lily_handmaiden

Best line of the section goes to Edward Cullen: “I refuse to damn you to an eternity of night and that’s the end of it.”

Well, I caved. After reading all of cleolinda's Twilight recaps and seeing (and laughing hysterically at) the movie, I decided that it’s only fair that I actually give reading Twilight a try. Perhaps doing so will give me some insight into exactly why this series has become such a phenomenon. Of course, I am well aware that I am not the target audience of Twilight. I am a 23-year-old graduate student in English, and therefore neither a teenaged girl nor a teenaged girl’s mom.  

Therefore, I have invited a special guest to join me in this reading and blogging experience. I would like to introduce you all to 13-Year-Old Erin. 13E’s likes include the show Friends, learning about the Titanic disaster, reading, writing, and feeling misunderstood. Her dislikes include boy bands, bitchy popular girls, gym, math, and feeling misunderstood. Say hi, young self.

“Hi!” 

Speaking of the latest Austen surge, this article is a very good one. I may have become a hardcore Janeite only recently, but I think that's mostly because I've just reached an age where I can relate to it. It's not becaue of the surge. I tend to be very accepting of the different adaptations, though, as long as they get people interested. I mean, you saw what I said about Becoming Jane, as ashamed as I kind of am about it. 

I especially relate to the part of the article where the colleage tells the author that he just can't seem to get through Pride and Prejudice. I've been there, and I, too, have been thinking, "Okay... why are you telling me this?" I'm not sure how I am expected to respond, but here are some of the possible responses I think are expected:

1) Okay, you caught me! I've been hiding the Ultimate Secret to Enjoying Jane Austen and keeping it all for myself! Mwhahahaha! I will share it with you if you give me five dollars!
2) You're right, the book sucks. I've actually never finished it, either. I just pretend I have because it makes me look smart. Really, it's impossible to read.
3) It's all right, my child. I absolve you.
4) Do you want to fight? Are you trying to make me cry? I won't cry, but I will by God make you bleed if you insult Jane Austen again!

None of these are true. I usually just smile and mutter things like, "Oh, that's okay... I understand... Yeah, it can be hard... Well, you're a boy..." The truth is, if you can't get through Pride and Prejudice, it's nobody's fault but yours. Yes, the language takes a little getting used to if most of what you read is modern stuff. But once you get accustomed to it, there is really no excuse. It's a good book. It has humor and heart and it's not just for girls, either. Just like Star Wars isn't only for boys. If you can't get through it, I don't know why. Don't look at me like you expect me to tell you.

Note that this doesn't necessarily apply to all of Austen. Mansfield Park is not to everyone's taste, and I realize that; it's kind of dark, and not everyone finds the protagonists likeable. That's a legitimate argument. I tell people not to try MP unless they're really serious aout Austen. Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's first work, and as such it is a little less tight in narrative and characterization, etc. It's a harder read. Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion are easier. But Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's "light, bright, and sparkling" work, and besides, I'm betting you liked the movie. I can respect reading it and not really liking it for some reason, I suppose, but attempting to read it and failing? So I guess what bothers me is the "I can't get through it and I don't know why" statement.

I tend to take what I have come to think of as the Elvis approach to things like this. There is an excellent Dave Barry article about Elivs fas that I have quoted at length before it relation to the way I feel about my fandoms. There is one fan who says that she used to try to defend Elvis,  but then she realized that he didn't need defending. In Barry's words, "If you don't hear what they hear, feel what they feel, that's your misfortune." And that's how I tend to look at this problem: You can't get through Pride and Prjejudice? Too bad for you. You're missing out. Don't apologize, you're not insulting me by not finishing Pride and Prejudice; you're only insulting your own intelligence.

(I really hope that nobody who reads this journal feels insulted by this. I do realize that the language takes time to get used to, and that can make reading difficult for a while. And I appreciate that you have to have a certain affinity for the genre to tackle the harder books. For example, Whitney, I do not think that you are intolerably stupid. Or, in fact, stupid at all. I hope that I have made that very, very clear. And Jenaba, I don't know how you're doing with P&P, but I don't think you're intolerably stupid, either. And Jonah, if you happen to read this, I truthfully think that maybe you're not giving yourself a fair chance.)