Dr. Haecker - A Feminist Reading of Jane Austen

     During my reading of “Pride and Prejudice,” I was fascinated by Jane Austen’s commentary on gender roles and the fragility of a woman's reputation. After Lydia runs off with Mr. Wickham, Mary notes, “Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin.” Austen brilliantly illustrates in this moment how society treated women. This idea of a woman being destroyed through one poor decision can be seen in various literature, often as a way to show women the disastrous consequences of stepping out of line. 

    In fact, when Doctor Dorothy Haecker first read Jane Austen, she feared this exact outcome. Dr. Haecker stated, “She [Austen] scared me to death at first. I kept thinking something terrible would happen to her outspoken heroines.” 

    Dr. Haecker is a feminist philosophy professor at the University of the Incarnate Word with an illustrious career of standing for social justice and equality. And this career of bravery began with Austen, “Well, I think she was one of the first women writers I ever read. She nourished my secret courage; she nourished the seed of feminism within me that wouldn't bloom for more than a decade after I read the first book.” 

Dr. Dorothy Haecker, Philosophy Professor at UIW

    Throughout Austen’s stories, there are, as Dr. Haecker put it, “outspoken heroines,” and Elizabeth is one of these heroines. But Austen does not punish Elizabeth for her outspoken nature; she instead finds true love because of her courage. For Dr. Haecker, this was the beginning of her seeking to become like Jane Austen’s heroines, and the beginning of Dr. Haecker’s journey to become the awe-inspiring figure she is today. 

    
“I waited to see if I would ever find a real woman in my real life as defiant as her 'fictionally real' women. At last, I did, and then I aspired to become one myself. That's my story.”