KFPL Live presents Jane Austen’s Bad Boys

Valentine’s Day is about a month away. During the pandemic it certainly won’t feel the same. Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL) says that people are returning to literary classics in search of examples of romance thriving despite the stresses of physical distancing.

“One could argue that dating has again become something done with careful and minimal touching, with one’s behaviour closely observed and discussed by those around you, just like in Regency England,” Anne Hall, Librarian, Programming & Outreach at KFPL said in a media release dated Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2021. 

“Jane Austen’s novels show the intense pressure on women to make a proper marriage, navigating society’s formal rules to judge from among the suitors available to them, even while fighting their own romantic urges,” Hall continued. “Her male characters include romantics, scoundrels and worthy-but-dull parental favourites. Even though marriage may no longer be the goal, we can still recognize those personalities in today’s romantic candidates, and the need to be wary of falling for the wrong person. Would you be attracted by Darcy or by Wickham? Are individuals like Willoughby, Elliot, Crawford and Tilney familiar types even in today’s dating landscape?”

Jane Austen’s Bad Boys, a talk by Dr. Erin Weinberg who teaches English literature at RMC, Brandon University and Corpus Christi College, will reveal how Austen’s heroines sort out who’s their best choice, according to the release. A lively discussion will follow, and participants will vote who holds the title of Austen’s “baddest bad boy”.

Jane Austen’s Bad Boys will take place online from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. Register for this interactive session online at calendar.kfpl.ca or by phone at (613) 549-8888.  A Zoom link will be emailed upon registration.