My Name is Bekah and I'm an Austenholic!

Ahhh! Jane Austen!
There are few things on this planet that I love so well as a novel by Jane Austen. I love so much about her books:
Regency England
For some reason this time period is bewitching to modern women. Maybe it's that during this time period a lady's main purpose was to move socially. Who wouldn't want to live a life of comfort, leisure and social engagements? I think, though, that the best thing of that time period is most definitely the clothes. Empire style dresses are flattering on everyone, no matter your figure. And, the hair. Wouldn't it be fun to wear a fancy up do everyday, whether going to a picnic or a ball? A ball! In fact, I think I can just leave it at "a ball." We women know what that means.
Plot lines
Jane Austen had a gift for writing everyday lives and making them more interesting than a twisted soap opera. She wrote about quiet girls living ordinary lives and who suffered ordinary problems. I, personally, like this more than unbelievable conflict filled plots. I can relate to Elizabeth Bennet and Catherine Morland.
Relationships
I think this appeals to women, maybe even, more than the clothes. She captures how people interact and how they interact differently with different sorts of people. My favorite relationships are the sister relationships even those of Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove of Persuasion, and Maria and Julia Bertram of Mansfield Park.
The Bertram sisters are so interesting that they have such affection, jealousy, and then, closeness again. Such a complex relationship. I think I shall blog more about that some other time!
Character Development
This is where Jane Austen leaves all other writers behind. She can write characters so real that when you lay down one of her novels, you immediately forget that the characters were, actually, characters and begin to think of them as real people. I believe her characters to be far superior to any other characters ever penned.
Perhaps my favorite character is Fanny Price of Mansfield Park. She is meek and eager to please others, even if it requires sacrificing her own comforts. Yet, she is firm when it comes to the issue of right and wrong. She protects the reputation of her abusers, but does not allow them to degrade her character as well. She's the most respectable of all Jane Austen's characters, in my humble opinion that is.
In short, it's this blogger's belief that Jane Austen surpasses all other authors!
Good night, I have some reading to do!