Jane Austen Documentary

     The documentary Who Was The Real Jane Austen enlightened us on how Jane Austen’s life really was and how it differed from many other women writers. At the beginning of the documentary, the narrator teaches us about Jane Austen’s childhood and where she grew up. This was interesting to me because she grew up on a farm, and she actually did work on the farm. Typically, women of this era do not help on the farm or do any dirty work at all, so this separated her from many women writers we have looked at so far.

    It also stood out to me that Jane’s father bought her a mahogany desk for her to write at and better her work. This was interesting because it was different from the readings we did at the beginning of the class where nobody supported women as writers, especially men. In addition, the film also explained how Jane wasn’t exactly in the best shape when it came to finding a husband. We have yet to read about a writer who had this issue, so it was interesting to see and understand where her writing came from. They explained how she didn’t have any money to offer, she wasn’t attractive, and although she had a sense of humor, it wasn’t something that men really looked for in a wife. It is interesting because in the last film that we watched, the husband didn’t seem to care much about their wife; the only thing that mattered was that she could give him a child. 

    This documentary on Jane Austen’s life gave us an inside on how she was raised and some of her qualities, which help us to understand where her writing comes from on a more personal level.