By Colleen Sheehan, Public Discourse.
Jane Austen was an extraordinary writer of fiction, but she was also a profound teacher of human nature, the arts of life, and the way to happiness. Her novels are, as it were, about her “important nothings”: about the sport of laughter, love and friendship, and the splendid challenge of being human.
Why are the novels of Jane Austen considered classics, having stood the test of time and still beloved by readers around the world? What about the current generation, Gen Z—so edgy and cool that they can’t possibly look to Austen for entertainment, let alone guidance or wisdom, can they? Em … well, they do. There is a whole industry of Austenalia on TikTok, actually. This even though (or is it because?) Austen’s world is so markedly different from today’s and, in important respects, contradictory.
This year, as we mark Austen’s 250th birthday, we celebrate the brilliance and timelessness of her work. The words on her pages are strung together like a ribbon of pearls: elegant, rich, beautiful, and expertly woven. Her art is as insightful and charming today as it was in the century it was written.
It is no exaggeration to say that Jane Austen is situated at or very near the apex of literary genius. She occupies a place in one of those inner circles of Heaven, where only the most extraordinary of God’s creatures reside.
It is impossible to explain the insight of genius. Just think of Book Six of Plato’s Republic, for example. Or Prospero’s magic. Some things simply cannot be illuminated by definitions or words; they must be “seen” and grasped. To approach such phenomena, we have to take an indirect approach, to come at them sideways, as it were.
So let us take that approach and ask about the effect Austen has on her readers. First, and most evidently, she brings us pleasure and delight. Second, she encourages us to know ourselves. Third, she makes us better, or at least she has the power to make us better if we let her. And finally, she enlivens us when we are low and heals us when we are broken.