Why Jane Austen Ruined My Chances of Getting Married

Let me preface to our extended family of readers, who were not in attendance at our last book club, that I believe in jest we were on a roll thinking of book titles based on Jane. And thus, I spewed "Why Jane Austen Ruined My Chances of Getting Married." It was meant to get a few laughs at the time.
But then I thought, this is true.

Okay, well, it's not entirely true, but it's more accurate that I would like to admit.

In fact, when this book club was birthed into existence, I was nervous that we would be mourning our singleness instead of having intellectual conversations based literature. As we discussed Emma, I was pleasantly surprised. We talked governmental scandal (Pat Tillman specifically was discussed in depth), social norms, and funerals. (Note: I wrote a really well constructed, poignant article about this very topic, and my laptop, I believe, ate it. It really made me sad.)

So then we read Pride & Prejudice. Which I have read six times, all before graduating high school. And I decided somewhere during college that the book was over-rated. Who cares about Mr. Darcy anyway.

But this time around it struck a cord with me.
Because, despite the fact that there are much more exciting leading men out there than Mr. Darcy (not to mention all of the sports figures I have fallen in love with over the years), there is this innate desire to be swept away in a love story.

And then there is this tension with, do you just go for the nice guy because he likes you? That's what Charlotte did. And it seemingly worked out for her. 

Round and round this argument in my head goes. 

And now that I have been sitting here for the better part of half an hour and am just as confused as ever. 

Wait around for Mr. Darcy? Or Mr. Knightly. Or Tom Brady, for that matter.

Or do you marry the Mr. Collins? Because Mr Collins wants to be married and so do you.

Because I have let go of a few Mr. Collins who could have been potential Mr. Darcy's 

This is why Jane Austen ruined my chances of getting married. Thanks to her detailed character development and her interwoven relationships, I am more baffled than before. 

Now all I can do is rely on God's grace. 

And listen to this song on repeat. For King & Country says it best, "I have got a busted heart. I need you now. I'm desperate for grace." (Sorry, not the best version I could find.)

Thanks for reading my mess of a post,

Kayla

(Please disregard the scattered sentence fragments.)