Jane Austen "rant"

So, normally I would completely agree with the opinion that "Jane Austen is the perfect antidote to life," but since this post is supposed to be a rant, I will go ahead and air that major problem I have with all of Austen's novels: her heroines always get married. Yes, no matter what goes wrong in their lives, our heroines forget all about it as soon as they get their happily-ever-after marriages. For a woman who never married herself, you'd think Austen would have wanted a heroine like herself, someone who didn't need the love or money of a man to feel successful and satisfied. Perhaps Austen never did feel truly satisfied without a man, but since she did accept a man and then turn him down the next day, I have trouble believing that. I feel that Austen's endings take previously promising strong female characters and turn them into the "typical female" of the time. If they had had any personal or intellectual achievements throughout the novel, or seemed an original character, this attribute is taken away from all of them at the end of the novel when they give themselves away as a wife (let's face it, wives back then were expected to completely submit to their husbands and operate purely as heir-producing, beautiful fixtures in the home). In this way, I really don't think Austen had any original ideas about women for her time. While she was sometimes subtly political, ironic, and satirical of society, she does not offer women another alternative besides spinsterhood, marriage, or dying alone of an STD in an alley. The fact that Jane Austen didn't feel comfortable writing an unmarried heroine (like herself) shows what a harsh social eye she must have been under. Though she might not have sold as many novels during her lifetime if she had written a heroine who never married and did not want to marry, I think she would have been respected much more as a writer (eventually).

Taking a "husband"

It's hard to say which one of Austen's leading male characters I would most prefer for a husband, since we don't really get to know any of these characters very well. Sure, we know that Darcy is prideful but loves Elizabeth "ardently," and we know that Edward Ferrars is shy and humble. But I think I would need a little more information than this. As readers, we really only see the social manners of the men, the subtleties of their flirting, and their feelings for the heroines during proposals. So...based on only this much information, I guess I would choose Mr. Darcy. Cliche, isn't it? He certainly has manners and knows how to be perfectly polite in every situation. He's got passion, intuition (even though it's sometimes wrong), and a large estate. He is strong-willed and knows exactly what he wants, unlike perhaps Edward Ferrars or Edmund. He goes to great lengths to win the heart of the heroine--like paying for her sister's mistake of a wedding. He goes against his family's wishes if he must (all a part of his passion). And, last but not least, he writes a damn good letter. He may not be the handsomest of Austen's heroes, but he has the nerve and the passion I would most desire in a husband. Is this the type of guy I typically date? Well, I've never really dated anyone "out of my league" as far as financial or social status, so I wouldn't know how my guy would act in that situation. The one I love definitely shares Darcy's passion and is not afraid to speak his mind or share his feelings. He doesn't mind my embarassing family. Neither of us are rich, so we can take that out of the picture. I am really the one who brings the pride into the relationship; I would say I sometimes act like Elizabeth as far as always thinking I'm right. But he has, like Darcy, made me realize that I'm not always right and that I love to compromise for his happiness. I would say he is a mixture of Darcy and Edward Ferrars because he is rather shy in certain situations, and that's all right with me. I guess I'd rather have a real life husband than one from an Austen novel.