Reader Question #16: Getting Along with Jane Austen's Heroines

After a couple of weeks, I finally have another Reader Question answered. Here is another question asked by Charity from Austenitis:

List your favorite JA heroines in order of how well you'd get along with them, and tell us why. (or could list by how much you admire them, how similar you are to them, etc)

I never really thought about this before. I do like each of Jane Austen heroines for one reason or another, but I'm sure there are some that I would get along with better than others. So listed here, I have each heroine in the order that I would get along with. The list goes from get along with best to get along with least.

Elizabeth Bennet

Yes, the character that I often times get when I take Jane Austen personality tests. I think that because I am an awful lot like Elizabeth Bennet (I'm a bit sarcastic and stubborn), I would probably get along with her. Now sure, there is a possibility that we might be too much alike and might butt heads occasionally, but I think overall we would get along.

Elinor Dashwood

Elinor Dashwood is one of those characters that most of everyone would get along with. Unlike her sister, Marianne, Elinor is more accepting of new people with different tastes: if you're into poetry, that's okay, and if you're not, that's okay too. Now, what would we talk about, I'm not sure. Maybe how to save money and sensible topics?

Catherine Morland

There are some similarities between Catherine and myself: we don't want to give offense and go out of our way to make sure that offense was not given, and we tend to think about the lasted thing we're into a lot (Udolpho for Catherine and whatever for me). Now, the only thing that I could see going wrong would be Catherine talking too much about Udolpho and I couldn't get into it (or vice versa).

Fanny Price

I think that I would pretty much get along with Fanny: she's sweet and a naturally kind person... However, there would be one problem: we would probably be introduced to each other and have nothing to say to each other. I can be a quiet person if someone is first introduced to me, and if Fanny is a quiet person, it might basically be two quiet ladies in a room not saying anything to each other.

Anne Elliot

Anne is a nice character and I do like her, but (and fans of Persuasion, don't take this the wrong way) she was a little dull to me and I don't think I have very much in common with her. I don't like poetry like she does, I'm not at all fond of Captain Wentworth, and I don't think she should have let her sister walk all over her (though what choice she had, I'm not sure).

Marianne Dashwood

As much as I like Marianne Dashwood, I'm not sure I would get along with her very well. She is a romantic who delights in poetry; I'm not a romantic and I dislike poetry greatly. Though we might bond over music, I think the fact that I dislike poetry might irk her.

Emma Woodhouse

I think that if I were to meet Emma for the first time, I might be a bit annoyed with her... at least the Emma at the beginning of the book Emma. I wouldn't want Emma to try to make matches for me (especially since she's not very good at it). Sure, she means well, but nevertheless, it would be annoying. But if I met the Emma towards the end of the novel, I might get along better with her.

How would you get along with the heroines in Jane Austen's novels? Which one do you think you would get along with best? Least? Leave a comment!

Thank you, Charity, for sending in your question. If you have a question you would like to submit for me to do a post on, leave a comment. Just follow these guidelines. It can be about anything related to this blog: period dramas, blogging, reviews, etc.  

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 God Bless,