I am happy to have at least one goal for the year that I feel I have some control over. My goal of reading all Jane Austen novels is well within my reach and I anticipate great joy upon reaching the goal.
Approaching the reading list chronologically, I began with Sense and Sensibility. Since I know nothing of any of the Austen novels (other than Colin Firth played a character named Darcy from which story I not know yet) the story was fresh and surprising in its progression.
The title is a concrete description of the older and younger Dashwood sisters in their approach to life and love. What they know and when they know it, sort of a comedy of errors, makes up most of the narrative. I know that the life span was much shorter 200 years ago, but referring to a man of 35 as being old or a woman of 27 having no hope of ever marrying was hard for me to accept. The politics of marriage and wealth consumed considerable time and energy.
I enjoyed the English that this was written in, so very different from today’s English. I immediately began the next book…
