Re-reading Jane

I decided to re-read the two novels of Jane Austen's that I have only read once. (Mansfield Park is not included on this list because it took me 6 months to get through it the first time and I just can't do that to myself again.) Usually, I find myself reading Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion, the later being my favorite, when I find my brain in need of a dose of Jane. I don't read Pride and Prejudice anymore simply because the A&E movie version is so faithful to the original narrative that I find it tedious to read what I can watch.

Anyway, I first picked up Northanger Abbey. I honestly can't say why I only read this novel once. I remembered liking it when I first read it but for some reason it just didn't stick the same way that Persuasion did. The characters are beautifully drawn. More than that, it is a joy to watch our heroine, Catherine Morland, grow into a young woman through the progression of events she encounters as the story unfolds. It is fantastic story-telling and is one of the best examples of my favorite element in fiction writing - character development. I am sorry it took me this long to re-discover it.

Next of course was Emma. I was indifferent to this the first time I read it and I still am I suppose though perhaps with a little more educated non-chalantness. Emma is just not necessarily someone I would ever want to take tea with. That isn't to say she is a bad person. On the contrary at the heart of it she is a good person who just hasn't figured out the world yet or rather she is a good person; she is just really bad at it. I think a lot of it is that she lives a life of privilege in a small neighborhood. She doesn't really have a chance to learn from experience because her world presents a predictable set of incidents to react to. Her stubborn misplaced snobbery I think is more the effect of not knowing better and never being given a mirror to see her behavior reflected in.

What I think I respect the most about this book is that Miss Austen created a heroine who is undeniably flawed. She is real because despite all her more charming characteristics she is still just as fallible as the rest of us. This is especially true when compared to some of the other characters in the book. While Emma may never be my ideal friend, I think I would have found her society infinitely more enjoyable than say Mrs. Elton's.

On another note, I was discussing with a friend recently about the fact that Emma is always cast as a blonde in film adaptations (even the delightful "Clueless") when she is never described. And it is true. Emma as a person is never described. The best I could come up with is the repeated references to her as "fair cousin" "fair sister" "fair friend" which is more in reference to her character than her coloring I think but it is possible that someone else misconstrued this. *shrug*