Timeless Women Authors

Books have been an important part of my life, earlier as a reading passion and now as profession. My reading journey was enriched with some great women authors who are as influential today as almost a century or two ago.

The two great women authors whose work inspires me are – Jane Austen & Ayn Rand. Their profound work is today studied as literary bibles across the world. Coming from diverse backgrounds and forward thinking, they were able to bring to us their visionary thought process and revolutionary work.

I wish to salute these women authors for their contributions that we today enjoy as rich literature.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English Novelist and published her work early in the eighteenth century. She has many known novels to her credit including Sense and sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, but my all-time favourite is Pride & Prejudice. Jane’s novels speak of feminism, societal impressions and depict an era.

I am awed by her work and literary skill, as well as her passion and determination to write forthright in the era that did not motivate women to write or publish as a profession, and their literary skill was considered to be degrading their femininity.

Jane represents the era where women were not allowed to take writing as profession and needed a male relative to sign their publishing contract. Jane wrote in pseudo name and had to publish her books anonymously. Her brother Henry helped her in this endeavour.

Today, we are free willing citizens with freedom of expression and I salute to this woman author who brought us her rich work despite of the then societal restrictions on women. I enjoy reading her writing style and her diction, given the fact that she was not professionally trained to write, but read books and was home schooled. She relied on reading literature as the only form of education. Her parents could not afford her sister and her education and thus, she depended on her father's library as well as that of a family friend.

Her epic novel Pride and Prejudice has been adapted to movies in almost three variations. My favourite being the 2005 one. But, the book itself is rich and spell-binding culmination of value systems, social statuses, sense of righteousness entwined into a love story that has enchanted people for the last two centuries.

The lead characters in the movie Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are her immemorable creation and much adored.

 Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American author and has left us her two masterpieces – The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I have read Fountain Head twice and Atlas shrugged once. These books take you to an imaginary and parallel world that is captivating. The deep research, character sketches and their environment are exemplary.

Having read the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged novels distinguishes the reader from the world. It is like knowing a secret that enlightens you, that the world is oblivious about. My personal favourite is The Fountain Head.

Thanks to Ayn Rand for introducing us the character Howard Roark and objectivism, a philosophical concept of a man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life and productive achievement.

The protagonist, Howard Roark has been a role model to me. He has lived life his way and never once wanted to follow any one. He is an idealist and succumbs to his own talent for it is forward of time and not accepted. He is challenged by an entire system that is just impersonating. Howard falters and rises in this passionately motivating journey that endears.

And though there are many other women authors who are remarkable, I find my inspiration from these two.