Jane Austen on Dating
Lori Smith wrote to tell us about an article that she wrote about how modern singles find what they are looking for in Jane Austen rather than real life.
And yet, something else is going on here, too. Of course there’s more to Austen, with her wry wit and pitch-perfect dialog and the way she revealed the foibles and fumbling of every level of society from her perch in the Hampshire countryside. But I think there’s something more that draws us to her characters, and to her heroes, more specifically. And that’s character. Not character as in country gentlemen perfectly drawn, but as in strong moral character—as in caring about whether or not one’s behavioral patterns are faulty and may need a bit of harsh correction, and growing to love that correction because it makes you a stronger and better person.
As the Editrix approaches middle age, she has discovered that she is quite content in her single state, tho’ she still enjoys the occasional mushy romance.
