10 Things We Should Thank Jane Austen For On the 200th Anniversary of Pride & Predjudice

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10 Things We Should Thank Jane Austen For On the 200th Anniversary of Pride & Predjudice

3:45 pm, January 18th | by Meredith Lepore

This week marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Predjudice. Some call her the mother of “chick lit” but she’s much more. She gave us some of the strongest female characters in the history of literature far before women were allowed to be strong. “They are easy to read and have a simplicity that is hard to get as a writer, which Austen worked hard to achieve,” says Professor Janet Todd, the general editor of the nine-volume Cambridge edition of the Works of Jane Austen. ”But it’s a surface simplicity, there is a lot more going on. It combines wish fulfilment with a sense of the unlikelihood of it happening. There is always a modification to the romantic ending which points us back to real life.” So besides providing great literature, some of the best movies ever and Colin Firth, she was a great career role model for all generations. Here are some things we can thank Jane for.

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1.Legitimizing the art of gossip

Jane Austen was a great gossip. All she did was tell secrets about people and analyze their flaws for entertainment.

2.That it is possible to get over first impressions

That it <em>is</em> possible to get over first impressions

A first impression is extremely important but if you work very hard (and profess your love in a rainstorm and then pay off an evil man so your sister's reputation won't be ruined) you can get over it.

3.For giving us Colin Firth

Thank you so, so much.

4.That sometimes putting your career first pays off

The story portrayed in Becoming Jane about Austen's sad love affair with Tom LeFroy wasn't entirely true. Jane actually had a number of suitors and was proposed to by Harris Bigg-Wither (thank God she didn't become Jane Bigg-Wither), but after initially accepting she decided against it at the last minute. She was considered to be a spinster but she actually preferred the freedom it gave her to focus on her career.

Claire Harman wrote of Jane, "Would Jane Austen have ever got round to finishing and publishing Pride and Prejudice if she had been married to Harris Bigg-Wither — or anybody else? Decidedly not! Living quietly with her mother and sister, however low in material and social rewards, gave her the freedom she needed to write. And what she went on to invent was a set of heroes and romances unrivalled in their appeal, humour, and knockdown fantasy-power."

5.For Lizzy Bennett

Elizabeth Bennet is one of the greatest literary characters of all time. And in a time when women weren't allowed to do anything and getting a proposal was all you lived for, it was great to see a woman who had bigger things on her mind.

6.Pen and paper is all you need

Jane didn't have any of the modern technology we have today and she created multiple masterpieces.

7.For Cher from Clueless

Beloved Cher Horowitz was based on Emma Woodhouse of Emma. In many ways, Jane Austen really established the foundation of the modern romcom. Think of Bridget Jones' Diary, Clueless and all the films that are adaptations of her books.

8.That you shouldn't always listen to your mother

Jane Austen was great at portraying overbearing mothers and teaching us that sometimes it's better to listen to yourself.

9.That playing the piano at parties is always impressive

Back then it was cool, and today it's still cool.

10.That wit will get you everywhere

Oh, Jane and her word play! You didn't have to be the richest or most beautiful to put people in their place back then or today as long as you had a great vocabulary.