JANE AUSTEN

By Nicole Mann

BIOGRAPHY

Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, England.

Out of eight children, she was seventh and the second daughter (of two). Jane

was the daughter of Rev. George Austen and his wife Cassandra; he had a fairly

respectable income of almost £600 per year which was supplemented by

tutoring pupils who came to live with him. Rev. Austen wasn’t rich, and like

Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Bennet, couldn’t have given his daughters much to

marry with.

In 1783 at age 8, and her elder sister Cassandra went briefly to Oxford to be

taught by their uncle’s sister and then moved to Southampton. They were

brought home when an infectious disease broke out where they were staying.

Two years later, Jane and her sister went to the boarding school in Reading, and

this was her only education outside her family, where she and Cassandra

learned to draw and play the piano.

Jane read quite a few of the serious and popular literature of the day, and was very familiar eighteenth century novels. She frequently red Richardson’s Sir Charles Grandison and enjoyed Fanny Burney, also known as Madame D’Arblay

In 1782 and 1784, the Austen family staged plays at Steventon rectory, and three years later more elaborate productions were put on at the rectory through the influence of Eliza de Feuillide, Jane’s sophisticated adult cousin

Austen wrote her Juvenilia from 1787 to 1793, which includes many humorous parodies of literature of the day, including Love and Friendship. This collection contains three volumes and was written for her family’s amusement, and most of the stories are dedicated to her family and friends

From 1795 to 1799, Jane began and worked on the earlier versions of novels that would come to be published as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey. During this period, their tentative titles were Elinor and Marianna, First Impressions, and Susan respectively. It is likely that Lady Susan was written around this time.

In 1797 First Impresstions/Pride and Prejudice was offered to a publisher by Rev. Austen, but the publisher declined to look at the manuscript.

Jane enjoyed social events, and her earlier letters talk about dances and parties, along with plays she attended. A famous statement by one Mrs. Mitford says that Jane was the “Prettiest, silliest, most affected, husband-hunting butterfly she ever remembers”.

However, it is possible that Mitford had a jealousy against Austen, and this description does not seem to fit the Jane Austen who wrote The Three Sisters before she turned 18.

There is little evidence of any serious relationships with men. She did have a mutual flirtation with Thomas Lefroy in 1795-96, but it was known that he couldn’t afford to marry her. Afterwards, Mrs. Lefroy, a close friend of Jane’s and Thomas’s aunt, attempted to set Austen up with Rev. Samuel Blackall, but Jane had very little interest in him.

At the age of 70, Rev. Austen decided to suddenly retire to Bath in late 1800, and the Austen family moved there the following year. This was the time where Jane’s most enigmatic romantic incident took place.

All that is known of this is what her sister Cassandra told nieces after Jane’s death, and nothing was written down until after that.

A better-known incident occurred on December 2, 1802, while Jane and Cassandra were staying with the Bigg family at Manydown. Harris Bigg-Wither, six years younger than Jane, proposed and she accepted. However, she did not love him. The next day she and her sister suddenly showed up at Steventon, where James was the clergyman, and asked to be taken out of the Bath neighborhood the next day. It was socially embarrassing, but Jane wasn’t seriously affected.

None of Jane’s June 1801 – August 1804 letters to Cassandra mentioned these incidents, and none have survived. Jane, like Cassandra, never married.

Jane Austen sold Northanger Abbey, at the time titled Susan, to a publisher for the small sum of £10 in 1803. the publisher chose not to publish it, and it did not appear in print for 14 years. Jane likely began The Watsons toward the end of the Bath years, but this novel was abandoned before it was completed.

Jane’s father died in January 1805. As would have been the case for the Bennet family of Pride and Prejudice had Mr. Bennet died, the income of the remaining family (Mrs. Austen, Cassandra and Jane) was reduced considerably. Most of Mr. Austen’s income came primarily form his clerical “livings” which lapsed with his death. The remaining family depended on their brothers for support, and a small sum of money left to Cassandra by her fiancé, and had an annual income of about £450.

In late 1805, Martha Lloyd, sister of James’s wife, came to live with Mrs. Austen, Cassandra, and Jane after her mother died.

The Austen women moved first from Bath to Clifton, then later in the year to Southampton. Jane was glad to leave Bath, and the family was close to Frank and Charles.

In 1809 they moved again to Chawton, where their brother Edward gave them a house on one of his estates.

Sense and Sensibility was published in late 1810 or early 1811, and appeared anonymously “By a Lady”. Only Jane’s immediate family knew she was the author, as stated in Fanny Knight’s diary from September 28, 1811.

There were favorable reviews of this book, and Jane earned £140 on the first edition.

Proud of this success, Jane went back to revising First Impressions, which eventually became Pride and Prejudice. Her “own darling child” was sold in late 1812 and published in January 1813. By 1812 she had begun Mansfield Park and was still working in 1813.

At this time, it became more widely known that she was an author. After her brother found Pride and Prejudice was praised in Scotland, he told those he knew who had written the novel.

After the first edition, which Jane sold for £110, she did not receive any more money from the book as she had sold the copyright outright.

The second edition of Sense and Sensibility followed Pride and Prejudice’s second edition in 1813, and in mid-1814, Mansfield Park was published and sold out in six months. By this time, Jane had begun working on Emma.

Jane’s brother Henry acted as Jane’s go-between with publishers, and she occasionally stayed with him in London to revise proof-sheets.

At Steventon, she and Cassandra had a dressing room next to their bedroom. Jane used this room to write her Juvenilia and other novels in privacy. From Chawton comes the famous creaking door. Jane requested not to have this fixed in order to alert her if anyone was approaching, so she could hide her manuscripts.

Emma was published in December 1815, dedicated to the Prince Regent. Unfortunately, the second edition of Mansfield Park was not a success, and the losses from that book took most of the profits from Emma.

Jane began Persuasion in 1815 and finished it the following year, although at that time she became increasingly unwell. Earlier in 1816 her brother Henry’s business went bankrupt, and Edward lost £20,000

Sanditon was begun in 1817, however she had to stop in March. Jane created her will on April 27, 1817 and left almost everything to Cassandra. Almost a month later she moved to Winchester for medical reasons., and she died there on Friday, July 18, 1817. She was 41. it is unknown what caused her death, but it is very likely it was Addison’s disease.

Jane was buried in Winchester Cathedral on July 24, 1817.

In memory ofJANE AUSTEN,

youngest daughter of the lateRevd. GEORGE AUSTEN,

formerly Rector of Steventon in this County.She departed this Life on the 18th July 1817,aged 41, after a long illness supported withthe patience and the hopes of a Christian.

The benevolence of her heart,the sweetness of her temper, and

the extraordinary endowments of her mindobtained the regard of all who knew her, andthe warmest love of her intimate connections.

Their grief is in proportion to their affectionthey know their loss to be irreparable,

but in the deepest affliction they are consoledby a firm though humble hope that her charity,

devotion, faith and purity have renderedher soul acceptable in the sight of her

REDEEMER.

JANE’S SIBLINGS

Jane’s eldest brother James was studious and left for Oxford University in

1779, at the age of 14. he was ordained a clergyman in 1787 and had some

literary pretensions, as in 1789-1790 he helped edit a university magazine at

Oxford. He took on the duties of this father’s parish after Rev. Austen retired. His daughter, named Anna, was Jane’s first niece, and some pieces in

Austen’s Juvenilia are dedicated to her Anna’s half-siblings James Edward and Caroline went on to write memoirs

of their aunt

Edward, Jane’s second brother was business-like, and around 1780 was

adopted by Thomas and Catherine Knight, rich childless cousins of the

Austens. He eventually inherited their estate and took the last name ‘Knight’. His eldest daughter, Fanny, was along with Anna one of Jane’s favorite

nieces. After Jane’s death, Fanny married a baronet who went on to edit the first edition on her aunt Jane’s letters.

Henry was Jane’s third oldest and favorite brother. Although he was enthusiastic in his pursuits and witty, he wasn’t always successful. He saw the novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey to the press after his sister’s death.

Cassandra was Austen’s only sister, and the person she was closest to. After her fiancé’s death, she never married. Like Jane, she often visited her brothers and their families.

Frank and Charles, her youngest brothers, enlisted in the Royal Naval Academy when they were 12, fought in the navy during the Napoleonic wars, and both eventually became admirals

JANE’S FRIENDS

J

ane was closest to her elder sister Cassandra, and neither of them married.

They often visited their brothers and relatives together, and would write

letters if they were apart.

J

ane’s favorite nieces were Fanny Knight and Anna Austen. They exchanged

letters regularly.

M

rs. Lefroy was a close older friend of Jane’s. She was also the aunt of Thomas

Lefroy, a love interest of Jane. Lefroy attempted to set Jane up with a

Reverend, however, she wasn’t interested.

JANE’S ENGAGEMENTJ

ane was engaged once, to a Harry Bigg-Wither. However, they were not

engaged for long. Austen did not love him, and later reversed her

decision.

A

usten was also involved in a relationship with a mystery man when she

and her family were visiting Lyme. Cassandra spoke extremely high of

him, and the Austen family believed he was going to be a successful

suitor. They parted, but the man told Jane he would be sure to find her

again. Shortly afterwards, the Austens learned of the man’s death. This

story was passed down through what Cassandra told her nieces after

Jane’s death, and for years afterwards nothing was written down.

JANE’S LIFE IN WRITING

J

ane’s life draws many parallels to Pride and Prejudice. Her father

couldn’t give his daughters much to marry with, and when he

died, the family income would be seriously reduced.

A

nne Elliot of Persuasion mirrors Austen’s preferences, as she

admires the seaside town of Bath more so than Lyme. In this

novel, there are also naval families which are portrayed positively.

Jane had two brothers in the Navy.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1811)

T

his novel contrasts two sisters – Marianne and Elinor. Marianne believes in love at

first sight while Elinor is more sensible. After the girls’ father dies, their brother

inherits the estate and they are sent to a distant relative’s home, where they

experience romance and heartbreak – encountering the sense and sensibility of

love and life along the way to happiness.

A

lthough it is filled with real Austen touches, it is not considered her best novel.

J

ane’s work on this book was said to have begun before 1797 under the working

title of Elinor and Marianne.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1813)

P

ride and Prejudice portrays the misunderstandings and eventual relationship between

Elizabeth Bennet and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy.

O

f many things it could mean, the book’s title is typically said to describe the views of

both Elizabeth and Darcy of each other when they first meet and through a portion of

the story.

J

ane Austen called this book her “own dear child”, and as has been the most popular of

her novels

E

lizabeth was one of Austen’s favorite characters. In a letter she said “I must confess

that I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be

able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know”.

MANSFIELD PARK (1814)

P

oor Fanny Price is brought up in the household of her rich aunt and uncle

Bertram, but only her cousin Edmund cares to help her with the

difficulties she faces from the rest of her cousins and their parents. When

the fashionable Henry and Mary Crawford visit Mansfield Park, each of

the eligible Bertram family members and Fanny are morally tested.

I

n this story, Jane Austen alludes to slavery, however she does not

outright say so. When Sir Thomas Bertrand must visit his plantation in

Antigua, it is implied that he is a slave owner. It is apparent that Austen

knew it was a controversial subject at the time.

EMMA (1815)

E

mma tells the story of Emma Woodhouse and Harriet Smith, a

questionable girl whom Emma decides to “improve”. This

“improvement” begins with Emma convincing Harriet to turn down a

marriage proposal, but Emma ends up creating more problems than

she bargained for.

T

his book was dedicated to the Prince Regent George Augustus

Frederick, but Jane wasn’t exactly pleased with this honor, as it was

by his request she do so.

NORTHANGER ABBEY (1818)

N

orthanger Abbey is the story of sincere, unsophisticated Catherine Morland

while she is staying in Bath, her first ever trip away from home, where she

meets the entertaining Henry Tilney. She later visits the house of Tilney’s family,

(called the Northanger Abbey, where the book gets its title) and discovers the

differences between ordinary life and the charged catastrophes of Gothic fiction.

J

ane Austen did not intend for this book’s title to be Northanger Abbey. As she

was working on it, it was named Susan, but she also referred to the novel as

Miss Catherine in a letter to her niece Fanny.

T

his was one of two books published posthumously by Henry Austen.

PERSUASION (1818)

S

ome years before the novel begins, Anne Elliot, the heroine, is convinced to turn

down a proposal by the poor Captain Wentworth. In the only book Austen states a

definite time period (1814-1815), Anne and her family move to Bath due to

financial reasons, and Admiral and Mrs. Croft – who is Captain Wentworth’s sister

– now live in the home the Elliots rented out. Anne is overjoyed, and hopes to see

Wentworth again.

T

his is Jane’s second novel to be published posthumously. Austen was dissatisfied

with a chapter of the book, and rewrote it; the new chapters are considered

better than the original. Unlike any of her other novels, the manuscript of this

cancelled chapter is the only Jane Austen manuscript to survive.

JANE’S APPEAL

I

n Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s quick wit and liveliness have easily attracted

readers.

A

lthough Austen had admirers of her work, she was not the highest-praised or most

popular author of her time. She was not considered a great author until the late

Nineteenth Century.

M

any contemporary readers felt that Jane’s novels lacked a moral or failed to be

inspirational. Austen pokes fun at this in the ending of Northanger Abbey. She says

"I leave it to be settled by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this

work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny or reward filial disobedience."

However, it was this lack of morals and inspiration that many other readers admired in Jane’s work. They praised her portrayal of incidents and relationships that could happen in reality compared to the far-fetched situations of long-lost relatives meeting or villainous rich ravishers that were common in the period’s literature.

"Mansfield park...has been pretty generally admired here, and I think all novels must be that are true to life which this is... It has not however

that elevation of virtue, something beyond nature, that gives the greatest charm to a novel.“

- Anne Romilly 1814

"I have finished the Novel called Pride and Prejudice, which I think a very superior work. It depends not on any of the common resources of novel writers, no drownings, no conflagrations, nor runaway horses, nor lap-

dogs and parrots, nor chambermaids and milliners, nor rencontres [duels] and disguises. I really think it is the most probable I have ever read. It is not a crying book, but the interest is very strong, especially

for Mr. Darcy. The characters which are not amiable are diverting, and all of them are consistently supported."

- Lady Byron 1813

JANE TODAYJ

ane is so widely read today because of her classic and charming

characters, along with her unforgettable settings and realistic

portrayal of relationships.

H

er books have often been made into miniseries and movies.• Clueless (Emma)• Various Pride and Prejudice mini series and movies• Bridget Jones’s Diary (Loosely based on Pride and Prejudice)

P

eople have also written sequels, and even attempted to finish her

fragmented works.• Pride And Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahme-Smith• Sanditon completed by “Anothery Lady” Anne Telscombe/Marie Dobbs

LITERARY CRITICISM

T

he literary criticism I read discussed Jane’s view that

unsuitable marriages would only lead to unhappiness. I

agree with this view of Pride and Prejudice, as it is quite

evident in Austen’s writing. • The criticism states that because of the ill-conceived marriage

of their parents, the Bennet girls are to suffer. Because of being left with their mother, the three youngest Bennet girls – Mary, Kitty, and Lydia – turn out for the worst. Mary is a recluse in the library, Kitty is a flirt, and Lydia runs away with Mr. Wickham.

Because Lydia ran away with Wickham, she has sacrificed her ability to marry anyone else, and this shows Jane’s idea that marrying for looks isn’t ideal. Not long after their marriage, Wickham begins to tire of Lydia, and eventually vice versa. Since they are unable to plan for their future together, Mr. And Mrs. Wickham face financial difficulties, and are constantly moving.

Jane also shows that no marriage is better than a bad marriage through Charlotte and Mr. Collins. When Elizabeth goes to visit the newlyweds, she discovers that Mrs. Collins has created a daily schedule that completely avoids that of her husband.

The critic also says that Austen has a modern view of marriage, andsees a good marriage as one based on love from mutual respect and an easy, comfortable relationship. This is most easily shown through the marriages of Mr. Bingley & Jane, and Elizabeth & Darcy. Jane and Mr. Bingley are easy-going and tolerant people, while Darcy and Elizabeth are both willful and intelligent.

Jane’s view of marriage does not confine her characters to marrying within their class. While the Bennets can live comfortably and their patriarch is part of the gentry, they do not have the wealth Darcy and Bingley possess, and are far below them in rank.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jane Austen | The Republic of Pemberley. Web. 08 Mar.

2011. <http://www.pemberley.com/>.

Canfield Reisman, Rosemary M. "Pride and Prejudice."

Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost, Jan. 1989. Web. 4

Mar. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/lrc/detail?

hid=106&sid=a633c741- 96ea-46ab-8aa2- ee9f4e9f3b3d

%40sessionmgr11&vid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9bHJj

LWxpdmU%3d#db=lfh&AN=103331WOM13889610000388>.