“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” -Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
One of the difficulties that comes with the decision to move to an unfamiliar place is leaving behind the comfortability of ground already walked on, paths already made. However, if I have learned anything from the excitement of my first month studying abroad in Oxford, England, it has been to remember the importance of grounding yourself, seen as a consistent theme in the literature that I am studying through characters going on walks. To walk in solitude, thinking, clearing the mind, or to walk in the company of another, learning how to navigate each other and the earth that lies beneath their feet, writers write familiar paths, and their characters walk on them. For knowledge, for inspiration, for familiarity, I am doing the same.
From Virginia Woolf to Jane Austen to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, some of the most renowned writers in England send their characters on walks through various parts of the country that they all knew well, spanning across literary genres: Mrs. Dalloway walks through London to buy flowers, Sherlock Holmes too runs through the streets of London solving crimes, Catherine Morland parades herself through Bath. As a literature and creative writing student, I have walked through the same streets and cities as the characters in the novels that I study, in the country where prominent writers called home. In a way, following the themes that these talented writers have incorporated into their work has not only inspired my own writing, but it has also helped me to ground myself amidst seeking my own adventures abroad.
The Royal Crescent, Bath, England – Mentioned in various Jane Austen novels (Left) Topping & Company Booksellers, Bath, England (Right)
While participating in literature and creative writing courses during my time in Oxford, I have the unique experience of reading late nineteenth and early twentieth century novels, attending the various landmarks mentioned in the texts, and walking in the footsteps of both the fictitious characters and the creative minds behind their existence.
I am not only finding creative inspiration from studying and writing in the same places as universally known authors, but I am also learning a much greater tool for my mind: slowing down, staying grounded in the present. Adventure and inspiration both can appear at any moment, in any place. The opportunities presented to me through my studies in England have broadened my perspectives as both a student and as an individual, constantly growing and changing, in some ways like the young heroines in Jane Austen novels and Brontë stories, going for walks and learning more about themselves. I not only walk through Bath, through London, through Salisbury, but also on my daily commute to class in Oxford, to coffee shops to complete my own writing. Through the sun, through the very typical England rain, I walk. I walk toward the adventures of being abroad, as Jane Austen suggested, and each step brings new opportunities, new memories, new experiences.
Walking to Stonehenge, England
Moving to unfamiliar ground and starting over can be daunting yet extremely rewarding. Life can become busy, like streets that start winding in different directions. When this happens, plant your feet on the ground, on the earth below that is stable and consistent and affirming, even if it’s new territory. Writers write what we know, and what readers can relate to; create paths on roads not yet crossed. That is where inspiration strikes, where adventure begins.
Ivy S. is an english literature and creative writing & publishing double major with a film minor, and is studying abroad at St. Clare’s, Oxford.
*Content was Curated by Scout K*
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