Jane Austen and Wisdom

Over  christmas break I have had more time than I know what to do with so what is my go to for banishing boredom? All the Jane Austen that I can find (which in my home is every published novel of hers) ;p
I have noticed quite a few things about Austen the more I reread her works. She had a lot of wisdom tucked away into her characters and dialogue.  She seems to paint the picture of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 which is the love is kind, love is patient verse. I decided to analyze some of her greater works while I still have time to enjoy reading and not have to dread the required reading thrust upon me for scholastic purposes. :p

One of my favorite books and BBC movies is Emma. The storyline is simple.  Love is patient. A wealthy young woman who has little to do but match make and meddle in people's lives befriends and schemes in her town to make the perfect matches while her older lifelong friend that she views as a brother falls in love with her and despairs because of her friendly love to him. Later Emma realizes her jealously of other women around Knightly and discovers that she is in fact in love with him. However the road to this discovery is comical. Through her intricately woven plots, Jane Austen brilliantly depicts five stages that bring her characters to life because they are also manifested in real people as they struggle with real life. These stages are 1) Recognition of the problem, 2) Frustration, 3) Confrontation, 4) Withdrawal, 5) Resolution.

1) Recognition of the Problem
When Knightly first mentions Emma and matrimony, he wants her to be in love but also in doubt that the man will love her back. Even though he thinks it good for Emma , he only wants her in love in a "safe circumstance" meaning the man in question would not be equally enamored with her. He also mentions in this conversation that he like to look upon Emma. Though he is clearly attracted to Emma he had yet to realize the extent. Only when Frank Churchill arrives does Knightly get a clue that he has a problem. He then reacts by slamming Churchill with insults even though he seems to be quite nice as a result of his ensuing jealously of the sparking of interest from Emma to Churchill.

2) Frustration
Knightly starts to see for the first time all the qualities that Emma possesses. He views her as a fascinating female who is witty, charming, and a little too sassy and confident for her own good. Austen brilliantly depicts Knightly's frustration as he sinks more deeply in love with Emma, and she remains focused on Frank Churchill. When Emma plans to attend a ball with Churchill, Knightly provokes and mocks Emma and grows more aggressive in his verbal barbs against Churchill. Frustration is that awful, uptight feeling we get when we believe we are powerless to stop the situation that holds us captive and requires our patience. The longer the situation stretches, the more uptight we become. From this stance, we often build to the point of some form of confrontation.

3) Confrontation
Jane Austen depicts George Knightly as a mature young man who does a remarkable job handling the confrontation with Emma over Frank Churchill. By the time Knightly mentions the issues to Emma, he has measured the situation and decided a frank conversation is a must. However, unknown to Knightly, by the time he has the talk with Emma, she has already decided she is not in love with Frank and that Harriet should be. But all Knightly can see is Frank's flirting with Emma while the subtle clues point to his attachment to Jane Fairfax. When Knightly reveals his suspicions to Emma she denies that attachment could happen and while Knightly is stunned and dismayed. he doesn't erupt or go into an impatient frenzy He just quietly withdrawals from the scene. He completely distances himself from Emma.

4) Withdrawal
Sometimes the hardest thing we can do is take our hands off a stressful situation and allow God to do His work. Often in the face of completing everything possible to the best of our abilities, withdrawal is the best recourse. Sometimes that means emotional withdrawal; other times it means physical withdrawal, even taking a break or ending a relationship.Knightly chooses both and disappears to visit a relative. Little does Knightly know that his absence will catapult her from fondness to love. Often, at the height of our impatience, we say and do things that aren't as powerful as our absence or our silence would be. In Knightly's absence Emma learns how right he was and how wrong she herself was. In our own lives, so many times we underestimate the hand of God to work in our silence. Once we bravely step forward and lovingly confront, the temptation to repeat a confrontation can seem too strong to ignore,especially if we are so impatient we are pulling our hair. However, simply stating the truth and then quietly withdrawing usually work together to create a powerful change in situation and thought, which many times lead to a satisfying resolution. Such as Knightly getting his girl ;p

5) Resolution
After hearing the news of Frank and Jane's engagement, Knightly approaches Emma to discover how she is enduring the shock because he still believes her in love with Frank which he soon discovers is false. One thing leads to another until Knightly begins his famous speech: " My dearest Emma, for dearest you will always be... my dearest, most beloved Emma," With these words Knightly ushers in the resolution that he loves her and she admits what she has learned in his absence: that she too loves him. Knightly's patience has paid off. There are many situations and circumstances in life that demand our patience. Some people might readily identify with Knightly while he waits for his love and fears the outcome will be anything but happily ever after. Others might wait to have children but fear never being parents. Or perhaps the child that showed so much potential grows up to be a prodigal, leaving the parents to despair if the child will ever succeed. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." Often the key to having more patience involves recognizing what stage of patience we are in and following God's timing for when to make the moves that will resolve the situation. Sometimes that might mean accepting the situation and adapting our expectations and choices to overcome the problem.  The key is understanding that there is a time for everything. Therefore, there is a time to patiently endure and a time to stop enduring and get busy with the resolving.

"He that can have patience can have what he will"
Benjamin Franklin

 What are your thoughts? Agree or disagree?