Jane Austen’s fifth great-niece, Caroline Jane Knight, recently shared the reason why fans still relate to her ideas.
While giving an interview to PEOPLE magazine, Knight admitted that Austen’s literary masterpieces have always been part of her life.
Knight went on to state that her experience is different from others, as she grew up reading her aunt at Chawton House, the famed estate in Chawton, England, owned by Austen’s brother Edward.
Spending a huge part of her life with the reminders of the Pride and Prejudice author and witnessing the love she receives even after centuries because Knight “actually had a constant exposure to Jane Austen lovers,” and she “knew very early on not only how special Jane was as a family member.”
Knight noted that Austen has left a legacy behind in the form of her six novels, which “implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century,” and to preserve it, she founded the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation in 2014.
Notably, this nonprofit organization’s main goal is to spread literacy education worldwide and launch their branch in North America as well.
She said, “Within the Jane Austen community, and among anyone who’s interested in women’s literature, Jane Austen is much loved. I think that we have an enormous opportunity to really expand our literacy impact.”
Articulating her thoughts on why Austen still resonates with everyone who reads her even after more than two centuries, Knight attributed it to the thought-provoking and perennial stories she penned.
She explained, “Jane has actually now grown into something that’s bigger than her writing. She draws characters that we all know, and therefore, that makes it timeless.”
“That is actually what she focuses on. She doesn’t spend lots of words describing things. It’s so focused on those interactions and the dynamics between the people and the power differences … That’s a humanity thing, that’s not a time-stamped thing,” Knight said.
Jane Austen’s notable literary works include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey.
