Guest Author
By Dr. Neelam Aggarwal
Jane Austen, pencil and watercolor sketch on paper by her sister, Cassandra Austen, c. 1810; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Which long-dead writers deserve to have the epithet “great” applied to them? It would be reasonable to say those whose creations have stood the test of time have endeared themselves to readers across the boundaries of time and place. They have been a source of inspiration to writers over the ages. By any measure, Jane Austen is a great writer. Her books have never been out of print and have been translated into numerous languages all over the world. Her phenomenal legacy is evident from the countless adaptations, spin-offs, sequels, parodies, performances, interpretations, and retellings of her books in writings and productions across films, theatres, television, and web series.
Her fans, indeed, her devotees, have formed literary foundations and societies to foster appreciation and study of her work in countries ranging from North America to Brazil to India, Italy to Singapore, Japan to Mexico, Canada to Pakistan, to name a few. And in 2025, the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, there are a multitude of events across the world to celebrate a literary genius who has left an enduring legacy and gained global recognition.
The contrast between present-day United States and the context in which the fictional Bennet family lived is stark to the extreme. The U. S. widely recognized as a progressive and highly developed country, is acclaimed for its infrastructure, technological innovations, medical advances, diverse and delicious food, homeownership and efficient transportation. A diverse multi-cultural population and vibrant communities, and a penchant for innovation and building connections are also hallmarks of the US. In short, a world incredibly different from the social context that Jane Austen writes about. The question is why do tales of fictional characters and their everyday lives, their social customs, their family conflicts and relationships in rural England at the turn of the 19th century continue to captivate modern audiences?
Jane Austen envisioned her writing process as small and precise. In a letter to her nephew in December 1816, she wrote: “What should I do with your strong, manly, spirited sketches, full of variety and glow? – How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labor?” Elsewhere she wrote: “three or four families in a village is the very thing to work on.” Her tales focus on the struggles and triumphs of those few families. Her social range is admittedly narrow, limited to what Virginia Woolf refers to as “parties, picnics, country dances.”
Critics may judge her for being parochial, but they also acknowledge her mastery of the human material and domestic lives she writes about. That Jane Austen’s books resonate with readers of our fast-paced world today testifies to their underlying relevance. The answer lies in her universal themes, her nuanced relatable characters, and her extraordinary style combining wit and gentle irony.
Regardless of culture, life experiences, and prevalent norms and expectations, at the heart of every social context, is the issue of people and their problems. And many of those problems can be traced to money, marriage, misunderstandings. Human relationships, social class, gender roles, financial security are issues as relevant in today’s world as they were two or three centuries ago. The challenges arising out of social pressure and generation gap are ubiquitous facts of life. Jane Austen provides an in-depth depiction of a range of relationships: husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, neighbors who are well-intentioned and those who are not.
Pride and Prejudice, probably the most beloved of her books, is the story of five sisters whose mother attempts to find socially acceptable and financially rewarding matches for them. Austen explores the social norms and customs of the time through her spirited heroine, Elizabeth. In a multilayered plot revolving around relationships in a society obsessed with social status and marriage, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy go through a journey of self-awareness and overcome their initial prejudice and arrogance to find true love.
In Emma, Emma Woodhouse, bright, beautiful and wealthy, makes a lot of wrong decisions out of her misplaced confidence in her match-making skills. Always well-intentioned, never malicious, she ignores the advice of Mr. Knightley, and stumbles from one misadventure to another. She eventually learns the importance of self-reflection and rejoices in her love for and compatibility with Mr. Knightley.
In Sense and Sensibility, the impoverished Dashwood sisters go through many ups and downs before finally settling into happy marriages. Elinor values “sense,” reason and restraint. Marianne with excessive “sensibility” is carried away by emotions. In the most simplistic terms, both sisters need the right balance of sense and sensibility to achieve happiness. Despite the happy ending of her novels, Austen’s books are not simple escapist romances. Her romantic plotlines also explore the challenges faced by her characters, especially women, due to the limitations imposed on them by the social norms of the time. She holds up a mirror to show darker issues like the tenuous position of women in society and their financial vulnerability.
Another major reason why modern readers find Austen’s novels so compelling is her ensemble of interesting, relatable and recognizable characters. She portrays them as very human with their fair share of strengths and weaknesses. Over two centuries later, we can understand and relate to their flaws and fears, their anxieties and apprehensions. Using dialogue rather than detailed description, Austen gives us a glimpse into the innermost thoughts of her characters. Elizabeth Bennet is witty and strong-willed but her perceptions and faulty judgement about Darcy and Wickham demonstrate her immaturity.
About Emma, Jane Austen said: “I’m going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” As it happens, for all her flaws, her over-confidence, her self-delusion, and her meddling nature, Emma remains a favorite of many readers over the years. She is fully believable, and one can see how her romantic misadventures expose the prevalent obsession with social status. Austen’s minor characters are also memorable and highly recognizable: the complacent and highly deferential and boring Mr. Collins; the charming and dishonest Wickham; the plain sister Mary Bennet whose pianoforte skills Austen dismisses as having “neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her a pedantic air and conceited manner…” The wide range of characters add a unique richness and depth to the stories.
Austen’s books display a combination of gentle humor, comic wit, and brilliant irony unusual for her time. The words that she has Elizabeth Bennet utter in Pride and Prejudice could well be her own axiom in life: “I dearly love to laugh…follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me…and I laugh at them whenever I can.” Indeed, the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice is arguably one of the most quoted sentences of brilliant humor: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The storyline itself is funny; the characters are delightful: the manipulative Mrs. Bennet obsessed with marriage prospects for her daughters; Mr. Bennet humorously disdainful of his own marriage while his wife is blissfully unaware of his sly digs and ironic gibes. Austen’s books are full of such exhilarating statements and insights.
Jane Austen’s subject and style as well as her characterization and comic wit have endeared her to readers over the years. Discerning readers of today enjoy and reread her six books with a quiet chuckle or loud laughter and always with a great admiration and love for this great writer who died at age 41, never anticipating the spectacular success of her books.
Dr. Neelam Aggarwal is a retired professor and former Dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at a university in Singapore. She now resides in North Carolina. Contact: neelam_716@yahoo.com.
