Montaigne and Austen Essay: Two Different Styles of Writing

The mind is a glorious thing.  It creates wonderful things but sometimes it can't exactly get everything down that it wants to.  Stream of consciousness is ever so present throughout our ever day life and our writing as well.  David Foster Wallace says "What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."  This is very noticeable in Montaigne's essays with his style of writing.  His jumping from topic to topic showcases all the different thoughts present in his mind.  Austen, however, shows a straight and narrow style of writing, which normally doesn't stray from the subject.  Both authors have a very different point of view and a very different style.

Stream of consciousness, reflecting the writing of our own thought process, is very present in Montaigne's essays.  Montaigne strays from one subject to the next, with one essay starting with vehicles then moving onto the cruelty Spain inflicted onto the Native Americans.  "So it is with minds.”  Montaigne says, “Unless you keep them busy with some definite subject that will bridle and control them, they throw themselves in disorder hither and yon in the vague field of imagination... And there is no mad or idle fancy that they do not bring forth in the agitation."  His mind’s greatest contribution when he was “controlling” it was his writing, no matter how far it strays.  He couldn’t, however, control his thoughts and subjects while he was “bridling” his mind.  His stream of consciousness style gives us insight as to how his mind works no matter how irrelevant the subject may appear to be everything is interconnected. 

Stream of consciousness writing is not for everyone, however.  Jane Austen didn’t use this technique in writing Pride and Prejudice, but she did show her character’s thoughts in third person omniscient.  Her characters thoughts didn’t stray so much as Montaigne’s to say the least… Austen’s writing is very formal, much like Montaigne, but her writing is to the point.  She writes as if she is watching the Bennets go about their ever day life and all the twists and turns the 18^th century family encounters.  The twist Austen put into her book isn’t exactly unrelated to her subject but does show some mystery and dramatic irony.

Austen and Montaigne have completely different styles.  Montaigne shows a stream of consciousness writing technique that focuses on whatever subject comes into his mind.  Austen, however, wrote Pride and Prejudice in third person omniscient where she dealt with having to write out character’s thoughts but not in the way Montaigne shows his own.  The two may not be in the same literary category but both showcase some amazing writing.