What I Learned from Jane Austen

I've finished reading the biography of Jane Austen (Jane Austen: Obstinate Heart by Valerie Grosvenor Myer). It was very well written and gave lots of details of her everyday life and what England was like during her lifetime. Miss Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817 at the young age of 41. She was relatively poor, though her books brought her some money by the end of her life. Yet I found it interesting that the most important fact I learned had nothing to do with Miss Jane Austen's life.

As I mentioned, she born in 1775, on December 16. This was the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the American Colonies, and the following year the Constitution was written, pretty much letting England know there was a rebellion afoot. The Revolutionary War should have been won by the British. They were a powerful nation, had a well trained army and navy, much more powerful weapons, and plenty more money than the Colonists who were still in many ways adapting to their new home. Winters were bitter cold and food was scarce at times. Yet against all odds the Colonists won. Historians will tell you it's because the war was fought on their turf, and they had much to protect. I don't doubt this to be a true advantage for the Colonists. But in reading some of the historical facts of England herself, I also got an understanding of underlying issues we never hear about because most people would find it unrelated. I think it relates to their defeat very much.

As we studied in our American history classes, the reason Europeans (because it wasn't only the British that came here; there were Dutch, French, and German also, though the majority were British) left the comforts of modern living to come to this new world, where they would basically have to start from scratch constructing not only homes but entire towns, was for religious freedom. The Church of England reigned supreme, and anyone that wanted to follow a different religion than the official church was ostracized, and persecuted. We know of the Quakers, devout Christians who simply wanted to live according to God's Word, but there were also other Evangelical denominations that came to the new world, such as Baptists, and also Catholics. They wanted freedom to practice their faith and live their lives peacefully. They also wanted to escape the lifestyle that was beginning to grow in their native England, which they knew wasn't approved by their Heavenly Father.

In reading about the life and times of Miss Jane Austen, I found something that was more than interesting, it was shocking. The morality of the day had fallen very low. It was believed that as much as 50% of new brides were pregnant on their wedding day. Divorce was almost unheard of, since getting a divorce required an Act of Parliament and most people couldn't afford to pay for it, so marriage also was becoming optional. People figured if they lived together without getting married, ending the relationship would be more cost effective. Of course, there were those that married, some out of love but many out of financial convenience. Women looked for men who had plenty of money to keep them comfortably. For this reason adultery ran rampant. Family values had sunk very low, and what happens when a culture loses its family values? The entire culture, or nation, suffers. England, which had been the most powerful and wealthiest nation in the world, lost a big part of their income when they lost the Revolutionary War. And they never fully recovered.

Today England, while still being a strong nation, is not the powerhouse it was at one time. The United States of America is now the most powerful nation in the world. Yet we're going in the same direction as jolly ole England. Morality is at an all time low, and rather than working to bring family values up, the mentality of the American people has become one of self-gratification. It's that selfish "ME first" attitude of young and old alike, the belief that life is about getting as much out of it as possible without any regard for anyone else. This infiltrated the culture of England, and we've allowed it to infiltrate ours. Are we going to learn from the mistakes of others, or will this be another case of history repeating itself?