The Problem with Jane Austen

I just finished Pride and Prejudice. For it being about 225 pages long. I expected to be done with it by Tuesday, but it took me a bit longer to finish it. I was fine with Jane Austen’s subtle rattling of the cage deftly woven within an insipid tale about husband chasing filled with some annoying characters. I’m looking at you Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, Lady Catherine.

But man, her prose is tough to read. It reminds me of what John Daly would do as host of the classic game show What’s My Line. If the panel asked a question that would be tricky to answer, he would give an obfuscating response. Take the 3:46 mark of the video below:

I had no trouble with Dostoevsky, with Flaubert, with Lawrence or such. But Austen was quite troublesome. Perhaps as each day goes by I’m just getting stupider and stupider.

Also, I agree with Mrs. Sheridan. The most awful things do happen when you marry a Yankee.