By: LaVie Saad
Jane Austen was an English writer who was born in 1775. Though she is incredibly well-known today, she was far less famous when she was alive. Austen tended to use images, people, and events around her in her writing and essentially used anything she could for inspiration. Her novels, still famous and read to this day, are known for their wittiness and strong-willed, empowered female characters. A couple of them include Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Mansfield Park.
But did you know that this literary icon was obsessed with vampires?
Vampires first appeared in literature in the 18th century. It was especially common to find them in Victorian poetry. They often symbolized darkness, predators, and sexual deviance. Dark themes were often common in literature in the 1700s, since cultural events such as the American, French, and Haitian revolutions occurred at this time (and gorry/traumatic instances often had an impact on art).
Turns out, that genre came from myths about the Serbian monarchy, who apparently destroyed all the “remaining” vampires from the country. These creatures were thought to be real, as many individuals were superstitious during this time period. They were also fun, exciting characters associated with wild romance and death all at once. With tuberculosis and syphilis going around, death struck quite a chord with Victorian England (disease was also another factor that impacted art).
But what does Jane Austen and Twilight have to do with this? Pride and Prejudice was an English romance novel that dealt with pursuit of happiness and overcoming biases in order to end up with each other. In the end, both characters accept their love for each other and overcome both their pride and prejudice (clever name!).
Twilight was based on this story, as Mr. Darcy, though not a vampire, was transformed into Edward and Bella Swan was a reworked Elizabeth Bennet.
So, the bestselling 2000’s vampire saga was based on disease, revolution, the Serbian government, and a famous author that existed a long time ago. The more you know!
Jane Austen
Works Cited