Sunday, May 1, 2011

Darcy to Diatomic: Jen jots Jane Austen :)


Julie Andrews sang that favorite things include brown packages and apple strudel. For my favorite things, Jane Austen's infamously popular book "Pride and Prejudice" appears as favorite book number one.

Wit, wisdom, humor, and real life: Jane Austen swirls a living picture of people and emotions. It takes less than a minute from my opening the pages, no matter the place, to elicit real emotion—from hearty laughter to stirrings of love to sadness at circumstance. I love Jane Austen!

I feel like so much of our lives are reflected in this book, with so many life lesson examples: we are not always right. Correcting our mistakes can craft a better future. We can improve ourselves, no matter circumstances that arise. Real people make mistakes, but mistakes can be remedied. So many things can be met with optimism. Hard situations often make stronger characters. Real love takes understanding, time, and hard work; but it is worth it. Things are worth more after they are struggled, fought for, and earned—like a good ending or arrival at a new beginning.

There is true beauty in watching the characters change their perspectives based on gaining knowledge. I love seeing the characters, as quirky as they are, grow. I feel like I know the Bennett house, I feel like I know the families in the novel--I feel like I step into the intricacies of 17th century Britain, but also into the complexities of human interaction and soul. I love books with depth, but balance. I love laughing. I feel like Jane Austen owns the monopoly on wit with sophistication.

As for diatomic? In chemistry, it is used to define a molecule made up of two atoms. From Pride to Prejudice, Elizabeth to Darcy, end to beginning—contrasts forging in the same kiln make the book a dramatic success.
(In the end, almost any fly-by picked alliteration can relate to this Jane Austen work. It's that good.)