0:00:07.808,0:00:10.588
Whether she’s describing [br]bickering families,

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quiet declarations of love,

0:00:12.358,0:00:13.988
or juicy gossip,

0:00:13.988,0:00:18.808
Jane Austen’s writing often feels as [br]though it was written just for you.

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Her dry wit and cheeky playfulness [br]informs her heroines,

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whose conversational tone welcomes readers[br]with a conspiratorial wink.

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It’s even been said that some readers [br]feel like the author’s secret confidante,

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trading letters with their delightfully [br]wicked friend Jane.

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But this unique brand of [br]tongue-in-cheek humor

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is just one of the many feats found [br]in her sly satires

0:00:42.362,0:00:46.642
of society, civility, [br]and sweeping romance.

0:00:46.642,0:00:48.852
Written in the early nineteenth century,

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Austen's novels decode [br]the sheltered lives

0:00:51.282,0:00:54.082
of the upper classes in rural England.

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From resentment couched in pleasantries

0:00:56.732,0:00:59.202
to arguing that masks attraction,

0:00:59.202,0:01:03.902
her work explores the bewildering [br]collision of emotions and etiquette.

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But while romance is a common [br]thread in her work,

0:01:06.456,0:01:10.836
Austen dismissed the sentimental style [br]of writing so popular at the time.

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Instead of lofty love stories,

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her characters act naturally, [br]and often awkwardly.

0:01:17.040,0:01:19.513
They trade pragmatic advice, [br]friendly jokes

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and not-so-friendly barbs [br]about their arrogant peers.

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As they grapple with the endless rules [br]of their society,

0:01:26.795,0:01:29.055
Austen’s characters can usually find humor

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in all the hypocrisy, propriety, [br]and small talk.

0:01:32.865,0:01:35.945
As Mr. Bennet jokes [br]to his favorite daughter,

0:01:35.945,0:01:38.685
“For what do we live, [br]but to make sport for our neighbors

0:01:38.685,0:01:41.285
and laugh at them in our turn?”

0:01:41.285,0:01:44.805
And though her heroines might ridicule [br]senseless social mores,

0:01:44.805,0:01:49.485
Austen fully understood the practical [br]importance of maintaining appearances.

0:01:49.485,0:01:50.889
At the time she was writing,

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a wealthy marriage was a financial [br]necessity for most young women,

0:01:54.529,0:01:58.489
and she often explores the tension between[br]the mythical quest for love,

0:01:58.489,0:02:02.079
and the economic benefits [br]of making a match.

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The savvy socialite Mary Crawford sums [br]this up in "Mansfield Park;"

0:02:07.079,0:02:09.891
“I would have everybody marry [br]if they can do it properly:

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I do not like to have people [br]throw themselves away.”

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Unsurprisingly, these themes were also [br]present in Austen’s personal life.

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Born in 1775,

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she lived in the social circles [br]found in her novels.

0:02:24.179,0:02:26.459
Jane's parents supported her education,

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and provided space for her to write [br]and publish her work anonymously.

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But writing was hardly lucrative work.

0:02:33.302,0:02:35.542
And although she had sparks of chemistry,

0:02:35.542,0:02:37.052
she never married.

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Elements of her circumstances can be found[br]in many of her characters;

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often intelligent women with witty, [br]pragmatic personalities,

0:02:45.222,0:02:47.530
and rich inner lives.

0:02:47.530,0:02:50.880
These headstrong heroines provide [br]an entertaining anchor

0:02:50.880,0:02:53.450
for their tumultuous romantic narratives.

0:02:53.450,0:02:57.260
Like the irreverent Elizabeth Bennet [br]of "Pride and Prejudice,"

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whose devotion to her sisters’ love lives [br]blinds her to a clumsy suitor.

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Or the iron-willed Anne Elliot [br]of "Persuasion,"

0:03:05.492,0:03:10.352
who chooses to remain unmarried [br]after the disappearance of her first love.

0:03:10.352,0:03:11.659
And Elinor Dashwood,

0:03:11.659,0:03:15.089
who fiercely protects her family [br]at the cost of her own desires

0:03:15.089,0:03:17.719
in "Sense and Sensibility."

0:03:17.719,0:03:19.919
These women all encounter [br]difficult choices

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about romantic, filial, and [br]financial stability,

0:03:23.449,0:03:26.411
and they resolve them without [br]sacrificing their values–

0:03:26.411,0:03:28.601
or their sense of humor.

0:03:28.601,0:03:32.399
Of course, these characters [br]are far from perfect.

0:03:32.399,0:03:34.799
They often think they have [br]all the answers.

0:03:34.799,0:03:37.099
And by telling the story [br]from their perspective,

0:03:37.099,0:03:41.539
Austen tricks the viewer into believing [br]their heroine knows best–

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only to pull the rug out from under [br]the protagonist and the reader.

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In "Emma," the titular character feels [br]surrounded by dull neighbors,

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and friends who can’t hope [br]to match her wit.

0:03:53.141,0:03:55.691
As her guests prattle on and [br]on about nothing,

0:03:55.691,0:03:57.371
the reader begins to agree–

0:03:57.371,0:04:01.561
Emma is the only exciting character [br]in this quiet neighborhood.

0:04:01.561,0:04:03.951
Yet despite her swelling ego,

0:04:03.951,0:04:09.691
Emma may not be as in control [br]as she thinks – in life or love.

0:04:09.691,0:04:11.748
And Austen’s intimate use of perspective

0:04:11.748,0:04:14.528
makes these revelations doubly surprising,

0:04:14.528,0:04:18.428
blindsiding both Emma and her audience.

0:04:18.428,0:04:21.358
But rather than diminishing [br]her host of heroines,

0:04:21.358,0:04:26.588
these flaws only confirm “the [br]inconsistency of all human characters.”

0:04:26.588,0:04:30.586
Their complexity has kept Austen [br]prominent on stage and screen,

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and made her work easily adaptable [br]for modern sensibilities.

0:04:34.446,0:04:35.466
So hopefully,

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new readers will continue [br]to find a friend in Ms. Austen

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for many years to come.