Croft says, “ But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. Have you never wondered about her other colorful characters like Mary Crawford, Penelope Clay, Charlotte Lucas, et al.-and how they came to be? In Persuasion, Mrs. How could a woman who was poor, never married, and lived with her mother and sister in a cottage on her brother’s estate authentically write about equality? Yet through her veiled wit, honest social commentary, and cleverly constructed prose in a style ahead of her day, Austen’s heroines manage to thwart strict mores-and even the debauchery of Regency England-to reach their fairytale endings. Achieving social, economic, and political equality amongst the sexes isn’t a concept one would imagine in a novel from the 1800’s, especially if the novelist was Jane Austen, whose characters are in pursuit of good matches and whose novels all end in weddings. Jane Austen’s novels evoke romantic imaginings of gallant gentlemen and gently-bred ladies. By Christina Boyd, editor, “Quill Collective” anthology series
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