Celebrating Jane Austen in 2017

I can´t let the year slip away without paying attention to the fact that  Jane Austen died 200 years ago, so the bicentenary of her death has been celebrated during this year. You may think that there´s nothing special about celebrating the 200^th anniversary of a writer´s death or you may even wonder why we ought to care about it; however, celebrating this kind of anniversaries is a way of paying tribute to a writer and his/her literary work and in some countries great pains are taken to make sure that we mark such special dates by organising lots of different events.

Why should I remember that the year 2017 marked the 200^th anniversary of Jane Austen´s death? Because there are so many films which are based on Jane Austen´s literary work that I feel that the film industry is somehow indebted to her excellent stories. Even if you haven´t read any of her novels, you may have watched some of the film adaptations of her novels: TV series or films the were released on the big screen or films which are not faithful adaptations but which are clearly inspired by some of her most famous characters such as Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy, Elinor or Marianne Dashwood. Jane Austen (1775-1817) occupies a central position in British literature as her work excels at depicting the society of her age and, in particular, the role of women in that society according to their social class. Enjoying her novels is a personal matter and I don´t intend to persuade you to read them but as readers and as filmgoers or as TV viewers, I think that we should feel grateful for her work because of the influence that it has had on so many generations of novelists, film directors and screenwriters.
   

This christmas,  why don´t you watch a film inspired by one of her novels? There´s a long list to choose from. But as usual, watch what you feel like watching and enjoy yourself because it´s Christmastime and there are so many choices that you can make!!

Happy Boxing Day, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!