Daily Cascade

On Jane Austen

Prompt:
On this day in 1817, the English novelist Jane Austen, who wrote such classics as Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813), died in Winchester, Hampshire, at age 41.

Which novel famously opens with the line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”? Fact or Fiction: Jane Austen agreed to marry someone but broke this agreement a day later. Which of Jane Austen’s siblings helped publish two of her novels posthumously? Which of Austen’s novels inspired the popular 1995 movie Clueless?
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For the answers to the questions in the prompt, I'd like to refer the reader to Seffi's "July 18 2025 - Austen" . I can't answer them any better, myself.

As to Jane Austen, had I been living during the Jane's era of the British history, I would be warning the English gentry of her wit, irony, and realism. Her books must have been eye-openers for her times because her female characters are truly strong and they help Jane with her strong ideas and insightful social commentary. They do this by pointing to the intricacies of the lives and relationships of the times and the English.

In addition, Jane Austen has all these intricate plots and dialogues at her beck and call. Although her stories are centered in the social lives of her characters, she still can entertain, inspire, and make her readers think about the issues. This is fine and writerly for sure, but it also favors Jane Austen as a social commentator.

As for me, I also like her descriptions and their implications, be it a person, a scene, or an action. For example:
"They all waited in silence for the appearance of their visitor. His footsteps were heard along the gravel path; in a moment he was in the passage, and in another he was before them. His countenance, as he entered the room, was not too happy, even for Elinor."
Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 48

Simple, right? But she tells so much in so few well-chosen words. Reading just this much, I can expect an unpleasant event to happen.

Yes, we can say a lot about Jane Austen's novels but she also wrote letters. This in one of those has always made me smile. “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.”

Too bad her life wasn't very long. Had she lived longer we'd enjoy so much more of her charm, wit, and writing art.