JANE AUSTEN

About Jane Austen: “One of the most expressive of all genres is the probable or realistic novel. In this genre, Jane Austen was the first to achieve the accomplishment of high art. From the various possibiliies represented by Richardson, Fielding, Burney and Edgeworth, she selected so surely that she gave the novel its classic proportions. [... in her novels] little happens that is not likely to occur in ordinary life. Her people resemble real contemporary people. With the exception of a few minor characters, like Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice, they never display the exaggeration of Fielding's or Smollett's 'originals' or eccentrics. From among all the ordinary possibilities, however, Austen selects — and in this differs both from Richardson and from the Victorian novelists — only so many details as she can organize morally in a way that is both pleasurable and economical. She keeps description of externals to a minimum. [...] she presents the action from the moral standpoint of a single heroine — who is not, however, the narrator. Moral discrimination ('sense') and emotional response ('sensibility') are, indeed, the main activities of the protagonist, as of the involved reader. [...] Such moral action is only sparingly interpreted by the author, whose explanations in any case are often disguised as half-reported thoughts of Elizabeth's, or masked by irony. Consequently values tend to be expressed through tone, or through equally implicit clarifying examples. [...] If Austen's novels do not fully anticipate the novel of realism, was this because of limited vision? Because she was blind to large features of the world outside her small circle? I hardly think so. [...] Austen certainly focuses on a single class (the small gentry, with a few aristocrats thrown in); but selection is perfectly compatible with realism. [...] What makes her achievement partly retrospective is something quite different. It is the same quality that makes her novels seem perfect: namely, their pervasive moral structuring. [...] Austen's is a perfect, classic art. She completely satisfies her reader intelectually. [...] In some things — notably representation of character-revealing speech — she has never been surpassed” (Fowler 280-2). FOWLER, A. A history of English literature: forms and kinds from the Middle Ages to the present. Oxford: Blackwell, 1987.

Entry of Encyclopedia Brittanica in 1910: AUSTEN, JANE (1775-1817), English novelist, was born on December 1775 in Hampshire, a village of which her father, the Rev. George Austen, was rector. She was the youngest of seven children. The life of no woman of genius could have been more uneventful than Miss Austen's. She did not marry, and she never left home except on short visits, chiefly to Bath. Her first sixteen years were spent in the rectory at Steventon, where she began early to trifle with her pen, always jestingly, for family entertainment. In 1801 the Austens moved to Bath, where Mr Austen died in 1805, leaving only Mrs Austen, Jane and her sister Cassandra, to whom she was always deeply attached, to keep up the home; his sons were out in the world. During her placid life Miss Austen never allowed her literary work to interfere with her domestic duties: sewing much and admirably, keeping house, writing many letters and reading aloud. Though, however, her days were quiet and her area circumscribed, she saw enough of middle-class provincial society to find a basis on which her dramatic and humorous faculties might build, and such was her power of searching observation and her sympathetic imagination that there are not in English fiction more faithful representations of the life she knew than we possess in her novels. She had no predecessors in this genre. Her best-known, if not her best work, Pride and Prejudice, was also her first. [actually it was Lady Susan]. It was written between 1796 and 1797, although, such was the blindness of publishers, not issued until 1813, two years after Sense and Sensibility. Although Pride and Prejudice is the novel which in the mind of the public is most intimately associated with Miss Austen's name, both Mansfield Park and Emma [published in 1815] are finer achievements--at once riper and richer and more

elaborate. It has been generally agreed by the best critics that Miss Austen has never been approached in her own domain. No one indeed has attempted any close rivalry. No other novelist has so concerned herself or himself with the trivial daily comedy of small provincial family life, disdaining equally the assistance offered by passion, crime and religion. […] she allied a perfect sense of dramatic progression and an admirably lucid and flowing prose style which makes her stories the easiest reading. Recognition came to Miss Austen slowly. It was not until quite recent times that to read her became a necessity of culture. But she is now firmly established as an English classic, standing far above Miss Burney (Madame d'Arblay) and Miss Edgeworth, who in her day were the popular women novelists of real life, while Mrs Radcliffe and "Monk" Lewis, whose supernatural fancies Northanger Abbey was written in part to ridicule, are no longer anything but names. […] Scott's testimony is often quoted: "That young lady had a talent for describing the involvements, feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I have ever met with.”

She was basically home-schooled by her father. In 1802 she received a marriage proposal from a wealthy man six years younger than she. She thought of accepting but refused because she didn’t love him. She was only 41 when she died. It could have been tuberculosis, but her death circumstances are unclear.

Her other novels: Lady Susan, an epistolary novel about the adulterous Lady who is cruel to her daughter (written first but published last); Sense and Sensibility, about two sisters and their loves; Mansfield Park, in which Fanny Price, a poor relation brought up in a wealthy house, competes for the man she loves with a beautiful and witty woman; Emma, considered by many her best novel, because of the suspense, about a young heiress acting as matchmaker; Northanger Abbey, a satire of Gothic novels; Persuasion, about a woman who refuses a marriage proposal and, seven years later, gets involved with the man.

Though she always had her admirers, Jane Austen was not the most popular or most highly-praised novelist of her era (none of her novels were reprinted in English between 1818 and 1831), and she was not generally considered a great novelist until the late nineteenth century. During her lifetime, Sir Walter Scott boosted Jane Austen through his review of Emma, but nowadays it is Jane Austen who is used to boost Sir Walter Scott -- Jane Austen's comments on Scott's Waverley have been used as a back cover blurb for recent reprintings of Scott's novel.

Charlotte Bronte didn’t like her, and Mark Twain said: "Jane Austen? Why, I go so far as to say that any library is a good library that does not contain a volume by Jane Austen. Even if it contains no other book."

Can Jane Austen be seen as a feminist? In Persuasion, Anne Elliot debates Captain Harville on who loves longest, women or men: Captain Harville: "I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. ... But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men." Anne Elliot: "Perhaps I shall. -- Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything."

Most "genteel" women could not get money except by marrying for it or inheriting it (only if she has no brothers). Only a rather small number of women were what could be called professionals, who through their own efforts earned an income sufficient to make themselves independent, or had a recognized career (Jane Austen herself was not really one of these few women professionals -- during the last six years of her life she earned an average of a little more than £100 a year by her novel-writing, but her family's expenses were four times this amount, and she did not meet with other authors or move in literary

circles).

In an era before telephones or cheap fast transportation, letter-writing was very important to the families of Jane Austen's day; Jane Austen herself wrote many hundreds of letters during her lifetime, of which about 150 have survived.

The following is part of a lecture the novelist Anthony Trollope gave in 1870: "Miss Austen was surely a great novelist. What she did, she did perfectly. Her work, as far as it goes, is faultless. She wrote of the times in which she lived, of the class of people with which she associated, and in the language which was usual to her as an educated lady. Heroes and heroines with wonderful adventures there are none in her novels. Of great criminals and hidden crimes she tells us nothing. But she places us in a circle of gentlemen and ladies, and charms us while she tells us with an unconscious accuracy how men should act to women, and women act to men. It is not that her people are all good; -- and, certainly, they are not all wise. In the comedy of folly I know no novelist who has beaten her.”

“Whole genres of literature exist, like the women’s courtship novel, to justify what are essentially economic arrangements as emotional choices, providing a rich field for feminist psychoanalytic antics. Jane Austen opens Pride and Prejudice with the famous sentence: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ Much of the novel’s wit consists in showing that men and women have different investments in this ‘universal’ acknowledgment. Often critics have been less sensitive than Austen about what is ‘universally acknowledged’, using the canonical texts to prove that past minds worked just like ours” (Gardiner 120).Gardiner, Judith Kegan. “Mind Mother: Psychoanalysis and Feminism.” Making a Difference: Feminist Literary Criticism. Ed. Gayle Greene, Coppélia Kahn. London and NY: Methuem, 1985.

Her “limitations”: She never handles the (conventionally masculine) topic of politics // She never uses servants, small tradesmen, cottagers, etc. as more than purely incidental characters. Conversely, she does not describe the high nobility (the highest ranking "on-stage" characters are baronets), and she does not describe London high society. // She confines herself to the general territory that she herself has visited and is familiar with (more or less the southern half of England) // In her novels there is no violence (there is a duel in Emma but nobody gets hurt), and no crime // She never uses certain hackneyed plot devices then common, such as mistaken identities, doubtful and/or aristocratic parentage, and hidden-then-rediscovered wills. // No predatory males, no assaults on female virtue -- a favorite device of novelists of the period. // No one dies "on stage" in one of her novels, and almost no one dies at all during the main period of the events of each novel // The illnesses that occur (Jane’s in Pride and Prejudice and Louisa Musgrove's in Persuasion) are not milked for much pathos // Notoriously, Jane Austen hardly ever quotes from a conversation between men with no women present (or overhearing). // She is also sparing of describing the internal thoughts and emotions of male characters // Sparing in her descriptions of people and places // She has an aversion to sappy language // Never even describes lovers kissing.

“But even as the Romantic movement was at its height, and perhaps because of its decidedly fervid nature, voices were to be heard expressing doubts and reservations” (like Thomas Love Peacock). “It is ironic too that the indisputably great novelist of the Romantic period was also the one who carried most determinedly into the new century the values of the previous one. Jane Austen (1775-1817) habitually mocked or was suspicious of Romantic excesses [...]. Austen's clear-eyed, realistic appraisal of life and its possibilities, her understanding that humans must make the best of unsatisfactory fates, that having made foolish decisions they must endure what cannot be cured, gives her novels a very different feel from the prevalent tone of the Romantic poets, with their all-or-nothing, bliss-or-suicide assumptions” (Barnard 106-7).“Even servants are seldom individualized in her work. Her novels centre on girls or young

women, and always end with their engagement or marriage” (Barnard 107). “The danger for all Austen heroines is that, through immaturity or an undisciplined heart, they will make a wrong decision on the vital matter of a life partner. [...] to Jane Austen the Romantic view of love was a dangerous madness” (Barnard 108).Self-interest also plays a role: “Elizabeth does not accept Darcy because she has seen Pemberley, but Pemberley has its place in the making of her decision” (Barnard 108). About Emma: “Emma wants to play God. She does not want things to happen, she wants to make them happen. [...] And of course she brings about disaster” (Barnard 109).

“Jane Austen's view of life is a totally realistic one. She has no sentimentality, no time for emotional excess. Though her subject is love and marriage, her books never produce a warm glow, never fora moment aspire to the poetic. She honours the Augustan virtues of moderation, dignity, disciplined emotion and common sense, ans dhe used her ironic wit to deflect heartbreak. She was a lonely voice in the age of Byron and Shelley” (Barnard 109).

EMMA

A novel about the perils of misconstrued romance, first published in 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners'.

Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma, however, is also rather spoiled; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; and she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives and is often mistaken about the meanings of others' actions.

Main characters:

Emma Woodhouse, 21. She is portrayed as very compassionate to the poor, but at the same time has a strong sense of class. Her affection for and patience towards her hypochondriac father are also noteworthy. While she is in many ways mature for her age, Emma makes some serious mistakes, mainly due to her conviction that she is always right and her lack of real world experience. Although she has vowed she will never ever marry, she delights in making matches for others. She seems unable to fall in love, until jealousy makes her realize that she has loved Mr. Knightley all along.

George Knightley, 37, close fried of Emma and her only critic. In the end he will marry Emma.

Franck Churchill, young, immature, less villanous than Mr. Wickham in P&P. Goes to London for a haircut. Manages to be liked by everyone except Mr. Knightley, who considers him quite immature, although this partially results from his jealously of Frank's supposed 'pursuit' of Emma. In Clueless, he is gay.

Jane Fairfax – the only person Emma envies.

Harriet Smith - Emma takes Harriet under her wing early in the novel, and she becomes the subject of some of Emma's misguided matchmaking attempts. Harriet initially rebuffs a marriage proposal from farmer Robert Martin because of Emma's belief that he is beneath her, despite Harriet's own doubtful origins. She then develops a passion for Mr. Knightley, which is the catalyst for Emma realising her own feelings. Ultimately, Harriet and Mr. Martin are wed, despite Emma's initial meddling. The now wiser Emma approves

of the match. An illegitimate child, “the natural daughter of somebody”.

Mr. Henry Woodhouse – Emma's father, a hypochondriac. Difficult person to handle.

THEMES

Emma Woodhouse is the first Austen heroine with no financial concerns, which, she declares to the naïve Miss Smith, is the reason that she has no inducement to marry. This is a great departure from Austen's other novels, in which the quest for marriage and financial security are often important themes in the stories. Emma's ample financial resources put her in a much more privileged position than the heroines of Austen's earlier works. Jane Fairfax's prospects are weak.

Foolishness – Emma is foolish, and so is Frank. Do they change? How? What is the low point of Emma's character? (when she insults Miss Bates). MARRIAGE (a way of changing lifestyle). HOME. Owning a home (or better yet, an estate) isn’t just about having a place to sleep at night. Owning land separates the gentlemen (or upper classes) from common folk (or the lower classes). Austen explores the fortunes of the landed families and the misfortunes of those without a home. Some of the latter have to marry for money or become governesses in order to make a living. Marriage in this novel becomes as much about land and money as love. SOCIETY AND CLASS. Class structures are the most obvious –and most important – differences between characters in Emma. The rich control social situations, the social climbers attempt to seem rich and important, and the poor are at the mercy of the rich. Although Austen’s novel turns on Emma’s attempts to raise her friend out of social oblivion, the narrator mocks any and all attempts to change the social hierarchy. Manners mean everything, and those who weren’t born with good breeding just can’t measure up to those who are. TRANSFORMATION. Emma changes herself and others. RESPECT AND REPUTATION. That's why Clueless works so well. LOVE. Why does Knightley love Emma? Is it possible to dissociate love and money? WEALTH. How is wealth different for men and women in this novel? For women, wealth equals independence from men and demeaning jobs. For men, wealth means a life of leisure. MORALITY AND ETHICS. Morals and manners might seem to be contradictory concepts, but in Emma they are one and the same. Describing someone who acts like a gentleman (or gentlewoman) is another way of describing someone who acts according to accepted social norms of behavior. Compassion and kindness, true indications of gentility, aren’t always valued as good manners by everyone in the novel – but only crass people never realize how important such forms of sympathy really are. Satirizing bad manners becomes as much of a concern as validating good manners: characters (and readers) learn from the mistakes of those who just can’t seem to get it all right. GENDER. Women have fewer options than men. They can get married, or they can live with their families. Without options, they become defined by a very different set of expectations and images then men do. Men still marry for looks or money (or a combination of the two); the women who choose to ignore or change the ways the marriage market works run into lots and lots of trouble. Is gossip a woman's occupation?

Like Elizabeth Bennet, Emma is a young and intelligent woman with a lot of free time. Though her family is loving and her economic status secure, Emma's everyday life is dull indeed; she has few companions her own age when the novel begins. Her determined though inept matchmaking may represent a muted protest against the narrow scope of a wealthy woman's life, especially that of a woman who is single and childless.

SOME QUESTIONS

Do you think that Emma has given up matchmaking for good? Is it possible to imagine a novel like Emma in which the heroine doesn’t get married at the end? (If not, do we ever believe her when she says she won’t get hitched?)

Could a man be the central character of this novel? Why or why not? How important is it that this novel isn’t written in first person (from Emma’s point of view)? What perspective do we gain from the narrator’s additions to the text? Will Emma and Mr. Knightley be happy, or not? What passages in the text make you think so?

Emma is one of Austen's strongest heroines, but she is deeply flawed. How is she flawed?