I observe that, for some reasons, human beings love to think that their heroes are truly larger than life, and simultaneously humanize them so that these heroes are still somewhat within reach. Something like that.

In the case of Jane Austen, of course she had to have a fiery romance in her life.. with all those inspiring romance-heavy books she'd written. Must've been a larger-than-life romance. Yet, the romance was believed faltered.. because she needed that broken heart to be more mortal. She couldn't have had it all.

You see how that is a much more intriguing picture than a simple spinster with great imagination and impeccable writing skills.

My hunch tells me that Austen must've had some heart-wrenching love tragedy in her life, whether it was LeFroy or the mysterious sea captain or some other men we'd never know. I share birthday with her, and the mad Beethoven. Great love tragedies are something, that for some reason, not exactly an anomaly for people born on that day. My only hope is that, unlike my brethren, I'll get to walk the aisle once in my life.