I Blame Jane

     I'm officially convinced that I will die alone with eight cats and I blame Jane Austen.  I have been a professed Austen fanatic for over a decade now and while I have no regrets about it, it does open my eyes up to a slightly unfortunate side of my personality:  I have high expectation for men.  I blame Jane because she created these incredible worlds for me, filled with characters that suffer loss, face adversity and truly fall in love.  They are forced to confront what they most desire and the difficulty in deviating from the social norms of nineteenth century England.  I blame her for the incredibly high expectations i now have for the entire male population and for romantic relationships in general.
      I dream of men like Colonel Brandon of Sense and Sensibility: strong, warm, loving, patient and ever faithful.   He loves Marianne, despite that she is obviously, and quite foolishly, in love with Willoughby.  She ignores him because he is too old (Thirty-five is NOT too old, Marianne!).  He never exposes Willoughby for the womanizer he is until after Willoughby himself ruins his own reputation and terminates his relationship with Marianne.  Brandon only ever thinks of Marianne and her happiness, even though he longs for her to give him the time of day.  I like to root for the underdog, I suppose, and Colonel Brandon is just such a sweetheart.  Of course, it always helps that my favorite version of this character is played by one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman.

      I fall for men men like the loyal, kind, compassionate and generous Edmund Bertram of Mansfield Park.  Mansfield Park has always been my favorite novel and I think it's mostly because of Edmund.  Edmund is the only one among his family that has any consideration for Fanny's feelings.  He acts as her protector and friend, but he also has a great deal of influence over her, which can negatively affect her personality at times.  He foolishly becomes attracted to Miss Crawford, without ever noticing Fanny's deep admiration for him. He later realizes he is in love with Fanny and they are married.  I think my deep fascination with Edmund and Fanny is because of my fondness for the "marrying my best friend" love story.  The "girl next door story" is always my favorite.

     George Knightley of Emma is honest, gracious and intelligent.  Frederick Wentworth of Persuasion: oh so gallant, steadfast and honorable.  Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey: sensible, honest, clever and chivalrous.   And last but not least, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice: a man of few words but dignified, sincere and devoted.  These men, though fictional, have become my standards.  I mean, Jane passed away when she was forty-one and was never married!  She never settled for anything less than true love.  So I blame Jane for my high expectations.  I love her and I will always adore her characters, and therefore I accept my fate as a lonely spinster.