Human Science
Register
Advertisement

There are several key factors that attract luck in our lives -- one of which are acts of goodness. When one engages in selfless and self-giving behavior, life tends to respond with overwhelming good fortune to our person. In each of three novels by author Jane Austin, an act of goodness changes the life of the heroine forever through the institution of marriage.

Near the end of Pride and Prejudice, Eliza Bennett shows her gratitude to Fitzwilliam Darcy for the effort he made in saving her family's reputation. He in turn most unexpectedly responds with a proposal of marriage, when she thought her family's behavior had disgusted him and he therefore no longer had any interest in her. They are thus happily married, and as a result her family come into a huge fortune.

In Sense and Sensibility, Elinor Dashwood showed an act of kindness very early on in the story by relieving a servant girl of unnecessary work that instantaneously attracts Edward Ferrars for the first time out of nowhere -- not two feet from her (!) -- who would later marry her.

In Persuasion, Anne Elliot shows deep empathy for Captain Harville's love for his beloved wife whom he must return to on occasion after long, one year commissions at sea, which instantly attracts a completely unexpected love letter from Captain Frederick Wentworth, which leads to their sudden engagement and marriage. Again, she thought he had no interest in her anymore. In each case, a profound act of gratitude, kindness, and empathy -- three forms of goodness -- attract a powerful response that instantly turns the entire story -- leading to the joyous outcome of marriage for each of the heroines.

Life for us in the real world is precisely the same. When we look out at life through the eyes of others, sudden good fortune moves in our direction, as we now have shifted from the limited plane of ego to the universal plane, where our deepest aspirations are instantaneously fulfilled.


--Roy Posner 19:43, 20 August 2008 (UTC)


See also other Case Studies on Life Response



You are invited to create new articles, add new sections to this article, raise questions or comments on the discussion page or project/portal Forum page, or send feedback by email to humansciencewiki@gmail.com



http://server3.web-stat.com/4/humanscience.gif

H

Advertisement