If Jane Austen Wrote The Office

If Jane Austen wrote The Office, it would be a comedy of manners in which several characters were obvious buffoons, and the wittier characters were constantly inviting us to join them as they saw through the silly people with whom they were forced to interact. It would take place inside of a social and economic system which the author never directly analyzed or critiqued, but which provided the whole framework for all the action and most of the humor. If Jane Austen wrote The Office, there would be some kind of husband-hunt plot as the most serious element of the drama, and it would involve the smartest, most sympathetic characters in the show. They would have to overcome an obstacle to their relationship which seems at first to be an external problem, but is resolved when both of them –no, mainly just the woman– becomes aware that she has been deceiving herself for years.