Jane Austen and the Power of Words by the Northern Rose

            The power of words is so strong that few people can really command it. Yet, when it is done properly, these words have the power to influence generations to come. Jane Austen is one such author that commanded this power. Between novels like Pride and Prejudice or Emma, Austen left behind a trail of humor and social commentary that helped pave the way for nineteenth century realism. 

            Jane Austen was born in 1775, a time where unrest was stirring across the world. At a young age her family took in one of her French aristocratic cousins (who was also her future sister in law and possible inspiration for her Mansfield Park character Mary Crawford) whose first husband, the Comte de Feuillide, had been executed via guillotine. Events such as these filled Austen with horror and greatly effected he writings, the darkest of which is Northanger Abbey. Astonishingly, Austen never mentions politics directly. Instead she paints a picture that shows how lives are effected by outside influences (prejudices) and how these circumstances can be overlooked for the greater good.

            Much like the works of the great William Shakespeare, Jane Austen’s novels are read and taught about in schools across the world. Her works have also been adapted hundreds of times. Her first full-length novel was entitled Elinor and Marianne, it would be published in 1811 under the title Sense and Sensibility. While she was still living the majority of her works would be published anonymously. No one can quite say why her works never had her name on them until after her death, she never wrote down a reason. Yet, we can speculate that her being a female had an influence on this decision. Many female authors at this time, like the Bronte sisters, wrote either anonymously or under male pseudonyms.

            Many modern-day authors look to Austen for inspiration. It is likely that the before mentioned Bronte sisters knew something of her novels. These novels and their adaptations can be seen all over the place, most notably of which is probably the 1995 adaption of Pride and Prejudice staring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma were all published before Jane Austen passed away in 1817. Her last two creations, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were made into a set by her brother Henry who helped them to be published. As an honor to his sister he would also have these works published, for the first time, under her real name. Her books have been continuously in print since 1833.

            It is believed that she died from the results of Addison’s disease. Today, this disease can be easily treated but in 1817 the world did not know what the disease was. In fact the disease would not be ‘discovered’ and diagnosable until 1855, thirty-eight years after Austen’s death.

            Jane Austen did not live a very long life. She died at the age of forty-one. Yet, it could be said that she accomplished more than most other young women of her time did. Although only four of her novels were published while she was alive, that does not make her life any less important. The first draft of Sense and Sensibility was finished when Austen was only seventeen. Pride and Prejudice was finished when she was only twenty-one. Sure, she may not have had any great romances or tragic losses, but she helps us understand what was important to a lower-class female at this time. She gave us imagination, insight, and so much more. She gave us a Shakespearean like outlook on life, with an Austenian twist.

Northern Rose