Jane Austen discussion
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Help please- Austen lovers
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1. 27/ female2. Bachelor degree in tourism, on my way to a master's degree
3. Persuassion/ Pride & Prejudice
4. They are funny, insightful, a psyhological study of people, they have romance and show us the ways of that era
5. Because of all above mentioned and because she created an ideal of a man that all women wish to find (which is a bit hard, but never mind) :D
1) 32/ female2) bachelor of medicine and surgery, medical masters in psychiatry, completing fellowship degree
3) persuasion/ Northanger Abbey
4) Austen paints a picture of people, their lives and their thoughts; and critiques the society of the time; all with great wit.
5) her societal comments still ring true; her wit transcends time and who wouldn't want a happy ending.
1.) 24/Female2.) Bachelor in English Literature
3.) Tough - Pride & Prejudice or Emma.
4.) I love her use of the English language; her depiction of characters; how she so perfectly captures different personalities and how they are people that still resonate today, as are the issues she writes about. And overall she's just delightful to immerse yourself in the world she depicts. And I generally love her values and what she seems to value in people. And she's FUNNY in the smartest way possible.
5.) Same reasons as above; I think the themes she writes about are universal and easy to relate to; same with the types of characters she represents. There's also, for me, a sense of safety and security that I feel when mentally entering that world. Which is interesting because her character's are far from always being safe and secure, but maybe they seem that way compared to today's standards.
1.) 19/female2.) High school diploma
3.) Emma
4.) I love the prose, the era, her characters and fun plots.
5.) I agree with what the other users are saying: universal themes, ideal heroes, relatable characters.
1.) 36/Female2.) A Level's and vocational qualifications and I haven't studied English Literature since school
3.) Pride and Prejudice with Emma as a close second
4.) I’ve always appreciated clever dialogue and subtle humour and when it’s easy to read at the same time, it draws you in quickly. The characters and situations are complex and believable.
5.) The way Jane Austen uses humour to portray the characters and bring the story together makes you care about them. Her books are clever and insightful, we can still identify with the thoughts and emotions of the characters.
1.) 51/Female2.) Master's degree, Psychology
3.) They're all dear to me in their ways; honestly can't choose a favorite.
4.) I love the clever, elegant mental activity reflected in her prose; her wit and wonderful use of irony and understatement; her gifts for infusing vitality into character creation & dialogue; her ability to delineate the unspoken as well as the spoken, providing another element of realism to her works; and that I always feel an essential quality of wholesomeness enveloping the storytelling which, with her incisive awareness and gift for unique turns of phrase, has the effect of wisdom for me. It seems clear that she preserved an overarching affection for life despite its myriad imperfections. And her writing made a declaration of sorts: that ordinary life was sufficient for extraordinary stories (and by implication, that ordinary life contains great and important charms and moments and happenings, if only we but choose to look at it that way).
5.) It seems to me that stories have two basic components: settings, and characters who think and feel and hope and lament and choose to act or not act within them. And I feel that though her settings are so very different than that of later generations including our own, her characters are recognizable-- and relatable--to this day. She captures something of what it is to be human in a way that transcends time and setting. Her works are timeless precisely because her awareness and depiction of human nature speaks across time to each new set of readers, in my opinion.
1.) 36/female2.) High School diploma
3.) What is your favorite Austen novel? Pride and Prejudice, though a close second is Mansfield Park
4.) Why do you enjoy reading Austen's works? What components of the novel do you enjoy? She has such a way with words that is unlike most others. Her characters have strong bases and they seem to come to life on the pages. That is hard to accomplish.
5.) Why do you feel Austen has remained one of the most popular authors today? First, she writes of a topic that is timeless - everyone has a need/desire to be loved. Second she has a way of drawing you into the era without the negatives that we know we would all hate if we were born during that period.
1.) 43/female2.) BA (English Lit) and JD
3.) Pride and Prejudice, followed by Sense and Sensibility
4.) Reading them now reminds me of when I was first reading them in high school and college.
5.) Her depictions of characters are so rich and often humorous, and the plots are usually compelling.
1) 17 ys old /female2) high school student (this is my last year in high school )
3) pride and prejudice followed by Emma
4) her books are so beautifuly written ,her style is flawless and she doesn't seem to be making an effort to make it sound so harmonious ,it's as if the words are floating on the pages .. I also love the way she totally understand women's feelings , and how she touches the fibres of my heart ,she makes me go through the same emotions of the heroine ( my heart beats fast ,a weird sensation spreads over me ..)
5) I think what made j austen still a favorite until now ,is that she was enjoying what she was writing ,never trying to please any one, she only shared her talent with the rest of us .. so I believe she s still famous now because she's simply true ..
I hope this will help you
1.) 612.) Ph.D., neurochemistry
3.) Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (tied)
4.) For her acute understanding of her species, her humor, and the beauty of her prose.
5.) She writes about universal human concerns and values, and does so with a skill that can only be described as genius.
1.) very near six-and-thirty (36)/f2.) Educational background : overeducated (B.A. Literature, M.A. History, MLIS)
3.) What is your favorite Austen novel? : Persuasion
4.) Why do you enjoy reading Austen's works? What components of the novel do you enjoy?
I love the stories for the brilliant writing, the well drawn characters and the subtle, witty humor. Of course the romantic plots are a big draw. Pretty much what everyone else has said.
5.) Why do you feel Austen has remained one of the most popular authors today?
What everyone else said. She was a brilliant writer, a comic genius and understood universal human characteristics very well.
I just want to comment that possibly the major problem facing literature today is the divide between careful, precise, and sometimes hyper-intellectual academic readers, and non-academic readers who sometimes hold themselves to a high standard, and other times don't.Literature needs a middle ground: people who approach a work both intelligently and humbly.
Shelley
http://dustbowlstory.wordpress.com
1. 19/ female2. Currently in sophomore year of college.
3. Pride and Prejudice4. I enjoy Jane Austen's novels because of the well-delores characters, the romantic and interesting relationships, and the humor.
5. I feel like Jane Austen is popular because of the reasons I mentioned in # 4 and because her characters are very relatable. They seem like people that you know. Also, her books are--in my opinion, anyway--easier to understand than some classics.
# 4: well-developed characters * stupid autocorrect
Shelley wrote: "I just want to comment that possibly the major problem facing literature today is the divide between careful, precise, and sometimes hyper-intellectual academic readers, and non-academic readers wh..."Intelligently and humbly: yes, please!
Shelley wrote:""I just want to comment that possibly the major problem facing literature today is the divide between careful, precise, and sometimes hyper-intellectual academic readers, and non-academic readers who sometimes hold themselves to a high standard, and other times don't.""I have been used to thinking (and certainly hoping) that literature is big enough for every kind of reader, and that there is no need to confine or limit it to any particular mold. So you're post confuses my ideas a little. I'm not even sure what point you have made, and should probably ask for a little clarification. Is it intended for those that read literature, or those that write literature, or both? And what would be the possibly major problem facing literature if things don't change from how they are now? And I guess finally, is there a lack of contemporary readers or writers who combine intelligence and humility?
I'm a bit late to the party, but I hope the info is helpful!1.) 30/f
2.) Bachelor of Arts - History (Honours), Bachelor of Education
3.) Pride and Prejudice, followed closely by Persuasion.
4.) I really enjoy the social interaction in the novels. They aren't overly wrought with moralizing, or melancholy. I love the historical setting, which makes me wonder if I would love them as much if I was around when they were first published. I learn about society at the time as I read, and it's a more personal history, the history of how a certain set in British society lived their lives according to the manners and rules of said society. It's not like Gaskell's moralizing about the workers in the North, or Bronte's overly emotional train-wrecks we see in Heathcliff and Catherine.
5.) Because many who read it have an access point. The characters are relatable, amusing, endearing and engaging. Personally, if I can't identify with anyone in the book I have a hard time really enjoying it.
1.) Age/gender
2.) Educational background
3.) What is your favorite Austen novel?
4.) Why do you enjoy reading Austen's works? What components of the novel do you enjoy?
5.) Why do you feel Austen has remained one of the most popular authors today?
Thank you all!!