Essay Introduction

I had to write a research paper on the British Neoclassic/Romantic author of my choice for my British Literature class last semester, and I chose Jane Austen. Really, who the heck else would I choose? I absolutely love Jane Austen. I did an entire project on her, so if I get it back from my professor I will post some pictures of what I did. For the introduction our professor wanted to know why we chose our specific author. Here's my intro.

Sometimes our hearts are touched and our souls set aflame without explanation. We connect with something, or someone, or a place, and our souls stir. We are captivated. We long to stay. But we must go. It is the very act of leaving that instills within us a desire to return as often as possible to relive the emotions experienced upon a previous visit. Sometimes those feelings do not return. They were a healing breeze across our consciousness, but it will not be the same. It will not be the same because we change.
Have you ever met someone that seemed to complete you? Someone who knew what you felt and were able to explain it to you? Someone who can finish your sentences and knows how to make you laugh when your world crumbles into nothing in your hands? I have. She is a wood nymph, a dream brought into my reality. She is as free as the wind, but grounded, like emerald seagrass in a violent storm. She is a tease, a flirt. Her words can cut like a dagger, or heal the most broken of hearts. She is a nurturer, a healer, a guider of lost souls. She doesn’t judge. She loves without condition. She freely gives her heart to those around her, and loves them even after they break it. She is feisty. She loves a challenge. She is stubborn. She must have her way, but, given enough time, she eventually comes around. She is dignified and ridiculous. She is silly. She is a joyful giggle on a warm summer breeze. For now, she is my other half. She is called Carlie. She is my sister.
There is another that brings my deepest emotions for this hummingbird I love. She is called Jane. Jane was an author – an author of beauty and the sublime. She was an author of realism and honesty. She was funny. She was sarcastically critical. Jane had a sister. Jane’s sister was beautiful, kind, gentle, affectionate, devoted, tender, content, and supportive. Jane and her sister were rarely parted. When they were apart letters were exchanged often. Jane died in her sister’s arms. Neither ever married despite their fair countenances. The love and devotion of these two sisters who lived so long ago reminds me of my sister and me.
Jane watched the people around her, and so do I. I am a "connoisseur of human folly" much like Elizabeth Bennett. She used familiar people from her life to create her characters. These amalgamations are astonishingly true to life and move from one of her works to another. She captures these people with humor and honesty. She does not make them seem perfect. Even her most beloved characters are flawed and commit error. But instead of berating the human race she laughs at their folly and presents it as inescapable. Jane always added a character meant to be laughed at. Mr. Collins is the first which comes to mind. He is so awkward and so unaware of his deficiencies one cannot help but laugh at him.
The women in Jane’s stories are strong, intelligent, socially independent whom en. They are not financially independent as society did not allow such a thing, but they were capable of rational thought and great emotional insight. They were genteel and fresh. They enjoyed society and did not hide indoors. Excepting Miss Bates in Emma there were no spinsters. Even the sickly Miss Anne de Bourgh was married by the end of Pride & Prejudice. They were healthy and robust and often took long walks hrough the beautiful English countryside. These were all activities and characteristics of the author and her circle rendered in fiction. The images in her works are elegant and refined. They are grace ful and poised. They are images of days long gone which cannot be recovered. This is why we love them. We cannot have them and so we love them.
I am intrigued at the life Jane led and her courage to defy social convention and live her life as she saw fit. She did not marry, but instead chose to write and use her wonderful skills to better the lives of others.
Jane created dashing men. Chivalrous men. Gorgeous men. These men are classic and dreamy. Perhaps Jane was unable to find a man to equal those she created. Perhaps she did not care to try. In either case, she stirs strong emotions – love, hate, jealousy, wonder, yearning, shock, joy, merriment, and most especially satisfaction. Satisfaction that all can end well and everyone is in their rightful place. This is why I love Jane Austen.