Jane Austen proves "Life is depressing"

Jane Austen proves "Life is depressing"

by Liv | Published on August 31st, 2009, 8:33 am | Arts

So last night we watched Becoming Jane which is the "real-life" dramatic incarnation of Pride and Prejudice. It's based on the not-so-happy-ending of Jane Austen's life which her fictional novel was based on. It's a good watch, but Jesus Christ it was depressing.

Jane Austen: My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.

It really made me think of my "Happy Ending" piece from a few weeks ago. Here's one of the romantic's most cherished love stories and it's written by someone who only could never get her happy ending. This idea is explored in detail in the movie, but it makes you want to slit your wrists. I mean; I love twisted, dark, dramatic endings... but the idea that this life, our reality can only be made into a happy ending is by "imagining" it, seems like a cruel joke upon humanity.

Tom Lefroy: I have no money, no property, I am entirely dependent upon that bizarre old lunatic, my uncle. I cannot yet offer marriage, but you must know what I feel. Jane, I'm yours. God, I'm yours. I'm yours, heart and soul. Much good that is.

I'm still young enough to not know what the future may hold, but old enough to be fearful that I myself may become forever doomed to suffer life "unimagined". I identified with Jane in many ways. While my happiness in love has been fulfilled, I still find myself suffering similar family dilemmas of our own "pride and prejudices", especially with family. Similarly I've in the recent month written a piece of fiction which similarly mimics my life, but just as Austen, found myself coming to the conclusion life is a dark and perverted place which can only serve as a beginning and a middle but not it's end.

Jane Austen: It's something I began in London. It is the tale of a young woman. Two young women. Better than their circumstances.
Cassandra Austen: So many are.

I may never rise to Jane Austen's fame, but knowing that it's a common experience for humans to imagine a life better than the one they truly experience seems like a genetic hoax, some evolutionary joke, a self-serving drug to keep our existence upon the earth more pleasurable in light of the truth. The truth? There is no dream realized, no picket fence, no white knights, no fairy tale endings. Love is a mere illusion to cover-up a biological need, money is more powerful than happiness, and in the end we're all going to die with regrets.

See, I told you it was bloody depressing.

Rev Austen: To sacrifice her happiness? Jane should have not the man who offers the best price, but the man she wants.

The only consulation I have, is I could be wrong.

Life is as depressing as you let it be. It's a choice to dwell on negatives and ignore the positives. But if you get into the rut of seeing only negatives, it will affect the brain, and set up a negative feedback situation that may need medication to truly handle. I've been there... managed to survive, happily.

I disagree. Life is depressing. Our ability to lie to ourselves and say "it is what you make it" is another example of a evolutionary mechanism to perpetuate our existence in less than ideal environments. In that; however, I'm comfortable. Those whom aren't are the clinical depressed, the suicidal, etc.

I firmly accept the grandiose hurdles, and like many of us, will continue to climb them, attempt to overcome them in hopes of that I'm wrong... but (all I'm saying) as "Becoming Jane" purports.... "It doesn't (appear to) happen."

Life is depressing?

Makes ya wonder what it's all about, huh?

Life is neither depressing nor exhilarating on its own. It simply is. It's a massively complex set of biochemical reactions that happen to be self-perpetuating. Feelings of depression or happiness are just a brain's reactions to the events it experiences.

In my life, I've seen wondrous beauty and terrifying ugliness. Thanks to the media and history writers, I have access to far more of both. How I view the overall picture... I maintain that it is a personal choice. I've been officially unemployed twice since I got married and started a family. I've lived in some rather terrible poverty (spent nearly 15 years as "trailer trash" in a single-wide out in the county, if you want my cred on that) and I've made it to a mid-level middle-class life after a LOT of struggles.

I went through clinical depression at times. Still get "down" for varying reasons. But I think the lesson I've learned in all my time is that one's attitude in all those of times and circumstances is a choice. At least for those with normally-functioning brains.

I'm of two minds on this, and one agrees with Liv and the other with SFI. Sure, life is what we make it and the meaning of life is the result of our actions, not what theologians or philosophers proclaim it to be. We decide that. Mark that one up to SFI.

On the other hand, the meaning we give life isn't necessarily a conscious decision. We may delegate the defining of the MOL to parents, pastors, memes, friends, spouses, governments, etc. In fact, I suppose these are all memes. I'm kind of with Liv on this point. If one has no "higher power" or purpose, one can view themselves as merely another biological lifeform that nature tries very hard to kill. The world and our place in it can begin to take on a very Lovecraftian* shape. People deal with this in a variety of ways. Some never actually get to Liv's level of thinking and have no problem. Some work to give purpose to their life, at least in their own mind. Some get religion and some just say phuckit, I'm taking care of number 1 while number 1 exists. I think we do this in part to deny the fact that eternity is a howling abyss that cares nothing for you. It will not remember you. You do not matter. Your existence is futile.

*The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
-from The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft

There can even be beauty in tragedy if done well. For instance, "Romeo and Juliet" and "Becoming Jane". Without the tragedies in life we would not have the ability to truly recognize and appreciate the glory of love.

I've been thinking about this thread a bit more. If by "depressing" you mean that life holds inevitable disappointments, because things don't really go as we planned or hoped, then of course it is "depressing." But part of the process of growing up is learning that "life's a bitch, then you die" and figuring out how to let the "bitchy" parts roll away (more or less) and enjoy what you can in life before you die.

I look at my memories of my parents. If I try, I can recall the bad times I had with them. But my general impression when I think of them is of the good times. I tend to set aside the bad ones because they were depressing to me, and I really loved them both. Maybe it's a sort of denial mechanism, but you know what? I think it's a good thing to have in this case. Life can indeed depress you -- but only if you let it.

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get"

That's all I have to say about that......

If you know how to read the box you know exactly what you are getting.

It says 'crunchy Frog' quite clearly

[youtubevideo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sy03KS0Pa0[/youtubevideo]

Now That was Funny........ Hmmmmm...... I'm not depressed any more.....