Jane Austen was a notable gap in my reading knowledge that I finally filled in the past month. Erin got me a Barnes and Noble collection of her works for Christmas, and so far, I’ve read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.1The book has seven novels and is huge. I got both of these as ebooks from the library. Once I picked up on Austen’s voice and tone—a few pages into Sense and Sensibility, I had to search “Is Jane Austen satirical?”—I was sold. I adore Austen’s sass and snark and social satire. These two books are self-aware romance novels that are still relevant today, particularly Pride and Prejudice.
I don’t have a favorite between these two books. They have a similar construction: the title directly tells us the book’s themes and key attributes of two main characters, each explored in novel ways that don’t hit the audience over the head and set against a backdrop of British landed gentry that offers ample opportunity for pointing out absurdities.
Sense and Sensibility is heavier on the satire and less subtle in exploring the motifs. Austen juxtaposes two sisters, the elder Elinor with a mature and reserved disposition, the second-eldest Marianne liable to flights of fancy and extreme feelings. Both are searching for happiness in the ways they best understand it, but the sisters sometimes feel slightly passive, victims of circumstance as the plot reveals itself. Honor, or its lack, is a sub-theme among the male characters that drive our understanding of the sense and sensibility of the two sisters.
It comes as no surprise that Pride and Prejudice is the more popular book with staying power in this century. The characters feel more fleshed out, with more apparent flaws and internal motives. While the book also focuses on the two eldest sisters of a family, the title mainly refers to the relationship between the second-eldest, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy, with auxiliary relationships helping explore and refine how these two interact. Each conversation in this book feels more grounded and real; the stakes feel higher because they are more personal and not manufactured by unknown backstories. I found the plot more explicable and invested more in the characters. Pride and Prejudice has an overall stronger story—making adaptions to TV and film easier—and its attacks on the social hierarchy are more direct and less satirical. Instead of observational humor rooted in idle character interactions, we have Elizabeth as the mouthpiece and conscience of the reader, saying precisely what she thinks.
Next on my list is Emma, which I also know nothing about. My rough understanding is that after these first three novels, Austen’s style changes, and her later novels aren’t quite as highly regarded, but they will remain on my list, and I’ll make that judgment myself. I read enough books, and it’s a wonderful feeling when one truly surprises me. I was thrilled by these two.
- 1The book has seven novels and is huge. I got both of these as ebooks from the library.