One time, I had someone ask me why Jane Austen's books are some of my favorite's and why I love her writing, and I blanked. I felt frustrated that I did not have an answer ready, but now I do. I am a huge Jane Austen fan because...

1. I think her writing style is elegant and entertaining to read. I love her way of putting words together, such as in this sentence from Pride and Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," (p.1). It's has a delicious flow to it.

2. Her writing takes much time and studying to fully understand. Though some people may find it frustrating that many of her sentences have words and ideas that have to be looked up in a dictionary or study guide and analyzed, I love literature that is not always straight to the point. I like reading books with more common language, shorter sentences and more direct language sometimes, but my mind continues to love the elegant style of Jane Austen who often uses ten words to make a point that people in modern times would probably use three words for. In refusing a marriage proposal, for instance, from a man who is hated by the woman he proposes to, in modern times, the answer from a woman in this situation would likely be, "no," or maybe, "no way," or a politer person may say something like, "Thank you, but no." In Jane Austen's book, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is in this situation and though she is very angry, and her tone is meant to come across as sharp and resentful, her answer is politely worded in an style very entertaining to read. Her reply is, "In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could feel gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot--I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. I am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone. It has been most unconsciously done, however, and I hope will be of short duration" (p.189). And it goes on longer. It is truly one of the most entertaining, resentful though elegantly worded speeches you'll find anywhere.

3. Her writing is funny. Though the humor of Jane Austen is different from the way people joke around today, her writing has an ironic and humorous twist to it. She laughs at her characters but never in an unkind way. She simply points out the humor in the inconsistencies and silliness that all humans posses to a certain extent. In Emma, a sentence that shows some of this humor is, "A woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, or because he is attached to her, and can write a tolerable letter,"(p.49), and another one is from Pride and Prejudice, "You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends, I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least" (p.6).

4.

Her characters are very realistic. I have learned so much about people from Jane Austen's novels. If you look past the differences of her time period from ours, you can see that she writes of personalities that we are probably all familiar with. She writes of people who are vain, weak, foolish, selfish, kind, generous, inconsistent, or struggling with their past. She writes with amazing intelligence and insight into the human character. If you really look into the personality of Elizabeth or Jane Bennet, or Mr. Willoughby or

Emma Woodhouse, they are people that you could likely meet today, though you may not realize it at first until you look deeper..