My son found my 6 hour VHS Pride and Prejudice box set this week (you know, the one with Colin Firth), and insisted we watch it together, much to my delight. So each night this week, we watched some of it until we completed it this morning. It got me in the mind of the time I accidentally stood on Jane Austen. In case you’re in the dark, she was the author of the novel, Pride and Prejudice, of which the movie is a faithful depiction.

When I visited England with my family just after graduating from college in 1994, I was particularly fond of all the stops that involved writers I had studied in the course of my English Literature and Creative Writing major. More on those in another post.

But when we visited Winchester Cathedral, my attention was suddenly captured by a window dedicated to the memory of Jane Austen. It’s a beautiful church, to be sure, as are just about all of the old churches in England. I excitedly abandoned whatever I had been admiring and dashed between pews to read the plaque. I looked up, rapt in study, until I was satisfied to step back slowly. It was only then that I looked down and realized that someone was buried under the church floor, as they are apt to do in some European churches. I had been standing on someone’s grave, much to my regret and surprise.

I never know the protocol on this, by the way. If anyone can enlighten me, I’ll be most grateful. I’ve known since I was small that we don’t step or walk upon graves in a cemetery, as it is disrespectful. But what are we to do when someone is actually buried in a floor? Floors are made for walking and standing. Are we to tiptoe around and not step directly on the person’s final resting place? I know not. But my tendency is certainly to err on the side of respect and caution, avoiding the flat stone marking the grave.

But as I stepped back from this particular stone, I saw that it was not just someone buried there. It was Jane herself.  I leapt off quickly, apologizing to her silently. I am sure I was not the first or last to stand on her. But while I am deeply sorry for having trod upon her unintentionally, I am also honored to have been at her final resting place, given my great love for her most famous work.

-Perrin Cothran Conrad, Azalea Travel