Last Fall, as part of a research project, I reread all of Jane Austen’s novels. Austen wrote various stories and novels in her lifetime, but six novels are generally considered the heart of the Austen corpus. The novels, in order of publication, are Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. The final two novels were published posthumously.
I also binge read the novels when first encountering them as a graduate student. While I enjoyed every novel (which is why I binged them) it must be said that in reading the novels in close proximity I did find a certain redundancy in storytelling. Austen famously described her novels as stories of “three or four families in a country village.” That is perhaps Austen being modest, still there is something to it. Her novels are about England’s leisured class, meaning few characters have a job. The action in the novels, if one can call it action, is generally about families visiting each other, going for walks, and dancing at balls. Her tales are also romances. The plot centers around a “boy-meets-girl” saga. The fabulous first line of Pride and Prejudice sets the scene for that novel and, truthfully, all the books: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
I have read the Austen novels multiple times. On the low end is Northanger Abbey. My last read was only my second. On the other hand, I have lost track of how many times I have read Pride and Prejudice. I happen to think it is the finest novel I have ever read, and I have taught the book many times. That is why it has gotten the most reads. My best guess is I have read it ten times. The other novels land somewhere in between those two.
Reading the same stories many times over the course of a quarter-century or so has led to some assessment and reassessment. As noted, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. Here is an instance where the common opinion happens to be the correct one, I think. Part of my fondness for the novel is the fact that it was my first Austen read. That makes it the only Austen story I read completely free of expectations. But it is also the best written, best constructed novel I have read. Pride and Prejudice contains Austen’s finest prose. The plot moves at a good pace. The dialogue and smart and snappy. The characters are Austen’s most complex, yet also most thoroughly developed. As an ensemble, the cast of characters provides a dizzying array of believable personalities. Finally, Pride and Prejudice illustrates Austen’s humor. No, it isn’t really “laugh out loud” funny, but if you don’t giggle at Mr. Bennet or Mr. Collins, you don’t have a sense of humor.
Two novels that have gone up and down in my estimation are Emma and Persuasion. When I first read Emma I liked it very much as I found the character of Emma amusing. Austen constructs various messes for Emma to get into and—most of the time—out of. Many years ago, I discussed the novel with an English colleague. She said she didn’t like Emma because the main character is the most unlikable of Austen’s heroines. That colored my view of the story for some time because I had to admit that was a correct take on Emma Wodehouse. She really is quite a little stinker. However, the most recent read caused a reevaluation. Emma may now be my second favorite Austen story.
Austen always tells her stories from the point of view from the female protagonist. That main character usually has a foil of some kind (such as Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility or Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park) whose vices contrast with the virtues of the heroine. Emma is unique in that it is told from the point of view of the foil. Emma Wodehouse has many character flaws, all of which get exposed throughout the novel. On the other hand, her rival, Jane Fairfax, is everything Emma pretends to be. Emma, when she is honest with herself, admits that the reason she dislikes Jane is precisely for this reason: Jane is everything Emma wishes to be but isn’t. Emma is saved by belatedly coming to this realization, with large doses of help from the novel’s hero, the unsubtly named Mr. Knightly.
I had long thought of Persuasion as my second favorite Austen novel. This last time through I found the novel a bit slow. The plot is not quite as compelling as other Austen novels, and the secondary characters are poorly developed. The plot device that keeps our hero and heroine (Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot) apart seems a bit contrived. I still enjoy the novel, but it has lowered in my estimation. It does still contain one of my favorite passages in all of Austen, as Captain Wentworth describes the kind of woman he wishes to marry:
He said it, she knew, to be contradicted. His bright proud eye spoke the conviction that he was nice; and Anne Elliot was not out of his thoughts, when he more seriously described the woman he should wish to meet with. “A strong mind, with sweetness of manner,” made the first and the last of the description.
“That is the woman I want,” said he. “Something a little inferior I shall of course put up with, but it must not be much. If I am a fool, I shall be a fool indeed, for I have thought on the subject more than most men.”
It is a precious thing to have a story one can return to over and over again and still enjoy, indeed find something new with each reading. Austen’s novels are of this nature. It is a testimony to her skill as a writer that even after many reads one still wonders if Elizabeth will end up with Darcy. Or ponder how Marianne Dashwood could be so foolish as to favor Willoughby over Colonel Brandon. And fulminate over the duplicity of Henry Crawford. I eagerly await my next reading of Jane Austen.