Review: _A Jane Austen Education:_ Part memoir, part literary analysis and all good

Tweet

Over the last few years, I've been working on expanding my knowledge of and about Jane Austen; her life, what she wrote and the world that she moved in. And as I usually do in such circumstances, everything turns into fodder for my eager brain. Sometimes I have success at learning something new, and sometimes I don't. William Deresiewicz's book, A Jane Austen Education, was both familiar territory and new fields for me. The author starts out with his introduction to the works of Jane Austen in a graduate school course, and his immediate reaction that it was all chick-lit, that morass of emotion that every man dreads to tread. But as Deresiewicz read more of Jane Austen, the more he started to question his own views and attitudes towards the world and people, and started to realize that these six novels spoke just as clearly to the modern reader as they did two centuries ago when they were first published. The first book he read was Emma, and which he found that he had to look at the small details of life, and too, start focusing on how his behaviour affected others. For Emma Woodhouse is one of those heroines you love to hate, with her self-absorbed attitude that she knows what's best for everyone, and then proceeds to meddle in all of the lives around her. It's some hard lessons that Emma has to learn, as so it is with the narrator as well. But in reading Emma, Deresiewicz learns something more -- that he enjoys reading Jane Austen. The next book he took on was the classic Pride and Prejudice -- and here he learned that it was all right to be wrong, for that's how learned how things really are. There are some folks out there who never learn this lesson, and then they wonder why they're never quite satisfied, or why things don't turn out the way that they expected. But being able to take your lumps in life -- and in this one, people certainly do -- is how you mature and start growing up. It's also how you gain respect from others as well. I'll confess, Northanger Abbey isn't my favourite of Miss Austen's novels, and neither is Mansfield Park, but here I was able to grasp a bit more of both books, and found myself agreeing with a lot of what was being said here. Northanger Abbey is about keeping yourself open to new ideas and new experiences, and once you get that down, life turns into something marvelous. Same goes with Mansfield Park -- never let yourself get bored, face each day -- or book -- or person -- as something you can learn from. Both of those are hard things to learn, especially in our society where perfection is something to be strived for, and once you get there, you're just too cool to be bothered with anything else. Folks like this, I've found out, tend to shallow, petty, and dull as dishwater once you get to know them. Persuasion is my favourite of the Austen novels, what with the renewal of love and friendship, and why it is always best to be honest with yourself and the people around you. Once you get over that fear of what others will think of you and your actions, the world suddenly becomes a freer and better place, where the only thing that can hold you back is your own fears. And then there is Sense and Sensibility, which is the runner up for my favourite of the set. Here the narrator comes full circle, working on his dissertation, and finding out that life isn't bad at all as an adult. There's this idea in the world that being perpetually young, and playing at things is perfectly all right, but usually at some point it will catch up with you -- and really, growing up isn't bad at all. Stay young in your outlook, but also learn the wisdom to know when and who to make those choices with. I loved reading this book. By blending the lessons that life had to teach him, Deresiewicz learned that it was perfectly all right to let go of immaturity, false expectations, and his own prejudices in favour of always learning and experiencing along with following his own dreams. It's a book that I wish I had when I was younger and start figuring out what life was really all about. By presenting these connections through the actions and thoughts of Jane Austen's characters is a terrific way of both learning how to read critically as well as for enjoyment, and also to learn a few things along the way. This was one book on Jane Austen's novels that I really enjoyed. While I don't agree with everything that Deresiewicz says in here, I did like how he learnt about himself, and saw insights into his own behaviour and attitudes, and how this lead to his own personal growth from being an arrogant young snot to being an adult who was happy with himself and confidence enough to let others into his life. Happy recommended and with four stars overall. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship and the Things That Matter William Deresiewicz 2011; The Penguin Press, PenguinGroup USA ISBN 978-1-59420-288-9