the satisfying things about the book is that everyone ends up where they should be. It’s nice to have a happy ending!

Persuasion. I really enjoyed Persuasion. It was tightly written, had both humor and pathos, and even men turned to Anne Elliot to figure out what to do. Okay, that last may be a bit of an overstatement – it only happened a few times. There was somewhat less focus on the rules and “importance” of English society and there was an obviously tongue-in-cheek quality to the scenarios. Perhaps this all worked because the main female character (aforementioned Anne) was more mature than some of the other Austen heroines – she was (gasp) 27, unmarried and not really panicked, sniveling. or depressed about her marrital status.

I could relate to Anne. She was sensitive about the many slights coming her way, but moved forward just the same – often in the background. While I found Emma (Emma) and Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) amusing and strong, respectively, I didn’t quite “feel” them. Perhaps because the social mores and sometimes uncomfortable outings seemed more prominant, I lost focus on the characters or was, frankly, just not that interested. However, the outings in Persuasion were less grand, the main family had lost some of its glitter, the other families were a bit more upper/middle class-ish, and almost everyone seemed less concerned with what is proper. I think I was able to relax into and enjoy the story more. Though much of the story focused on romance and lots of people got married, it didn’t go on and on with the wooing stage. Anne spent half the book hiding from one man or another and was completely befuddled as to how to respond to a “How do you do?” from any one of them. But, this seemed completely reasonable to me and when she did talk, there were actually cogent arguments and conversations about important stuff. Even the discussion about whether men or women suffer more after a breakup was engaging.

Pride and Prejudice was a very good book, though it confirmed that these relationship-based stories generally are not my favorites. This story is very well-written and has well-developed characters, but ultimately leaves me a little underwhelmed. The Bennet family is an interesting one! Dad is sort of bemused by his wife and daughters. With the exception of his favorite daughter Lizzy, he finds them all a bit silly. And pretty much with good reason. Mrs. Bennet would drive me to drink, as would the three younger Bennet daughters (Jane and Lizzy excluded). Jane is so very sweet and good-natured that it’s disconcerting. Lizzy is of course the heroine, since she is the only one who seems to have a good mix of intelligence, common sense, backbone and spark – she stands up for herself. Sometimes, she should probably take a few more moments to think things through before she speaks, but she’s 20 so she’s excused. Her balance may be more on “prejudice” (or pre-judging) but she has her share of pride.

Mr. Darcy is a bit of a gruff rich guy who technically has manners but is so off-putting that it really doesn’t matter. He has secrets about his family, a retiring sister, a snooty aunt, and a sickly cousin. He is supposed to marry the cousin in order to keep the money in the family and the line pure. I’m thinking they are not up on the dangers of inbreeding. Of course, he’s the definition of “pride” with a slice of prejudice thrown in. Elizabeth and Darcy are, of course, destined for one another.

I’m kind of with Mr. Bennet in responding with bemusement – I wasn’t full-out amused by the Bennet sisters but the antics were often entertaining. There is the wonderful kinda-rich guy (Bingley) for Jane, his nasty sisters who want him to marry Darcy’s rich sister, the officious yet bumbling Mr. Collins who will inherit the Bennet’s estate, and other characters who round out the town and social strata. It has a nice mix of characters who demonstrate a range of emotions and the story was enjoyable, if predictable. Yes, the predictability is in part because I read the book eons ago and have seen the 1940 movie version and the 1995 TV version. The book and the filmed versions are enjoyable, though I’m not sure I would want to spend too much time with many of these characters!