In Which I Sally, Like a Good Heroine

Queen Jane

Jane Austen, Queen of All Things Good, once wrote, “If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” I’ve studied Northanger Abbey twice in two different classes, so I think I can interpret this with some kind of authority.* There’s this great literary tradition of the “sally.” Basically what this means is that the protagonist has to get out of dodge before they can Know Themselves and get wherever or whatever it is they’re supposed to get. In Northanger Abbey, Catherine Moorland has to go to Bath and beyond (it took all of my self control not to type “bed” before that phrase), Jane Eyre has to leave Thornfield, and Harry’s gotta say goodbye to Hogwarts before he can really get anything done.**

Because I have always aspired to be the heroine of a Jane Austen novel, and because I love to travel and want to challenge myself, I’ve decided I’m going to follow in the footsteps of a million people, both fictional and not. I’m going to sally. A month from now I board a plane bound for London by way of Iceland, and it will be at least four months before I come back. Am I scared? Terrified. Am I excited? Beyond belief. I’m hoping that by forcing this sally on myself I can undergo a little character development of my own. I don’t need to find a husband or defeat You Know Who. Nothing so grand. I just want to gain a little bit more knowledge about me. With the wisdom of Jane on my side, what could go wrong?

*I’m gonna call my own BS on this. I kinda know what I’m talking about. A little.

**It feels like plagiarism if I don’t credit the professor who put all of this knowledge into my brain, so thanks, Professor Ramos.