It turns out modern dating and the 19th-century marriage market may have more in common than you realise as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice sees an unexpected popularity boom
It’s hard to imagine Jane Austen flicking through Hinge on her third glass of wine trying desperately not to get the “ick” or end up ghosted by her latest situationship – but a newfound readership is realising the nineteenth-century author has more to teach about Gen Z dating woes than you’d imagine.
Some of the British author’s most famous works include Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion. According to Spotify data, there’s been a 75% jump in streams of Pride and Prejudice on the platform. And, of those listeners, the average age skews slightly younger than the general average audiobook listener.
It’s probably no too much of a surprise, given that Austen has left a pretty enduring legacy. Her novels have been adapted multiple times across various media, with Pride and Prejudice alone having been reimagined in at least 17 different movies since 1938 – more than proving their ability to resonate with readers across generations.
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She’s even been credited with shaping the modern romcom: the idea of two people meeting who clash, only to end up falling in love with each other. After all, Pride and Prejudice features the quintessential narrative of two characters who must overcome their initial dislike for each other, suffering intense angst and painful miscommunication along the way.
It’s little wonder, on top of the novel’s audiobook resurgence, it’s also gone viral on social media platforms championing “men who yearn”.
On TikTok, the #yearning features tens of thousands of posts – many of which use Mr Darcy, the heartthrob of Pride and Prejudice, as their poster child. Popular clips feature Matthew Macfayden from the 2005 film adaptation casting forlorn glances at Kiera Knightley (playing the novel’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet).
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Josh Pullinger, one of the founders of the book club It’s Hardback Out Here, also pointed out how Austen’s work resonated with him as a queer reader. Persuasion, which tells the story of a 27-year-old Englishwoman who regrets breaking off an engagement, captures the similar feelings many queer people experience of yearning for forbidden romance.
“There is something so nice as a queer person reading a piece about longing and wanting something so bad but following societal pressures has forced that away,” he said.
But more than just yearning, Austen fan and host of the podcast Sex Talks Emma-Louise Boynton believes the novels have a few important lessons to teach about modern dating – particularly when it comes to getting the “ick” too soon. She said: “People dating today should revisit Jane Austen to be reminded that often it’s the dark horse that ends up being the one you really like.”
She added: “Just because you didn’t like the t-shirt in the profile pic, you might be missing out on your Mr Darcy.”
Hitting a little close to home? Maybe before you update your Hinge profile, you might want to see what the 1800s author has to say about your dating choices.
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