I've been watching Becoming Jane repeatedly lately. The more I watch it, the more my heart breaks for Jane Austen. For all the novels with happy endings she wrote, she was refused her own by fate, culture, and society. If anything, she did get part of a happy ending by being able to "Live by her pen" as she wished for so long. I also feel bad for her real sister, Cassandra, whose fiance died at sea. Neither she or Jane ever married. Jane was so in love with Tom Lefroy, but had to let him go so he could support his family back in Limerick. Watching her story makes me long for a romantic evening or two myself. Jane was a very strong woman and I admire her resilience to do what she wanted her own way. She pushed against the tide of tradition, made her own life, and was a very successful woman. She is awarded with being called the "most influential and successful woman on British literature of all time." I'm glad Jane was able to see the fruits of her labor while she still lived, to know how loved and admired she was for her writing, but I wish she could really see it now. A true literature icon. What would she think?
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