Toward Morality

It's women's history month and that means we get to dive into the lives of women who were so good they were too bad to make it into our history books. Here's to being a phenomenal woman. (Part 4/4)

We will never truly know what Jane Austen looked like, but we know what she felt through the intricate and masterful storytelling she gave us in the six books she wrote and published in her lifetime.

Jane was born in 1775 in Steventon, UK – a Georgian-era author who depicted British life in her novels. She completed school at age twelve and then took up residence in her family's library, engrossed in books, she was a voracious reader who evolved into a prolific writer.

Her works would see her become a popular guide to a fashionable life in the regency period, but a critical lens of her script point to an ambitious and stern woman who saw her task as quite different. Through her novels she built worlds that portray an acute awareness of human failings with a desire to make people more aware of their shortcomings, and to be less selfish and more sensitive to the needs of others.

She is best known for her novel Pride & Prejudice but also penned, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Jane was on a mission to reform humanity, and her books were her weapon of choice. Four lessons from Jane's work...

(1) Your lover should educate you.

She didn't believe a woman should get married if she wasn't in love. And at the same time that love wasn't enough, or that perhaps our social construct of love was flawed. That love wasn't accepting someone as they are right now, but instead the right person should help you overcome your failings, become more mature and improve one another. Only then did her characters get engaged, showing us that marriage depends on maturity and education.

(2) It's not that we shouldn't judge people, but we should be more careful with how we judge.

Jane showed us that judgements are part of the human condition, but we should investigate the standard by which we are judging. She showed her characters to be enthralled in the fine materiality of high society, but lacking fortitude in character. It wasn't so much that opinions and critique should be forbidden, but the intelligence of your judgement criteria should be laid bare.

(3) She took money seriously.

In discussing money she made it clear that sound economic foundation was important for love unions to survive. Not wealth, but simply the understanding and responsible handling of money, and that women should be involved in the discussion of money and how it would affect their lives. In contrast, women weren't to be concerned with their husband's affairs in the 18th century.

(4) Don't be too proud.

Ironically critiquing the upper society of Britain's regency period, she showed us in Emma, what being too snobbish could get you – nothing. And if you fail to be more porous with your defences you will likely miss an opportunity for something better than you could have imagined.

Jane never quite told us why she believed what she did, but she showed us through characters how she imagined we should strive in our humanism to make the world better. In 1797, Pride and Prejudice which she considered her baby, was initially turned down by Cadell & Davies publisher in the UK. Sixteen years later another publisher would immediately pick it up with the hunch that it would be a bestseller – it was.

Jane never became a household name in her life. She never made any money until age 36 and died at age 41. In the Victorian age, her acclaim finally arrived, and was recognized as a great novelist. Her books have inspired modern day storytelling in more punchy and fleeting ways. But what did it take for a young women of humble origins in the 18th century to never marry or have children, and instead dare to call out the failings of men and craft teachings through her vivid imagination?

This week I want you to ponder your shortcomings and initiate your reform.

It is easy to be so proud that we never consider ourselves eligible for improvements. We also can become too entangled in the rapture of self-judgement and forget to live life fully. There is who we think we should be and there is who we are meant to be. Balance is of critical importance in the rendering of human failings as Jane has taught us. Here are some things to consider...

(1) Where have you judged someone by your standard of life and personal value system instead of their own?
(2) Are your defence mechanisms still working for you?
(3) Is your love a growing love or does it keep you stagnant?
(4) Do you truly understand the cost of your life?

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'til next Sunday!
Z.