Lost in Austen?

I think it's safe to say that the day Jane Austen penned Mr. Darcy was the beginning of an era - an era of swooning girls, half of which wished for Lizzy to simply contract pneumonia and die and the other half wishing to find that perfect Mr. Darcy. This wish (the latter) is reflected in the types of books available on the market nowadays; books centred around a vaguely pretty (and sometimes even intelligent) heroine, who eventually either finds the perfect guy or goes off with her flawed but slightly good-looking best friend. 

How long did you stare for? The truth!

And whilst I too love that brooding man with the sideburns and, let's face it, absurdly tight pants, I can't help but wonder...why? Cherry Potter (no, she's not related to Harry) wrote in her article Why do we still fall for Mr. Darcy? some interesting points.

" According to a recent poll conducted by the Orange Prize for Fiction, 1,900 women across the generations voted for Mr Darcy as the man they would most like to go on a date with...what she (Austen) does provide is a perfect blank screen on to which Darcy's admirers, by identifying with Elizabeth Bennet, can project that most archetypal of all female fantasies - that they will be the one and only woman to discover the key to unlocking a man's tortured soul, thus setting free his hidden passions."


When reading an article like the above, you have to ask yourself what these 1,900 - and counting - women see in the tortured character of William Darcy. According to Cherry:


"What message is this Darcy fixation sending to men? On the one hand, women say they want men who are emotionally intelligent, sensitive, flexible, who enjoy sharing equally and are fun to be with. But these same women are swooning over a fictional character who is the epitome of the dominant patriarchal male. No wonder men are confused." 


Women feel drawn to this idea of the perfect guy - one who is hard to get, yet when attained will be everything we ever wanted. And it shows in the writings of female authors. These women create in their brains and dreams the 'perfect' guy - be it Edward Cullen, Jace Wayland, Daniel Grigori, Ash and so many more - and these books are targeted at other young women. These young women base their ideals on these characters - sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly; the way they treat women, the way they woo them, the way their eyes sparkle...but the truth is, these guys aren't real. And odds are, when the real life hits home, girls are going to be left disappointed if their boyfriend doesn't live in Pemberley. 


That leads me to a rather ironic, and hilarious, book - Austenland by Shannon Hale.



Jane Hayes love life is likened to a game of dominoes - just when things look good, they all tip over and its time to start again...and all because of her never-ending obsession with Mr. Darcy.
When Jane gets given the chance of a lifetime - a trip to an English resort catering to 'Austen-obsessed women' Jane sees this as the answer to her troubles; a chance to be free of Mr. Darcy forever. But as the fantasy becomes more real and the lure towards Austenland more than she can take, will Jane kick her Austen-obsession for good? Or could Mr. Darcy be real after all?


As soon as I started this book my thoughts were, "Gees - I wonder how this is going to end?!" But I was pleasantly surprised with the reasoning behind Jane's action, her thoughts and the way she views the future. How she views past mistakes not as dominoes - one falling after the other, leading from disaster to disaster - but as lessons to be learnt from. That there is the chance that the last domino will remain standing.


After reading many 'Austen inspired' novels, as well as Austen's, I have come to the conclusion that it's hard to define when the Darcy obsession has gone overboard. I mean, is it bad to look for good qualities in real-life guys? Is it wrong for girls to have ideals? I don't necessarily think it is. 


So how 'bout it - are you lost in Austen?