The Jane Austen Society: Obsession and Infatuation

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Recommended: Language and style of Jane Austen

In the history of British literature, there has never been a more beloved, more praised author than Jane Austen; an author whose fanbase continues to flourish to this day. The fans of Jane Austen, known as janeites, have been known to be completely infatuated by all of the works and facts associated with this 19th century English author. So infatuated that Janeites have created the first instance of a subculture in media, which they would focus on this one author, and no more. Janeites have wished to separate themselves with the rest of the literary world, creating the Jane Austen society, emulating events in her novels, and paying homage to Austen in multiple ways to this day. With such a strong following, this begs the question of what has made Jane Austen continue to capture the hearts of many readers as opposed to other authors of the same time period. Also if Austen truly deserves to have the following which continues to grow to this day. To do this, One would have to examine the life of this author, her works, and how Austen differs from other authors of the period in light of the Janite’s perspective to defend their high opinions of this author.
First, a brief summary on the life of Jane Austen. Jane was born on December 16, 1775. She was one of the 8 children of a clergyman in a small village in hampshire. Her family moved around with the death of her father in 1805, until Jane and her family settled in Chawton, a small village near the English city of Steventon. Before her father’s death, Jane began her hand at writing, and would prove to be quite skilled. Jane’s first novel would be published with the help of her brother Henry in 1811. Titled Sense and Sensibility, it would reach success and would lead to future novels...

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... to fully understand what every character is thinking about in every scene. This makes many Janeites want to be more like their favorite characters and would want to play out situations similar to their characters so that they would be able to exercise the wit which they have gained by reading these books. Janeites by following this author they strive to better their minds and their understanding of humanity, which can demonstrate the power of the book and the mind.

Works Cited
"Jane Austen." Personal interview. 17 Dec. 2013.
Houston, Taylor. "Why the F*ck Do People Love Jane Austen So Much? A Primer." LitReactor. N.p., 20 May 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
"Jane Austen Biography." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
"Emma Plot Overveiw." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
"Emma: Themes, Motifs, & Symbols." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

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