Do you believe people can change? Can they change in essence? As a writer of Jane Austen inspired works, it’s a question that I’ve thought of a lot.
My answer is yes and no. People can change, but not under their own power. Austen doesn’t tell us that her characters that undergo growth commit themselves to God and cry out in prayer. I think that goes without saying when you look at her own beliefs. But let’s argue for a moment that they don’t do those things. There’s no denying that some of them genuinely *want* to change. They recognize their shortcomings and desire to turn from their ways and go on a different path. What or WHO put that desire there?
Mr. Darcy could recognize that he needed to change to be a man worthy of a respectable woman, regardless of ever getting a chance with Elizabeth Bennet again. By contrast, Mr. Willoughby blames everyone else for his mistakes and makes it plain that he could not change his ways even for his beloved Marianne. Henry Crawford is in a similar position, with Austen adding that if he *had* done what was right, then he would have earned Fanny’s hand.
The key to a satisfying life is to recognize that you are just the clay in the hands of the potter. However, God is a gentleman and he doesn’t just barge in and take over your life. You have to ask for him to come and rule over it. Yield to His hands. I believe all those that honestly ask Him to change them, will see their prayer answered.
But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.Isaiah 64:8
Rose Fairbanks 
Amen
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