With the advent of health products, Jane would have been able to live past the young age she died and we would have been inundated by stories from a more mature Jane who had at least a few encounters with men and these light affairs, albeit non-contact, would have been integrated into her later stories. I think she still would have been a lady, confident and what many call an old maid or a prude when it came to relationships with men.
She would still have kept herself out of the public's eye and kept fresh from any ridicule, been well loved by her captive audience for her sweet nature and maintain her innocence when looking through the eyes of romance.
Now with that being said, how would have Pride and Prejudice turned out from eyes of the society of England in our time from Jane Austen's point of view? Would we be reading that story in 2213? It seems that stories by now have all been told and to see Pride and Prejudice written for the first time in 2013, it may become lost in much of the thousands of books published every year. It would have to be heavily marketed or have a very unique outlook on the high society of England with a movie coming out soon to give it that added exposure and audience.
Seeing a Pride and Prejudice for the first time ever in our decade, Jane would have already had her audience and written other books in other words, in order for Pride and Prejudice to have the impact it has now, she would have to be a Danielle Steele or a Nicolas Spark ladies hungering for a new release for it to even be recognized.
What type of story would it have been? What about the couples falling in love with no contact and then getting married after just meeting? I think to have the innocence and quick rushes to the altar without even dating in our age would be hard to swallow. It would have to be a part of that society where courting was acceptable without necessarily dating before taking the plunge, which I did so in my update in "Black Pride".
A second thing I found that doesn't translate well to our century is that everyone was in a rush before they were 20 to be married off or they were going to die. The fact we live longer these days than in Austen's century, I had to move my character's age into her late 30s where desperation of not being married may have more relevance. Even now, being unmarried in your late 20 is not an "old maid" as Charlotte had said she was.
And thirdly, what I found didn't merge into our century was the fact nobody had outside interest. As many critics say of the novel, it's just a book about women walking around in rooms and talking about relationships. This was befitting superbly rich inheritance babies. Even now, Paris Hilton has found her calling in fashion bags and reality shows. They would all have their own businesses and actually work taking a lot of the scrutiny of just focusing on relationships.
When rewriting I was shocked that this was the only things that I found hesitation with when bringing Elizabeth and the gang to our time in black society. That's pretty darn good for a 200-year old tale. The book even has "call" someone and "ring" the door that translates with ease in the advent of the iPod.
I think Jane wishes that she could do an update or a sequel with her story getting greater buzz than billion dollar movies premiering I hope I do her proud. I won't even begin to publish until I get the best draft I can. An artist is never finished with a masterpiece, they just know when it's time to share it with the world and soon that time will come.
Enjoy your rocking weekend everyone and thank you for coming along for the ride! Think you know what you would do with your update of Pride and Prejudice, let us know what you would add or take away...see you next Saturday!
XX,
Denise Rochelle
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