Real Men Read Austen

Many of those familiar with great literature know that Jane Austen is among the greatest novelists of all time--perhaps the greatest female English-language novelist ever. There seems to be, though, a widespread perception that she wrote novels aimed at and appealing to only women--sort of a 19th century version of chick lit. A quick look on Allconsuming.net shows that the overwhelming majority of those who say they've read Emma appear to be women. I, too, was under the same impression for years, but I have to say now that I was wrong. Austen's books are just as appealing and enjoyable--and instructive--for men as they are for women. I've read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and I'm currently reading Emma.

Peter Leithart comments on this at the beginning of a lecture on Austen's art, a lecture he gave in 2001 at the Christian Worldview Student Conference. Men should be more willing to read Austen for a number of reasons. First, she's actually less romantic and more grounded in a realistic view of the world than, for example, Dickens was. Second, she's funny. She writes with a sharp wit and a keen sense of irony that makes her dialogue and narrative commentary tremendously entertaining--just read the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice for proof of this. Third, because she's a woman and tells her stories from the women's point of view, reading her novels can be a helpful way to learn how women think--and that's useful to any man. Fourth, men can learn a lot about the character of honorable and dishonorable men from studying her male characters. Mr. Knightley (Emma), on one hand, is a gentleman who uses his wealth and position selflessly for the benefit and protection of those less fortunate than him. Wickham (P&P), on the other hand, is a scoundrel who seems charming at first but reveals his deceitful, self-serving nature in the end. Any man who wants to be a gentleman should study the kinds of male characters that Austen writes, and think about why each one is portrayed as he is, good or bad.

So, there you have it. Jane Austen's books aren't just for girls. Real men read Austen.

As always, electronic versions of Austen's works, in text and audio, are available from Project Gutenberg and Librivox.org, respectively.