麻豆社

To mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, 麻豆社 Radio 4 and 4Extra have a special season of programming celebrating the life, legacy, and literary brilliance of one of Britain’s most beloved authors.

All six of the writer’s major novels – Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey – have been adapted for audio and brought together as part of a dedicated Jane Austen collection on 麻豆社 Sounds.

To celebrate the collection, we take a look at seven of the most iconic Austen characters and their enduring cultural impact – From Mr Darcy (and that lake scene) to the matchmaker from hell, Emma Woodhouse.

1. Elizabeth Bennet – Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice centres around the tumultuous relationship between intelligent and spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the wealthy, proud Mr Darcy. It’s a rollercoaster of a romance, with derailing misunderstandings and more family drama than an EastEnders episode.

Elizabeth is witty, quick-minded and independent. She challenges the established expectations for women in society, refusing to marry for anything other than love and respect. But she’s also quick to judge Darcy falsely, and stubborn to boot. Thankfully, she realises her error and allows love to blossom. (It’s a lucky bonus that her beau is rather rich.)

Elizabeth Bennet remains one of the most famous female characters in English literature. She is the inspiration behind Bridget Jones – another independent-minded heroine panicking under the pressure of finding a partner.

2. Mr Darcy – Pride and Prejudice

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a wealthy landowner. He’s rich but also arrogant, proud and all too conscious of his social status.
He finds himself falling for the lively Elizabeth Bennet, captivated by her wit and intelligence, but during an initial, crash-and-burn marriage proposal he dwells more on how unsuitable a match Lizzie is than why he fancies her. (After which, she tells him he is the “last man in the world” she could ever be prevailed upon to marry.)

The rejection helps Darcy become a bit more self-aware. Then, he demonstrates his true devotion to Elizabeth by rescuing her younger sister Lydia and the Bennet family from disgrace. Gradually, he wins her over.

When it comes to iconic screen moments, it doesn’t get much bigger than Colin Firth’s Darcy emerging, drenched, from a lake in the 1995 TV adaptation. More recently, the aloof Anthony in Bridgerton has drawn parallels, not least for his own wet-shirted moment – a deliberate nod to Firth.

3. Henry Tilney – Northanger Abbey

Move over Mr Darcy; make room for the learned Henry Tilney, widely considered to be the most compelling character in Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

The coming-of-age story’s protagonist is Catherine Morland, a young and naïve country girl with a passion for Gothic novels, who wrongly suspects dark secrets at Northanger Abbey (Henry’s family home). But it is Henry – who serves as the voice of reason, helps to guide Catherine and is her loyal suitor – who is the novel’s true hero.

Tilney has been described by critics as a “beta male”: he’s witty, playful, good-humoured, well-read, laid-back and surprisingly knowledgeable about ladies’ gowns. Austen gives him some cracking lines to boot: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

4. Emma Woodhouse – Emma

The eponymous Emma is a “handsome, clever, and rich” young woman who enjoys playing matchmaker in the village where she lives. Unfortunately, her schemes create chaos and humiliation for multiple parties. (She convinces a new friend, Harriet, to reject a proposal from a farmer she rather likes in favour of the vicar, only to discover that the clergyman actually has Woodhouse herself in his sights.)

The various social blunders lead Emma to recognise her own arrogance and poor judgment. It also dawns on her that she has feelings for the wise, mature family friend, Mr Knightley.

Austen predicted that Emma would be “a character whom no one but me will much like”, but fans have long proven her wrong. Emma is a flawed heroine – vain, snobby and controlling – but also multi-dimensional, well-drawn and willing to change.

Notable actors to have played Emma include Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1996 film and Kate Beckinsale in the 1996 television film. The hugely popular 1995 movie Clueless is a modern take set in Beverly Hills, in which Alicia Silverstone’s Cher is modelled on Austen’s Emma.

5. Elinor Dashwood – Sense and Sensibility

Elinor Dashwood is widely considered the most iconic character in Sense and Sensibility.

She embodies the novel's “sense” with her rationality, composure and emotional restraint. (Conversely, her impulsive, romantic younger sister Marianne represents “sensibility.”)

Elinor takes on responsibility for the family after her father’s death, putting her own needs and desires to the side. She’s a cracking older sister, protective and caring.

Elinor’s love story begins with heartbreak and ends in happiness. She falls for the kind and reserved Edward Ferrars, but learns, that he’s engaged to another. Elinor suffers this pain in silence, continuing to offer comfort to others around her, until Edward’s engagement is broken off and the pair are finally able to unite. Elinor offers a lesson in stoicism – but she also learns that suppressing emotions entirely isn’t a recipe for success. By the end of the novel, she’s a touch less prudent and more willing to express her feelings.

Elinor was famously played by Emma Thompson in the 1995 film (with Hugh Grant as a bumbling Edward), for which Thompson also won a screenplay Oscar.

6. Mrs Norris – Mansfield Park

Perhaps Austen’s most unpleasant character (sometimes comically so), largely detested by readers, is Mrs Norris in Mansfield Park.

When poor, ten-year-old Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives – Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram – it is her aunt Mrs Norris (the elder sister of Lady Bertram and Fanny’s mother) who makes her life a misery. The self-centred and money-grabbing Norris meddles and bullies the young protagonist, even going so far as disallowing a fire to be lit in Fanny’s freezing bedroom. She reminds young Fanny daily of her low status in the household, perhaps to make herself feel better about her own parasitic position.

Eventually, Norris gets her comeuppance and is disgraced and banished from the family circle. (Austen loved bringing her villains down a social peg or two.)

7. Anne Elliot – Persuasion

Jane Austen's final completed novel, Persuasion, follows Anne Elliot who, eight years earlier, was encouraged to break off her engagement to naval officer Captain Frederick Wentworth. Her family and good friend considered him a poor match – but she always regretted the decision. However, despite her disappointment (and status as “spinster”) Anne isn’t bitter. Now, Wentworth has money and an impressive naval career under his belt, and the pair have a second chance at love when their social orbits happen to realign…

At 27, Anne is Austen’s oldest heroine. She is intelligent, gentle, quiet, wise and resilient. She doesn’t need to hustle or scheme to win Wentworth back – the protagonist’s enduring love speaks for itself.

Helen Fielding has said that her novel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason draws heavily on Persuasion, especially the idea of following your heart for another shot at happily-ever-after. A 2022 movie saw Anne played by Dakota Johnson.