Best Twitter Responses to the Article on Jane Austen’s Marital Status
The Washington Post has published an article this week in regards to Jane Austen’s birthday—16th December—and, somehow, they figured that the most appropriate way to honour the author was to focus on her romantic life in relation to her writings.
The title of the piece, Jane Austen was the master of the marriage plot. But she remained single, was, perhaps, an attempt to come up with a witty title. The only problem is that, well, it isn’t witty. It is nonsensical and sexist.
Jane Austen was clearly a feminist; 200 years after her death, she is surely turning on her grave, thinking: I can’t believe I still have to deal with this sh*t. Luckily, twitter folks are always on the ready to jump in on narrow-minded articles like this one.
Here are a few of my favourite answers The Washington Post will be sure to remember the next time they try to label Jane Austen anything less than what she truly was: a great author.
you'd be amazed at how many crime writers have never even murdered ONE person. https://t.co/pYwW3f6qZg
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) December 18, 2017
Or…they’re just very good at it.
Madeleine L'Engle won the Newbery for a book about interstellar travel. But she never escaped earth's orbit. https://t.co/dpA3kUTdHk
— Madeleine L'Engle (@MadeleineLEngle) December 19, 2017
Not yet.
Tolkien was the master of writing about elves. But he remained a man, not an elf. https://t.co/Di1g5Nb0AC
— Samantha Shannon (@say_shannon) December 19, 2017
Debatable.
Stephen King was the master of the horror plot. But he remained a non-supernatural being. https://t.co/RjuAhAKu8k
— ryan teague beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) December 18, 2017
Also debatable.
Similarly, @jk_rowling, despite years of writing about the wizarding world, remains a Muggle. https://t.co/CjX0IIkBtz
— Mike Smit (@michael_smit) December 20, 2017
Very debatable. I actually find this affirmation rather outrageous, and not true. J.K. Rowling IS a wizard, no matter what she tries to make us believe.
I wrote a chapter for a book about black holes. But I have never been inside a black hole. https://t.co/SnbdPtCsZJ
— Robert McNees (@mcnees) December 20, 2017
I won’t even comment on this one (depends on the point of view, really).
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. But she never herself reanimated a corpse that had been stitched together from bits of other corpses. https://t.co/huEVSU0DZi
— Tim Callanan (@MrTimCallanan) December 18, 2017
She had to put up with Lord Byron, though, so it was pretty close.
Agatha Christie was the master of the murder mystery. But she remained unmurdered. https://t.co/nm4Ual3JSf
— Manda Collins 😻🐱🐶 (@MandaCollins) December 18, 2017
Can’t really deny this one.
Neil Gaiman won the Newbery Medal for a book set in a graveyard. But he remains alive and unboxed. https://t.co/AlHT4j2lwq
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) December 19, 2017
And aren’t we lucky.
Dude. Jane Austen was the master of the marriage plot HENCE she remained singlehttps://t.co/z6CfGbJ7KD
— L'étagère (@Letagere) December 18, 2017
Touché.