Day Two Hundred and Thirty Nine
Emma by Jane Austen Page: 220
I always enjoy Austen. Her incisive wit, clear prose and grounded morality are so enjoyable and instructive that I can’t help it. All six of her novels are beautiful and they are each so unique. I’m sad that once I finish Emma I’ll be done with Austen for the year. If I may quote Peter Leithart:
“Precisely this “nominalism,” and minute attention to details of character and relation that accompany it, make Austen’s work a continuing source of both delight and moral instruction. Because of her limitations, she emphasizes the domestic and local context for moral decisions and action. For Austen, the sensational or extraordinary do not provide a sound basis for moral educaion and experience. Hers is not a “lifeboat ethics” focusing on the marginal extremes of ethical decisions. On the contrary, she recognizes that the greatest ethical challenges come in the midst of daily life, precisely when “nothing is happening.” (Miniatures and Morals P. 27)
And that’s why you need to read Austen, need to re-read Austen and need to force your sons and daughters to read Austen.