Jane Austen: What's Love Got to Do with It? (episode 42)

More than 200 years after her death, which was marked by an explosion of celebrations and books and merchandise and movies and television specials in 2017, Jane Austen continues to be one of the most popular authors and most widely-read authors in the world. 

So what is it about Jane Austen? Why does she remain so popular?

Jane Austen novels are all about families. There are some brothers and many sisters. There are parents. There are children. Families fall apart. Families come together. New families are created. There are fathers (like Mr. Dashwood) who die, causing a crisis. There are fathers (like Mr. Bennet) who will die and cause a crisis. There are missing mothers, especially in Highbury. There are family members who move to live with other families, or people who are brought in to be considered “like family.” 

Austen’s focus on families explores the dynamics of interpersonal relationships—something we all share. And in the novels, it’s mostly about courtship and marriage. Most of the primary characters throughout the novels are involved with courtship and/or marriage. And, less often, love. For white, middle-class women, which is the extent of Jane Austen’s world, acquiring a husband is the most important decision of a woman’s life. In this world, marriage couldn’t happen without some impact on money and economics.

Henry Tilney sees marriage in clear terms, noting that “man has the advantage of choice, woman only the power of refusal.” As far as he can see, this is true. But is it always true? 

Many women in Austen marry for money or at least security. That was a reality of the time. Women relied almost entirely on the incomes of their fathers or husbands for survival. But in Austen, the world not left to the practical Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins pairings. Couples manage to find love and happiness as well. So that brings me to couples bound by love and enthusiasm for each other and hope for not just survival but also fun. It’s no surprise that favorite male and female characters end up marrying each other and creating favorite couples.

Admiral and Sophie Croft (Persuasion): The Crofts are not living the traditional life most of Austen’s characters strive for, and they are enjoying themselves enormously.

Henry Tilney and Catherine Moreland (Northanger Abbey): Why do they work so well? They enjoy themselves and each other. 

Marianne and Brandon (Sense and Sensibility): Austen assures us that “Marianne could never love by halves; and her whole heart became, in time, as much devoted to her husband as it had once been to Willloughby.”

Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot (Persuasion): The scene where Wentworth writes the letter and finds a way to give it to Anne, begging her to read it with a look is one of the most powerful and romantic moments in all of Austen.

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice): Their dazzling relationship has a terrible start—they are completely unimpressed with each other, Darcy finding Elizabeth only “tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me.” But soon enough he finds her much more than tolerable, and they are well on their way to a second proposal, a happy ending, and the top spot as favorite couple.

History shows us what's possible.