Words can’t even try to explain all of the intricate thoughts contained in the human mind. This is an idea coined by David Foster Wallace in “Good Old Neon”, but one that is widely proved through everything from conversations with a friend to classic literature. Montaigne’s amorphous essays supports this theory, however Jane Austen’s structured style finds a way around Wallace’s theory.
Montaigne’s collection of diverse essays is a unique piece of literature. Not only because it was written hundreds of years ago and still read today, but also because it is a prime example of stream of consciousness. He writes as if his words were the thoughts that immediately jumped to his mind when he began each random topic. Each essay contains no uniform type of structure and are big mixes of short choppy sentences and long run on paragraphs. Almost as random as his syntax is his essay topics, he discusses everything from friendship to cannibals to smells in his judgmental, all-knowing tone. His random topics and sentence structure mimic the flow of the human brain, however his tendency to jump from topic to topic and “barely sketch the outlines” of his complete ideas. Thus supporting Wallace’s theory that words can barely scratch the surface of the complexity that is the human mind.
Jane Austen, on the other hand, took a structured approach to expressing her ideas, which, even though more relevant for her time, were as profound as Montaigne’s. Austen conveys her controversial message of women’s worth through the mouths and actions of her fictional characters. But primarily she takes advantage of third person omnificent to show the true thoughts of the characters. Those thoughts play the biggest part in developing Austen’s profound theme. She tailors the released thoughts of her characters to express the theme she wants, going against Wallace’s theory. Her ability to portray her ideas through a understandable storyline finds fault in the notion that the brain is too complex to map.
Jane Austen and Montaigne both partake in the expression of profound ideas, however each takes a unique approach. Montaigne’s collection of essays proves that the mind is complex and unorganized, because his thoughts are jumbled and random. Austen has a clear cut plan to express her ideas and uses this structured method to disprove Wallace’s theory. Wallace is correct in saying that the brain is complex, however words may have the ability to organize this mess of thoughts if put in able hands.
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