Yes
Posted by Carolyn B on January 21, 1998 at 20:49:17:
In response to Problem solving through Writing, written by Lynne on January 21, 1998 at 15:44:41
] I can't speak for Jane, but only for myself..
I definitely agree that writing is a release and a way to "do" things we can't really do, and I think it also helps us feel like we have some control over the world if only in our fictional worlds of words. (Though I sometimes have a hard time controlling my characters.....)
I wonder about JA because I'm single in a culture that still emphasizes marriage (just not quite as much), and I find that when I write fiction, often my characters keep forming little romantic couples headed towards marriage, even when I don't intend them to do so. So after I started reading JA, I began to wonder if it's some strange compensatory thing going on. Or is this some sort of cultural imperative acting on my subconscious?!
Anyway, think of Northanger Abbey, written when she was younger, where a young girl meets her husband on her first adventure out into the world. (Ignore for the moment that JA may have been more likely to identify with Henry.)
Then years later, Persuasion, where the "old maid" of 27 finds that all is not lost when she reunites with her true love...... Was JA still waiting? Or did she accept that she would not marry?? (I'm looking forward to reading the biography.)
Of course, even today, Hollywood, etc. wants a romance with a happy ending! So JA may have just been writing what her readers and herself wanted.....
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