I have a confession to make. Actually, it's less a confession and more a statement. I DO NOT like Jane Austen. That's right. I'm a female with a degree in English, but I cannot stand Jane Austen. Apparently this is a horrible, horrible trait to have. I've made enemies by sharing this information. And I don't get it.
I have read ONE Jane Austen novel the entire way through. Northanger Abbey was on the required reading list for my British Novel 1 class in college, and I didn't even bother to buy the book. I checked it out from the library because I didn't see the point in paying for a book I probably wouldn't like. Instead, I ended up enjoying most of it because it was a parody of the Gothic novel. Jane Austen was making fun of a genre that is closely linked to Romanticism, so I could get into it. I'm not sure if I really liked the book, or if I have inextricably linked the book with the horrible movie we watched in class (a so-bad-it's-good type), but overall I didn't want to gauge my eyes out or throw the book down in disgust.
I've tried to read Pride and Prejudice almost 8 times now, and every time I make it maybe 30 or 40 pages in before I give up. I can't do it. I get annoyed at her plot lines and her characters. I tried Sense and Sensibility and Emma, and the same thing. A section into the novel, and I put it away. I'm not the type to leave books unfinished if I can help it (I read the entire Twilight series even though every book after the first got progressively worse and worse) and I'm incredibly stubborn about these things.
I feel like I need to read and finish a typical Jane Austen novel, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it. Am I a failure of a woman if I don't enjoy Austen? Does this make me an anomaly to the female English major? Am I doing an injustice to the female literary canon by avoiding her? There are certain authors I simply cannot stand, but does this make me a bad person?
The List of Authors Leah Can't Take or The Guilt List:
Jane Austen
I just can't do it. Her characters are so typical and repetitive. I always feel like they are doing the same thing in each novel. Girl falls in love with boy, boy is in a different class or is a fool or can't handle her strong-mindedness, but in the end, love ALWAYS wins. THAT'S NOT REALITY! I know we read fiction as a form of escapism, but Austen's version of love and marriage doesn't mesh with my pessimistic cynical mind.
Toni Morrison
Oprah just might come out of the woodwork and kill me for this, but I have not read one single thing by Morrison that I've enjoyed. And I've read several of her works, short stories and novels, and let me say, I don't know many people that do like Morrison, students and professors alike.
Dave Eggers
There are certain authors that I am convinced people don't actually like, but pretend to like in order to achieve some social status upgrade. I tried to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and it was painful. I tried because Eggers seems to be the second coming of Christ for all my hipster friends. I find his work unengaging and very self-aggrandizing. Yes, you had some rough things happen, but get some perspective on it, and get back to me.
Augusten Burroughs
This is another author I'm pretty sure people jumped on the bandwagon for because it was the 'hip' thing to do. I don't like his books, I don't like his style, and I don't much like him.
That being said, I'm still debating the need for Austen on my reading list. Am I a well-rounded reader without her?
Ok, I agree with Jane Austen, poor Dr. Regis, the only thing I will never be able to make her proud by. I have a Toni Morrison novel to read, so I'll get back to you on that one. And, we may need to re-evaluate our relationship with your opinion of Dave Eggers. While, I don't think he is a God, I do greatly enjoy the book.
ReplyDeleteI've got to say, I'm surprised about the assessment of Burroughs. I think "Wolf at the Table" was a great book -- I really had trouble putting it down, and I had a similar experience with "Dry" -- I find his writing to be very honest. Maybe not as 'important' per say as it's autobiographical, but still great reads. "Running with Scissors" was mainstream and people read it when it took off, but that's how it works with a lot of best-sellers. I'd give one of those two a try and see if you still feel the same way.
ReplyDelete(I do feel the same way about the others, though)
If you're ever looking for an Austen that's well, less "Austeny" try "Mansfield Park." It's my favorite, but it's no one else's favorite (except for Austen herself). Painfully shy, introspective girl spends her days reading, fends off an unworthy (yet hot) suitor, and ends up in a nice marriage in the end. Plus the movie version is one of the few Austen adaptations that's actually good!
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