JANE AUSTEN Bookish Chat |

[@diana-mariaamirei1501]

I honestly started loving Jane Austen's books after hearing you talking about them so lovingly on your channel. Honest! And therefore I am forever grateful to you for inspiring me to pick up her books and read them and then love them. Thank you, thank you! I love your channel and the content you post; you are a kindred spirit and have such a lovely heart! Thank you for sharing that with us!🌼📚May God pour blessings over you and yours! Happy reading!

[@tillysshelf]

I agree so much with everything you said about Fanny Price! Even when she is really struggling at her parents she is still resolute and looks to improve her situation there rather than cave to the pressure from everyone to marry someone she knows is no good. Also Mrs Smith, you went into it so much more but that presentation of a caring female friendship is so valuable (especially when a lot of Austen's other close relationships are either between sisters or problematic like Harriet and Emma). Henry Tilney's sense of humour is spot on. Of all the men I feel like he's the one I would enjoy spending time with the most.

[@bluovalgal]

Must admit I've never read any books by Jane Austen but love your enthusiasm for her!

[@taylorfranklin3561]

I love how you describe her work as cozy and friendly. I find those qualities to be the reason I return to her stories as well. Great video!

[@cheriebennett5557]

I agree! Love Jane so much! I even named my daughter Elizabeth Bennett, which is such fun! When someone recognizes her name, I know they are a kindred spirit!

[@BookishPrincess]

Aww that is so sweet, she has a great namesake!! 😊

[@timstevens8851]

Thank you. Love your videos, and your enthusiasm. Also gratified to hear that Mrs. Smith in "Persuasion" is one of your favorite minor Jane Austen characters. Would also love to hear your own top ten book recommendations to read before one passes from this earthly realm. Thanks again.

[@samantha.irenes]

I do think in a lot of ways Edith Wharton is more...cynical than Jane Austen, but I think she looks at things through a different lens than Jane. Edith's books are full of people who devote their lives to maintaining this veneer of civility in the same ways that Jane's upper middle class people do as well, but Edith's characters do it at the expense of their own feelings and inner lives (rather than Jane's who manage to be fully fleshed humans with desires within society). Like, in Age of Innocence I think you're right in that a lot of the characters are more flat, but that's on purpose; they actively push away any feeling or thought they have that might mar the painting they are part of, if that makes sense. They're taught to not ruin the illusion, or even acknowledge that it *is* all an illusion. And that's part of Archer's journey is realizing that everyone around him is fake, not wanting to buy into that anymore, and then having to come to terms with it for his family's sake. It's almost a flip on Austen in that...Austen's novels usually end with a marriage kind of "fixing everything" and the characters still living in the status quo. They've grown as characters, but have also grown to fit in more with society. Edith Wharton questions the status quo and romantic love's ability to fix anything. I think Jane would find Edith's novels really interesting but wouldn't necessarily agree with them, and I'd love to sit in on that conversation.

[@BookishPrincess]

It would be so interesting to hear Jane Austen’s take on Edith Wharton! In Jane’s novels, I think an individual’s character is what matters most, in spite of what society tries to impose on it. In Edith Wharton I felt like the emphasis was on the society swamping the individual’s character, but I think Jane would say that can still only happen if the individual allows it. It’s two different way of looking at the world. I think we were meant to see Age of Innocence as dominated by the lack of substance in the society, but for me it was dominated by the lack of substance in Archer’s character. I was so fed up with him by the end, even his sacrifice for the family seemed motivated by a cold, warped sense of pride rather than any real, honest warmth of feeling. I think I’m paraphrasing Anne Eliot without meaning to, lol. The way she felt about Mr. Eliot isn’t far off from what I felt about Archer. Except where Mr. Eliot was deceiving others, Archer has deceived himself, he’s just driven one way by his passions, another way by his frustrations, another way by what society expects from him. There’s resignation in the end but no active resolve, no real strength of character. I think it really just comes down to two fundamentally different ways of looking at the world. I don’t see Jane’s characters as remaining in the status quo in the end but as continuing to live fulfilling lives, enriched by the experiences and trials they’ve just undergone. The marriages aren’t a fix, they’re just the denouement all good stories have, the start of a new adventure. 😊

[@samantha.irenes]

@@BookishPrincess You definitely nailed it, I think, it's a sociological take versus Jane's psychological understanding of her characters. Which makes sense, since Edith was writing Age of Innocence in the 1920s after the Gilded Age was over. Jane's primary focus is always her characters. (Which, tbh, is why I had to look up Archer's name but I never have to look up a Jane Austen character's name). I do see what you mean about Archer. For me his real moment as a character is at the end when he declines to reconnect with Ellen in Paris, that was definitely the most interesting choice he made in the whole novel for me. It's the most agency he had, as well, and even then he's declining to do something versus actively doing something. People describe Age of Innocence as a bildungsroman, but it's a weird one in that Archer doesn't really come into his own until he's older. And even then it's more of a quiet resignation about life than the more joyful and dynamic Jane Austen coming of age stories. (I can almost hear Jane Austen saying "choose joy, Ms. Wharton, choose joy!!!"). Anyway, that's what makes these novels so great is everyone gets such different things out of them! Now I just want to reread Persuasion for the tenth time....

[@BookishPrincess]

It is so interesting to analyze and hear different perspectives, thank you for your comments! 😊 lol, and I know, whatever Austen novel I'm referencing I'm then tempted to reread. 😂

[@BlatantlyBookish]

I'm so glad you did this tag! I like to use the term favorite loosely, as more of a favorite in the moment. Otherwise you'll drive yourself insane attempting to choose. I love the point you make about Jane creating such rich multi-dimensional characters. Even her most hollow characters have hidden depths.

[@journeys_with_jen]

Emma, you are the one who peaked my interest in Jane Austen. I am doing this challenge as well and have been having so much fun reading all of Jane Austen books for the very first time. :)

[@BookishPrincess]

Aww that's so wonderful to hear! 😄

[@nerdtastic2014]

Henry Tilney is my favorite Austen hero/love interest, but that entirely due to how much I love JJ Feild in the film! Lol I'm hoping to listen to the Persuasion audiobook next month. I definitely need to read all of Jane Austen's books in the next few years.

[@BookishPrincess]

He is a fantastic Mr. Tilney!

[@tynakatroberts5117]

I love Jane Austen! Mansfield park is my favorite! Also I agree I LOVE EMMA and I hate that so many movies mess up get true personality and her motives. She's not a spoiled ditsy blonde, she's just trying to help her friend and she's trying to be mature. Also she thinks of Harriet as an equal to herself.

[@BookishPrincess]

I know, I love Emma!! In the novel we hear a lot of her interior monologue, and I don’t think *any* of us would be judged very kindly if other people were listening to what we say in our heads. 😂 But when you look at her character as a whole, there’s so much strength and kindness. 💕

[@spinstercatlady]

I do love Austen! So much so that I named my big, handsome black cat Mr.Darcy lol (he's on my display pic). Her books are just so calming and comforting, like visiting an old friend. Northanger Abbey is my favorite with Sense and Sensibility a close second. Great video as always, Emma ❤ PS. Scent of Water is on my TBR shelf (thanks to your recommendation), so hoping to get to it soon.

[@ismene6546]

My ultimate favorite Austen novel is Northanger Abbey. I love the gothic setting and the lesson of not letting rumors sway the truth.

[@marycassidy1695]

How about Aunt Norris in Mansfield Park? She is even more unlikable than Lady Catherine or Lucy steele. And I agree about Mrs. Smith and persuasion. I just love her and I love the way they portrayed her in the 1995 movie version. She was perfect!

[@elizabethwooten7672]

Great video! Mansfield Park is the only Austen on my shelf that I haven’t read yet and now I’m thinking I need to!

[@BookishPrincess]

You should pick it up, I'm hoping to reread Mansfield Park this summer! 😄

[@elizabethwooten7672]

BookishPrincess after I finish my current read I probably will!

[@elizabethbrink3761]

Thank you for defending Fanny Price! She is massively misunderstood. I took a Jane Austen class in college and everyone in the class thought she wasn't qualified to be a heroine. I can't remember how the professor reacted, but, now that I'm older and more mature, I like to think that she rolled her eyes at us and hoped that we would come to appreciate Fanny more in time. Fanny and Anne Elliot's strengths are harder to appreciate in our day and age, I think.

[@MORTICIA-jj6gu]

No one compares, I agree!

[@dee-annegordon5959]

Ah Jane. I think I was about 13 when I first read P&P. My favourite though is Persuasion.

[@ZoZo1512]

For now, Pride and Prejudice is my favourite because that's the only Austen I've read. So until I have read all of her works, the subtle and serious Mr Darcy shall remain my one true love 😍

[@BookishPrincess]

Mr. Darcy is pretty great! 💕

[@Lu.G.]

Lucy Steele *is* the worst! Great tag, thanks for sharing!

[@BookishPrincess]

I love the actresses who have portrayed Lucy Steele in the adaptations, they do a great job of capturing that satisfied, scheming smirk. 😆 Thanks for watching!

[@brittanyschmo]

**Immediately watches video when she sees "Jane Austen" in the title!!! :)