When the world is topsy-turvy and my heart is heavy, many of us find comfort in the beauty of Austen’s novels, in the richness of the movie adaptations, and even in the thought of the lovely Hampshire countryside, secluded and beautiful, tucked away and secure.
The world inside Austen’s novels never changes. The familiar scenes and characters are always there and waiting. Elizabeth and Darcy never fail to spar and flirt in the drawing room in Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Woodhouse continues to eat his porridge and worry comfortably over the weather in Emma. And at the end of Persuasion, Captain Wentworth always sits down to write his letter to Anne Elliot.
Perhaps that’s why many of us (and why so many others throughout history) have found solace and comfort within the pages of Austen’s novels, especially during times of turmoil. And why her novels have been reprinted and translated and enjoyed around the world by so many people for over 200 years.
Familiar Faces
I find similar comfort in the film adaptations. When I sit down to watch a Jane Austen movie (or even have one playing in the background as I do chores), I love knowing just what to expect. I can’t wait to hear the music I love, listen to the accents and voices of characters and actors I adore, and watch the ever-amusing (and always touching) storylines unfold.
The comfort and familiarity of Austen movies keeps us coming back for more, year after year. There are always new adaptations to enjoy and critique (because there’s nothing better than debating this Emma over that Emma with Austen friends).
Familiar Sights
And then there’s the comfort of Jane Austen’s actual world. Although I know Hampshire is a real place with its own fair share of regular, everyday life activities and stormy days, both figurative and literal (such as when Storm Eunice brought down many trees on the Chawton estate and in Mingledown Woods just last month), the England described in Austen’s novels never fades.
I think the charm of the setting in her books is another reason so many of us as lifelong students and fans of Austen love to learn about her life, her family, and the places where she lived and wrote. During the height of the pandemic, we all did what we could to support the historic sites in England and watched for updates whenever possible. We dreamed of the day when we might get to visit those precious sites again or for the first time. Many of us even took virtual tours so we could “be” there.
Benches Along the Way
That’s probably why I was so overjoyed when I saw the good news a few weeks ago that the bench my local JASNA regional group sponsored had been installed in the Chawton House Gardens. In fact, the entire bench project fundraising is now complete! (I know many of you have contributed in various ways to the care and keeping of the historic sites as well.) Here is a snippet of the announcement:
“This month, we are pleased to announce that thanks to the wonderful support of the North American Friends of Chawton House (NAFCH), we have received the final 17 benches donated through the ‘Share a Bench with Jane’ scheme, just in time for our Spring Flowers season.“
Location 22: at the head of the Pride and Prejudice Rose Walk.
If you’d like to see all of the bench locations, you can find them HERE.
As I read through the announcement and looked through the photos, I was comforted. I thought about how peaceful it would be to sit on a bench and enjoy the garden around me. I even thought about how I should install a bench in my own small garden area.
And then I came to this lovely quote that was included in the announcement from Chawton House:
“Although the recent storms have caused significant damage to parts of the estate, these latest additions mean that visitors to Chawton House will still be able to rest among the spectacular displays of snowdrops and daffodils as we move into a warmer season.”
Isn’t that an encouraging thought? I made me think. Though storms come in this life, there are benches along the way where we can rest. When the journey is long, it’s important to stop and sit. And though some winter seasons are particularly difficult, spring always comes and bright new flowers always bloom.
Signs of Spring
I’ll leave you with that lovely thought and a few photos of the “snowdrops and daffodils” mentioned above. I hope that each of you is finding comfort in the glimpses of beauty around you, in friends and family, in faith and home, in lending a helping hand to others when you can, and in the enjoyment of Jane Austen.
Your turn: What is it about Jane Austen’s novels and life that brings you comfort? Why do you think people continue to turn to her work in life’s difficult seasons?
RACHEL DODGE teaches college English classes, gives talks at libraries, teas, and book clubs, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog and Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine. She is the bestselling author of The Anne of Green Gables Devotional: A Chapter-By-Chapter Companion for Kindred Spirits and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. Her newest book The Little Women Devotional just released and is available now! You can visit Rachel online at www.RachelDodge.com.
Jane Austen's World 
Britain Magazine lists Shakespeare first and then Jane as the two top authors of the UK. This makes sense since both writers were shrewd observers of behavior. What makes them special is that when they wrote about the negative aspects of their characters they somehow could elevate them so they weren’t completely unlikeable. I’m not aware of any other authors who were as successful at this feat.
i would rather say what disturbs me about Jane Austen’s novels. Not once does the reality of the problems arising from the ongoing war with France disturbs the equanimity of the characters, or impacts at all upon them. The militia are there for women who like rattles in scarlet coats not because they are taking the place of the regular army who were away fighting whilst the militia guarded materiel. It makes me very uncomfortable that there are no conversations about the news in the any of the books. Especially in today’s climate, where the war in the Ukraine, which does not affect most of us as nearly as the wars with France affected the people of Jane’s books, is a subject we all turn to when meeting up with friends.
I understand completely what you are saying, but we could always be bogged down and distressed by awful current events going on around us. Like looking at a tree in the breeze, or a lovely, colorful flower, Jane Austen’s novels are a small reprieve from the world and all its ugliness. It seems like God’s gift to us for a mini-vacation from real reality.
I wonder if they were her escape from reality…
I’ve wondered if they were Jane’s own escape as well, Sarah. Such a thoughtful comment. There are many “hard” things she didn’t mention in her novels that may make us scratch our heads. It makes me think of Lucy Maud Montgomery (one of my other favorite writers), and her life was extremely difficult, especially as she grew older. And yet she wrote books that are heavenly! I’ve wondered, did she write those beautiful books so she could get away to another world?
I write my best comedic scenes when I’m depressed; and I write for therapy. So it wouldn’t surprise me.
Well said.
nicely put
Sarah, try to remember that the news came across the Channel at a snail’s pace and was often month’s old when it arrived. And then it took weeks to arrive in the out-lying towns and villages. Winston Graham once commented that very few of Cornish would have known anything about the American Revolution, even though his hero, Poldark, had served in that war. The same would have occurred during Jane’s lifetime and the Napoleonic Wars. This is not any excuse for your concern but perhaps it will put it in better perspective.
I know how long it took for news to travel, but the war had been going on for years. Not to mention it at all, or to comment that milk had gone up so much in price because of the governmental decree that more beef cattle be run seems… odd.
I’ve wondered about that as well, in terms of how it affected their daily lives. And obviously she was super aware of what was going on, what with family members and friends in the Navy. The Austens were also extremely well read and kept up with current events. I always come back to that sweet escape, almost as if she’s even trying to preserve that time and place.
the fear of the overturn of society was, I understand from reading period letters, not small, the harshness of the government towards any protests, like Peterloo, were a response to a very real fear that the English peasant would emulate the French peasants and cause revolution. A foolish fear, as the lot of the English peasant was considerably better than that of his French counterpart, for various reasons, but let’s mostly blame Louis XIV and Mazarin because they deserve blaming for a lot of things , though it’s a bit more complex than that, but I can hold forth on the reasons behind the French Revolution at some length, and blaming Louis is a convenient short cut.
Er… getting back on topic…. so, anyway, there was a sufficient reason to fear that the way of life Jane knew and found familiar and comforting might receive a blow via industrialisation from revolutionaries.
I agree in these tumultuous times a JA novel or JAFF novel lets us escape into a different world, not necessarily less troubled but different in many ways from our current one.
I enjoyed the photos of snow drops and daffodils. Daffodils and crocuses are beginning to bloom in my area and are always a joyous sight.
It really is a joyous thought. The fact that they start to come up while it’s still cold and dreary is so lovely.
You couldn’t have said it better. Through some of the absolute worst times of my life I found a distinct comfort in JA movies and novels. Sometimes when I was too anxious to settle enough to read, having a JA move play in the background allowed me to exhale.
My thoughts exactly!
Yes, I also remember turning on the movies in the background when I’ve gone through really hard things. Even just hearing the music is comforting.
I couldn’t agree more. My favorite films are those of beautiful Jane Austen origin! I always want to disappear into that magical world where women were women and men, men….and their dressing so nice and neat. The men seem to stand up straighter. One thing that always surprises me though, is that in that more moral and prim era, the women’s bodices were sometimes so very low – bosom popping out. It confuses me.
I always wonder about that as well. They seem so prim and proper, but so much of what the women wore was meant to be alluring and bring attention their form.
it’s still the Georgian age, and the Georgians were pretty robust. It was the Victorian age which really saw prim and proper. Indeed, some older folk declared that the women in their muslins were dressed yet undressed, quoting from the classics with regard to the sheer dresses of the later days of the Roman empire. Of course, Jane’s characters come from the lower end of the upper classes, who could not afford the scandal those above them seemed to take in their stride. They had an opportunity to rise socially and so had to be ‘as Caesar’s wife’ .
I agree with most of the comments above. For the past two years I’ve been re-reading Jane Austen’s novels in no particular order, as well as watching movies based on her novels. I’ve noticed that even though Jane’s own brother was in the Navy in her novels she does not write about his war experiences nor her concerns for his safety. She alludes to the war in France, esp. in Persuasion, but chooses to focus on reuniting her main characters Anne Elliott and Capt. Wentworth. Could it be that Jane Austen’s beliefs in God were so strong that she trusted Him for what she could not control and, therefore, was free to write stories of interesting women whose lives she could guide by her pen towards very suitable marriages and lives without dwelling on the “real” world of poverty, politics, and wars?
what a lovely thought.
Beautifully said. She does seem to focus in on the good and her faith played a big part in her outlook on her life and the world around her I’m sure. The line in MP comes to mind: “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.”
Thank you for the lovely article.
Thank you for lovely glimpses of spring; I, too, take my comfort in Jane’s world, and your article perfectly expressed the feelings of my heart. Thank you for posting it today. Beautifully put.
Oh dear… I think we got off topic there for a bit! I even considered putting my two cents in!
What comforts me about JA’s books is that I know they will work out fine in the end, even when that is unsure in my life and the world around me.
Jane was there during both difficult and and joyous times in my life, in both books and movies.
denise
As an Australian Anglophile the happiest days of my life have been spent in the English countryside on a beautiful summer’s day. I’ve walked down the lane from the church to the site of Steventon Parsonage with only the birds for company, trod the steps at The Cob in Lyme Regis where Louisa Musgrove fell and soaked up the atmosphere of Chawton Cottage. Jane, I think, had enough worry in her life without wanting to write about darker subjects. Her books are romances with happy endings and that’s just the way I like it. Her genius is in her ability to create relatable unique characters, brilliant dialogue and to keep the action moving along at a nice brisk pace. “Light and bright and sparkling” as she described P&P. There’s quite enough misery in life, I prefer to escape to somewhere where nobody’s dying or starving or being maimed.
Hi Do you know of this book?
The Jane Austen Remedy.
https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/The-Jane-Austen-Remedy-Ruth-Wilson-9781761065989#:~:text=An%20uplifting%20and%20delightfully%20bookish,dreams%20about%20losing%20her%20voice .
On Tue, 15 Mar 2022 at 20:30, Jane Austen’s World wrote:
> Rachel Dodge posted: ” When the world is topsy-turvy and my heart is > heavy, I find comfort in the beauty of Austen’s novels, in the richness of > the movie adaptations, and even in the thought of the lovely Hampshire > countryside, secluded and beautiful, tucked away and secure. ” >