The great thing about Jane Austen is that she never takes things too seriously.
While others of the time reeled off Gothic horror novels full of lust and scandal (cough, Ann Radcliffe, cough), Austen penned romantic comedies with content akin to the average life of the modern-day college student.
There is an all-too-common breed that suffers from Austenophobia — those who slogged unwillingly through her novels in 10th grade’s Intro to Brit. Lit. and have since refused to read another word. To you I say, “Snap out of it!” The worthwhile human being needs at least one Austen novel under his/her belt. You’re already late to the party, so get on it. You might even gain some perspective you didn’t know you needed.
Snatch up another Austen and give it the old college try. Not only are you (hopefully) smarter than your sophomore self, but perhaps you’ve finally developed the mental capacity to appreciate satire.
Her late-career novel “Northanger Abbey” is the perfect starter for the Austen virgin, and its cast of characters isn’t exactly unfamiliar.
There’s the ditzy heroine, the dream boy with whom she falls madly and instantly in love, the true-blue bestie, the frenemy and the playboy, among others.
Yes, this could be set on a college campus. Instead, the drama unfolds in 17th-century Bath, where _everyone_ who is _anyone_ goes to meet everyone else who’s anyone.
Poor ditzy heroine Catherine starts life as a homely, awkward child but blossoms in the prime of youth. Convinced she’s peaked at 17, Catherine’s parents send her off to Bath to mix and mingle and to make a name for herself.
It’s basically the collegiate experience and, like any fledgling in the world, Catherine befriends both stellar and not-so-stellar folk.
Among the stellar: Catherine stumbles into Mr. Dream Boy at her first party and falls madly in love with him, as tends to happen with the first guy any Miss Oh-So-Innocent-and-Inexperienced catches sight of. Dream Boy introduces Catherine to his sister, Mrs. True-Blue BFF. The two are kind, intelligent and patient with tenderfoot Catherine. They befriend her without question and endure her many social ineptitudes.
Among the not-so-stellar: Ms. Toxic Frenemy uses Catherine to get in with Catherine’s COB (Cute Older Brother).
Also among the undesirables lurks Mr. Playboy, a womanizer with a naughty reputation. Of _course_ Frenemy-Attention-Whore ends up sleeping with him. Of _course_ he ditches her at his first chance. Of _course_ she is distraught, as she’s ruined her chances with Cute Older Brother.
Drama, drama, drama, but all with Austen’s amused overtones. She’s created a cast of characters and sets them lose in Bath, prodding them along and laughing at their mistakes.
Austen’s teasing makes it difficult to take her creations’ petty little lives seriously, and you find yourself laughing along with her.
And then, it hits you.
Reading “Northanger Abbey” means playing spectator to your own life. Your Toxic Frenemy is that girl down the hall who gossips so loudly you can hear her through the vents. Dream Boy is that guy from upstairs. You’ve ridden the elevator with him a few times, throwing awkward glances in his direction but too embarrassed to say anything. Playboy you’ve seen swaggering around campus, decked out in Polo and greeting his bros with a fist-bump.
Watching Austen’s creations scamper about causing problems, breaking hearts and playing happy families serves as a sharp wake-up call. Finally you can see the drama for what it truly is: overrated.
And you’ll realize it’s OK to take a step back. Breathe. Remove yourself from the mayhem and laugh at everyone still caught up in it. With a bird’s eye view, college drama is laughably transient.
