Jane Austen

As someone who really enjoys classical novels, I'll be the first to say that Emma is one of my favorites. It’s easy to understand then that when I discovered there was a movie detailing Jane Austen’s life, starring Anne Hathaway as well, I was ecstatic. I’d been waiting to watch the movie for ages before I finally came across it at Family Video, and I snatched it up to rent in a heartbeat.

I have to admit, I was fairly ignorant on the life of Austen, and I still am no doubt after the movie. A lot of times movies either insert or omit a lot of facts in order to make the movie more interesting, and Becoming Jane is probably not an exception. But the movie did a wonderful job of showing how oppressed the woman really was during those times, and how Austen really hit the stereotypes out of the ballpark by becoming a successful writer. I appreciated the reality of the struggle Austen went through to follow her passions, and that despite everyone telling her she couldn’t, she followed her dreams and became arguably one of the best writers in history.

The movie also kept a sense of relatability to Jane that you otherwise probably wouldn’t have thought about. The storyline of romance between Austen and Lefroy was amusing and touching, and really shed light on her inspirations as a writer. I especially loved the scene between Jane and her sister, when Jane explains that in her novel the two sisters will live happily ever after, because in real life they wouldn’t be able to. It communicates the wishful thinking of authors and the relief of being able to spin your own world and make your own choices in the words that you write.

The character development really showed throughout the progression of the movie as well. At the beginning, Jane was almost timid in her rebellion, although admittedly still sharp-tongued. But as she finds herself through her romance with Lefroy, she grows more as a person. She learns what she wants and what she must do to acquire it. She’s also bolder, as well as more assured in herself as a person, and she supports what she believes in. The film really portrayed her in a light that is easy to relate to, as a growing young adult rather than a famous 19^th Century author.