A question continuously up for debate is that of what makes Jane Austen solely Jane Austen? Is it her witty banter? Or the topics of class and manners? Or is it the development of romance? Is it the bondage of marriage between two unlikely individuals? Or is it the power of the subtle touch of a hand, a glance, or a presence that says everything?

What has been found is that all of that which has been described belong to a lifestyle, a trend of culture, a period of time. They belong to Austen’s culture, not to her literary period, making her writing so unique and all her own. It is that of the Regency era which resides in Austen’s writings and consumes her characters’ lives, permeating their actions, words (or lack thereof), and style. Austen uses this style of writing, though in the midst of the Romantic literary period, to exaggerate the culture as to make the public aware of their ignorance and pettiness. But, as it tends to pan out, there were audiences whom the satire escaped, leaving them even more so infatuated with the trend. Somehow, this limited perspective has found its way over to the 21^st century, where the overwhelming majority of Austen’s audience can be painted to be women that dream of romantic evenings at balls, who desire elegance and accomplishment, and lust for love like Elizabeth and Darcy. But, just as Austen satirizes the culture of the Regency era—notions of true love and manners—the film “Austenland,” directed by Jerusha Hess, pokes fun at her interpretation of the modern day fan’s infatuation with the Regency era and how it has been transformed from a sardonic historical lifestyle into an idealized way of life by Austen fans.

The Jane Austen fandom hosts a diverse community, dividing itself into many sects, but it is the group of fans that take Austen’s worlds literally and desire it as their own, for all of its superficiality, which the film criticizes. The Regency era embodies the spirit of superficiality, from heavy topics such as annual income to trivial actions such as playing the pianoforte. But it is in “Austenland” that the film portrays this sect of fandom in its extreme, imagining its members as desperate, delusional, lovesick women that believe that the Regency way of life will bring them fulfillment and ultimately love. The film depicts that the fans’ definitive goal is love, their sole purpose for their obsession. Hess imagines fans in three categories—ignorant, obsessive, educated—represented respectively through the characters of Miss Elizabeth Charming, Lady Amelia Heartwright, and Jane Hayes.

Hess expresses immediately what her vision of an ignorant fan epitomizes, beginning with its appearance. The moment the audience meets Miss Elizabeth Charming, before she even speaks, she is considered outrageous by her manner of dress: flaunting a tight, hot pink blouse, skirt, and a hot pink hat, with exaggerated makeup as to compensate for her age. As the film persists, the viewers continue to discover Miss Charming’s lack of knowledge in Jane Austen and her novels, as well as her lack of intelligence in its entirety. There is a moment in one particular scene where the three women are reading "Pride and Prejudice" and as it comes her time to read aloud, she begins to improvise a sex scene but is quickly interrupted by Jane Hayes, explaining that that behavior was inappropriate for that time. Miss Charming also attempts Regency expressions in an English accent throughout the film, but they most always tend to be misused and/or misplaced. Her animated attempts to personify this time period usually go awry because of her lack of knowledge and her inability to commit to character, because her lust for love is too strong. This is exhibited through her impatience with Regency pastimes such as sewing and painting because there “aren’t any men around,” as well as breaking Austenland decorum by speaking and acting inappropriately by flirting with the men. Throughout the film, Miss Charming’s layers continue to shed, revealing to the audience that she is a woman whose sole purpose in embarking on this immersive journey in Austenland is because she’s lonely and hopes to find love, not because she enjoys Austen’s works. It’s as if she has resorted to this method so that she can find true love—because it’s during this time that romance swelled, as she has been influenced to believe. Conclusively, Hess uses Miss Charming to represent the bandwagon fan as she imagines some fans to be.

Another presumed type of fan that Hess seeks to critique is the obsessive type, the type that goes to great lengths to become a member of Austen’s fictional world. Lady Amelia Heartwright, throughout the majority of the film, is assumed to be an Englishwoman who is familiar with the arts of pianoforte, painting, and sewing. It isn’t until the immersive journey has come to an end that Miss Heartwright reveals her American accent and explains that she has had a drama teacher for the past two years helping to develop this character—and also that she is married to an older man. Her character always seems to be astonished by the inappropriate actions of Miss Charming and improper situations that Jane is found in. Her acute awareness and adherence to the Regency lifestyle isn’t fully appreciated until the end of the film, discovering that she has gone to great lengths to perfect this character, exposing her obsession. But, the few moments where her textbook character was broken were in instants of lust and in the opportunities to act on it. It is in this character that Hess ventures to represent the obsessive type of fan that seems to believe that if they live a life similar to one in Austen’s novels, they too will find true love. This assumption is underlined by the fact that Miss Heartwright is already married, yet she seeks out the Regency period to find love.

The final image of an Austen fan that Hess seeks to critique is that of the educated and almost snobbish sort. These are the individuals that are equipped to answer any and all Jane Austen trivia as well as quote every line of any Austen novel and are most likely to own excessive amounts collectible items and Austen paraphernalia. They see themselves intellectually above individuals who are content with reality, victimizing themselves as being misunderstood because it is Austen they understand as the true reality. It is in the first scene of “Austenland” that Hess illustrates the development of an educated Austen sense of reality through the main character, Jane Hayes. She has grown up infatuated with Austen’s novels and, consequently, has suffered relationally due to the lack of presence she has in the real world and to her partners’ lack of understanding of Austen’s world. Jane becomes so exhausted with trying to fit into reality that she decides to spend all of her savings to escape to what she believes is the real world, to Austenland—the Regency era—where she may find someone that finally understands her. It is in Austenland that all of Jane’s ideals of an Austen world come to existence: balls, fancy dinners, feminine accomplishments, manners, and elegance. Through these ideals, her character strives to parallel her experience to the novel, at times pushed to shouting, “this is not Regency appropriate,” when modern-day trivialities attempt to intersect. Jane’s strife to make her immersive journey a textbook experience seems to be rooted in a desire to find true, passionate love. It seems to be her belief that if she follows some formula, the equation to life and love will make itself known. Her desperation to leave the real world behind her to experience something greater appears driven by her longing to be understood, ultimately by a man.

The mission statement of Austenland, as told by Mrs. Waddlesbrook, is as follows:

“What separates the casual Jane Austen fan from the aficionado? Is it her admiration for the style and manners of the Regency era? The number of times she has read Austen's novels? Or her consuming love for Mr. Darcy? ...A true aficionado of Austen does so much more than merely read her novels and admire her world from afar. She finds her way here to the world's only immersive Austen experience.”

Hess’ purpose in this film is clear; it’s to critique what she imagines Jane Austen fans to embody in its most exaggerated form. Her mode of critique comes through her character Jane Hayes who acts as a reality check despite her initial denial of reality. While in Austenland, her character develops, realizing that this fantastical world doesn’t exist, no matter how immersive it may be. She realizes this infatuation of an ideal world has blinded her from seeing what’s truly around her and what all it has limited her from experiencing. She discovers that the reason why relationships did not work in the past was because her inability to be immersed in the life she was living. Hess attempts to educate Austen fans, as she imagines them to be, and to end their search for love in Austen’s world—the Regency era, a time she satirized—and begin to live in their own life, for they may have their own “fantasy” right before their eyes.