Jane Austen, Romance, and Modern Media

I’ve not been on top with writing posts consistently lately. It is not what I would have wanted, but a lot has been going on for me. As for this blog, I was left pondering. It led me lurking on the internet and seeing a lot of personal and professional opinions regarding Jane Austen’s work.

Romance

A lot of it seems to revolve around the theme of Austen’s work. Most I hear are how romance is not her novels’ main point. Then it is typically added on by how TV shows and films mostly focus on the romantic aspects and omit or neglect the other themes.

While I do agree that Jane Austen’s novels are much more than romantic novels, I also believe that the romance in her novels is original, timeless, and a main factor in her novels. She lived in a time when marriage was mostly seen as a source of security for women. Love was a concept that people knew of. But with the economy they endured in Regency England, love was not everyone’s first priority.

Characters and other themes

With that in mind, I look at all the leads in Austen’s novels. All of these women are in different positions in life, and all of them (except for Emma) show a fear or pressure to marry well to secure a future. Despite all the external forces against them, they show and hold the integrity of their heart and choose love.

We see other characters in the novels that chose marriages based on security. Like Maria in Mansfield Park or Charlotte Lucas in Pride & Prejudice. Both had their reasons, but those reasons were not enough for the main characters to settle as they did. This to me is why I strongly believe that romance is a big influence and factor in Jane Austen’s novels.

I do not think it affects the other themes and Austen’s irony and wit. In fact, her irony and wit are what create scenes of drama and create challenges of the heart for the main leads. Which helps them to learn and show strength when it comes to love. It is what makes her work original. I typically roll my eyes when a character is in a conflict of emotions and let their emotions drive their reckless choices, which drives the plot. No, Jane Austen uses realistic situations that challenge the feelings while giving realistic perception for her main characters. Who then makes decisions based on what they know.

Modern Media

In today’s media, Most commonly TV shows, and movies, but also books and social media have Jane Austen’s influence. Take Bridgerton, Julia Quinn has shown that she had inspiration from Jane Austen. Even take a look at other romance novels set in Regency Era. The Regency Era is such a short excerpt in English history. Jane Austen was one of the few and possibly only one who wrote a realistic love story of her time. To then create a whole genre of romance novels.

Even now on Instagram and TikTok, you see creators create little regency romance skits on common tropes that everyone loves.

This is why I wanted to create a blog to write about all the creative adaptations and works inspired by Jane Austen’s novels. I even want to write graphic novels and screenwriting based on her work and create my own Regency Era drama romance.

Film and TV

So far most of my posts have been movie reviews of adaptations. I struggle to make sure that my biased opinion gives enough justice to praise or criticize the use of Jane Austen’s work and the film’s creative choices.

I do believe that film should have that artistic as well as entertainment value to the viewers. Also I understand that when it comes to these elements, there is a fear that the book gets lost in it. Movies and TV are not made to be a copy and paste of the literary work they adapted from. While I also appreciate faithfulness, I appreciate the artistic perspective to show the themes or a theme from the literature. The lighting, camera work, dialogue, acting, props, etc. They all come together to create a story and little details that add and enrich what the theme is.

Share your thoughts and ideas in comments below!