As part of the Austen25 Project I am reading some/all of Jane Austen's novels this year in celebration of what will be her 250th birthday. The project suggests reading her books in publication order, so began with Sense and Sensibility.
In mid-January I set up a plan to read the novel in an orderly way so I would complete it by month's end. (See plan here.) I blew right past my plan and finished the novel well ahead of schedule and have since sat on this review.
What can I say about Jane Austen and about her first published novel that hasn't already been said? Why am I compelled to read Jane Austen novels over and over again? Are there other authors, groups, or events which I feel similarly compelled to read/attend/listen to/watch like I do with Jane Austen?
These thoughts rattled around in my brain for the few weeks it took me to read Sense and Sensibility. During that same time, I checked out yet another book about The Beatles from the public library and consumed it in less than a day. The two aren't connected, are they? Jane Austen and The Beatles? An unlikely but definite connection between the two started to coalesce in my brain.
What do Jane Austen and The Beatles have to do with each other? I turn to both of them for comfort.
Back in 2016, when Trump won his first election I found myself in a true funk. I could barely function yet I found true comfort in watching, and rewatching the old Jane Austen movies I own on DVD. It was as if I was too fragile emotionally to watch modern TV shows or movies, but movies set in the 1800s were fine. There is also something so comforting in Jane Austen books/movies about how things always seem to work out in the end. In Sense and Sensibility not only does Marianne get over her deadly fever but she finds solace and comfort in her friendship and eventual love for Col. Brandon. Elinor is resigned that her life will go on without Edward Ferrars -- at least she has her sisters-- when all the sudden he pops up, clears up all the confusion. and declares his love. Something very similar happens in all six of J.A.'s novels. In Mansfield Park, for example Austen says, "I only entreat everybody to believe that exactly at the time when it was natural that is should be so, and not a week earlier, Edmund did cease to care for Miss Crawford, and became as anxious to marry Fannie..." It reminds me of the phrase, "Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not okay, it's not the end." I needed to remind myself that everything would be okay in the end and found that message in J.A. novels.
Right after I recovered enough from my post-election funk to be able to stop watching the steady stream of Jane Austen films, I started a two-year oddly timed fascination with the Beatles. I'd always loved the Fab Four but this was something new. I was fully involved in a personal Beatlemania in 2017 and most of 2018. I read many, many books about the group, listened to their songs incessantly, and made several posting about my obsession. (See Beatlemania, Beatlemania Part 2, Sgt. Pepper at 50, Dreaming the Beatles, Tell Me Why, Beatlemania Part Three, and a ton of references made by me about the Beatles in my Sunday Salon Posts. Reflecting back on this time period, smack in the middle of the first Trump term, I wanted to be transported back to a happier more innocent time for me. Listening to Beatles music caused me to recall happy memories from my childhood. While listening to the Beatles I could disappear from the cares of the current time for a short while.
Rerun 2024/25. Trump wins again. I'm off TV, especially any kind of political news. Once again I find comfort in Austen books (starting with Sense and Sensibility this past month) and films (I rewatched the Emma Thompson version of S&S last week.) Also the urge to learn more about the Beatles returns. I watched a documentary about the Beatles in America and read a book about the same topic, both in January.
Like drinking a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows on a cold day, I draw comfort from both Jane Austen books/movies and Beatles songs. It may not be the most proactive thing I can do for self care but it works.
Not exactly a review of a favorite novel, but it's what I got for you today.
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