See saw

Oh, the small pleasures of life! And the fun we can (hopefully) make of ourselves! 

Jane Austen has been in the news, in the movies, and in the book reviews more often than not over the past few years. The resurgence of her works has been fun to observe. Ashamedly, I had never read one of her books - excerpts, yes, in some of my literature classes at university, but never a complete work. A change of the tide was about to occur. A few weeks ago, a friend invited me to a lecture entitled, "Jane Austen for Smarties." (Get it? A play on the ...for Dummies  books.) The lecture was given by the author of the recently published Jane Austen for Dummies, Joan Klingel Ray, and was indeed an entertaining and informative afternoon. Afterward, Sue and I were talking, and I confessed to being one of the "Jane Austen smarty-pants" to whom the author referred - those who have seen the movies but never read the books. Sue was rather surprised at my confession, and I was spurred on to do some exploration myself of an Austen book. 

The quickest to come by at our wonderful library (ppld.org if you want to check it out!) was Pride and Prejudice, and so I began my Jane Austen education in earnest. I anticipated enjoying the book, as so many around me gave testimony to their joy in its reading. I must confess, though, that the beginning was, for me, rather ignominious. I was neither moved nor intrigued by the language of the book, and the plot, being known to me, served as little enticement. I said as much to some friends. I found, however, that as I progressed in my reading, the words themselves began to draw me "further up and further in" (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle). Austen was working her magic on me...

Result: my mind has been changed - yes, I am an intellectual see saw (teeter totter, if you'd rather)! My conclusion is this: Jane Austen does, indeed, deserve the praise she receives. Despite knowing rather intimately the progression of the plot, despite being aware of the critical reasons for and against the book, despite the sometimes (to our modern ears) over-written prose, I was drawn into Pride and Prejudice like a fish to a lure, and enjoyed every minute of it (except, perhaps, her, albeit period-justified, overuse of commas). The characters, language, and unfolding of the plot gave me great joy and actual out-loud giggles. Her use of just those things was quite delightful and fulfilled just as I had hoped. Too many words, too much dialogue - pah! Quite the opposite if one is willing to go on the ride and enjoy the play being acted out on the page.

Try it for yourself if you haven't - I think you'll be as surprised and delighted as I was!