Austen and the relevance of her literature in society today

In our modern age, it is natural to question why the novels of Austen have prevailed. So many of the situations she presents us with are drastically removed from anything we might experience and in many ways, the progression of our society in both technology and feminism make Austen’s plots completely foreign. The anguish that Sense and Sensibility’s Marianne experiences as she is left in a sort of stasis, waiting for Willoughby to call by or leave her a note, is initially confusing to a current reader. A modern woman would not be bound by her passivity or by the infuriating delay in all communication. Smartphones and the increasing convenience of communication see to this. 

However, the limitations placed on Austen’s heroines prevail in more ways than one, as do her novels. On a basic level, Austen writes of limits innate to the human psyche, manifesting from insecurities. Embarrassment and the opinions of our friends, or pride and prejudice, may very well have left us completely frozen in our tracks, just like they do Marianne or Elizabeth. 

We may be hypocrites in our wish to shake Austen’s heroines and tell them to simply act. We want to tell them that the man they love in fact loves them back and that if they would only stop being so cautious, they could achieve all they aspired to. In being too afraid to put ourselves on the line, we may have missed just as many opportunities as them even with our access to instant messaging and the convenience of that. 

Austen’s perceptive statements are enough that we can read in all the internal torment a modern writer might consider in more detail

Her characters are relevant because they are a sharp observation of human nature. While some of our frustrations with Austen’s characters are based in the feminism of our time, some are purely caused by their flaws. These flaws make them just like any other person. Emma Woodhouse’s devastation after it is pointed out to her that she made a mistake is entirely relatable. Austen describes Emma’s sickening revelation in reserved words only, as was the style in the 19th Century. 

Austen’s perceptive statements are enough that we can read in all the internal torment a modern writer might consider in more detail. We know that Emma is torturing herself just as much as we do when we feel guilty. Austen’s characters are brilliant because they allow us to see that, although the circumstances that they live in have changed, the people living within them are the same. We can appreciate the limitations Austen’s women face as if they were our own. And they are partly our own.

Although women’s rights have advanced both in writing and practice, we can recognise the origins of many of the feminist issues we still face in Austen’s novels. Public feminist figures such as Emma Watson use their platforms to promote female sexuality. Although the taboo around female desire is definitely something that is being addressed, it is far from resolved. Watson expressing her sexuality openly does not mean the problem is over. 

This affair, a blatant display of female sexuality, is such a scandal that it is plastered in the papers and she is banished from the family home

Instead, the fact that she is known for it shows she is the exception that proves the rule. This taboo is an echo from the past of the shame brought on by the likes of Lydia Bennet and Maria Bertram. When Mansfield Park’s Maria runs away with the man she desires, she becomes a fallen women. This affair, a blatant display of female sexuality, is such a scandal that it is plastered in the papers and she is banished from the family home. Although scaled down massively, the continuing discrepancy between the reputations of a promiscuous man and a promiscuous woman mean that Maria’s ostracisation is not so far-fetched today.

Two hundred years on from the writing of Austen’s classics, our society has vastly changed. However, it also retains some of the harmful values evident in the society of the past. This is especially striking with recent anti-abortion laws in Alabama. The beauty of Austen is her ability to create completely relatable characters in far more restricted situations than ours. Limitations have been reduced in many areas but we must continue this and take advantage of the freedoms we now have that Austen’s heroines did not, and must not take for granted the changes that have taken place.