....

C o n te x t
.
Ja ne A us te n' s L.Ifce, F amily, Literary Works
an d So ci al E nv ir on m en t
.
n wa s bo rn in th e r sh ire , England,
Ja ne Au ste 75 ec to ry of St ev en to n, Hamp
ce m be r 17
on 16 De
. Sh e wa s th e se ve nth child (out of eight) and the
se co nd d h -1805
g e Rev. Ge or ge Austen 1731
d hi ~~ ter (ou t of tw o) , of th
d
ssa nd ra, 17 39 -1 82 7 (ne e Le igh). He r father, the Re ve ren
~: or s WI e Ca pa rish, was a distinguished classi
cal
st , th e re~ tor of the loc al
sc h l ge Au en in co me of ab ou t £6 00 a ye
ar,
0 d a fa1 r~y res pe cta ble
ar. H e ha ca me to live wi th him. He
was
d by tu to rin g pu pil s wh o
su pp le m en te children, and like Mr. Be nn
et
eig ht
?Y no n1eans ric h,
dic
es
e
pe
co
cia
ul
lly
dn 't
wi
ha
th
ve giv en his daughters mu ch to ma rry
1n Pride and Preju ste n, pr ou d of he r aristocratic
Ca ssa nd ra Le ig h Au
on . H er m ot he r, rd en er an d ho us·ekeeper. Jane was
e, wa s a ke en ga
re lat io ns an d he rit ag br ot he rs
ar s yo un ge r th an he r sis ter Cassandra. All he r six
tw o ye , lik e
ed th em se lv es in th eir lat er life. In he r ch ild ho od
di sti ng ui sh aps en joy ed
in Ja ne Au ste n's no ve l Northanger Ab be y, she perh
Ca th er in e ba ck of the ho us e an d pr ef
er re d
th e gr ee n slo pe at th e
ro lli ng do wn 83 , at th e age of seven, she an
d
ba ll to gir ls' pla y. In 17
cr ic ke t an d ba se th eir relative M rs. Cawley. Bo th
to a sc ho ol ru n by
he r sis ter we re se nt . In 17 85 -
fel l vi ct im to pu tri d fev er an d ne arl y escaped de ath
th e gi rls ho ol at
d Ca ss an dr a we nt to M rs. La to ur ne lle 's Ab be y Sc
17 86 Ja ne an ly bo re so me re se mb lan ce to
Th is sc ho ol ap pa re nt
Re ad in g, En gl an d. ne wa s co ns id er ed to o yo un g
sc ho ol in Em ma .Ja
M rs . Go dd ar d's ca su al andra's
m th e sc ho ol , bu t th eir m ot he r be lie ve d th at if Ca~s
to be ne fit fro d have he rs cu t of f to o. Af ter
be cu t of f,J an e wo ul
he ad wa s go in g to suitabl_e
o pl ea sa nt y~ ars , an d ha vi ng ac qu ire d th e ed uc ~t io n
sp en di ng tw ed to St ev en to n 1n 1786.
Th is
of th at tim e, th ey re tu rn
fo r yo un g gir ls r fa mi ly .W ith in th ei r family,
ed uc ati on ou tsi de he
was Ja ne Au ste n's on ly ist er -
le ar ne d dr aw in g, pl ay in g th e pi an o, etc . Th ei r m in
th e tw o gir ls
m e. ' '
fa th er ed uc at ed th em at ho ho
i:i wa s a re fin ed an d su cc es sfu l cle rg yn 1a n w
·· Re ve re nd Auste os t of
io n in his fa mi ly so Ja ne an d he r sis ter re ce iv ed m
fo ste re d ed uc at ou gh gr ou nd in g in En gl ish
Sh e re ce iv ed a th or
th ei r sc ho ol in g _at ho m e. en tly in Fr en ch an d wa
s
atu re . Sh e co ul d re ad flu
la ng ua ge an d lit er bo th
lia n. Ja ne Au ste n di d a fa ir am ou nt of re ad in g, of
fa mi lia r wi th Ita
 •

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i,,,,n ~lt\J1f1P.: .. ,, ,11.•h,,r •4i rrr:Jf,j'J•'ll. If ~:hl r••4 1 r~ ~,ha "'
IM-r r,n-~-.. , ..
tame .. L1·n 1 r,.::1 .h '-"' ~\\,e)l u:('J .a ~i:-tn.~:<·, ~~ H''"'
""° 11.., rut I,, •rhrr~ ••• rrpchrm,H,- 1•.,., ol 1<111'.mfllt\ .a.JJa~
AIMk-n nu~ tu\i(' ,ou._:hc .1nun\ nut\· t,t<', ~u,c vt tht" m,>tt JC ii.,
-,he-,~ of ttrr~naun r<'n·.1..lm.: her er.a. J.anc Au\lt'n WtlJII
 JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE 7

. h . ·
'Ju ve nil ia" fro m 17 87 to 17 93 , the y i~ du de ma ny ~u mo rou s parodies
of the lit era tur e of the d e as Love an d Fri endship," an d are
d in th a~, su · • . .
. co IIe cte ree ma nu sc rip t vo lum es. Th ey were on gm all y wr ittaene
ed the
fc h nil y. By the tim e she ha d attain
or ~ e am us em en t of he r fa1
ries po e! s
en sh~ ha d alr ea dy fil led thr ee no teb oo ks wi th sto
of eig hte
es as "T he M ys ter,, v" "K ith. . ," "T h e B, ower,"
,,
an d pla ys be ari ng su ch titl
• t. Ea ch
"L d
Fr ien ds hi p" -c on tai ni ng spelling errors thr ou gh ou
ove a~ s a
ted to a dif fer en t me mb er of the family, and each wa
was _ded ica e
sq ue of so me co nte mp or ary tale (Th e Great Writers:Jan
comIC bu rle ·
· Au ste n 12 3-1 24 ).
ne "
of Ja ne Au ste n's ea rli est wr iti ng s were "E lin or and M ari an
So me sten was
ad y Su san ," bo th wr itt en in 1795.,In 1796 wh en Jan e Au
an d "L novel
e sh e be ga n the ear lie st of he r published works, the
tw en ty- on script ·
d "F irs t Im pre ssi on s." In 17 97, he r father offered the manu
the n calle en
the Lo nd on pu bli sh er, bu t the publisher declined to ev
to Ca.dell, so me
ma nu scr ipt . "F irs t Im pre ssions" had be en co mp let ed
lo ok at the e,"
s wh en Ja ne Au ste n be ga n to wr ite "Elinor an d Ma ria nn
thr ee mo nth "Susan,"
dra ft of Sen se an d Sen sib ilit y. In 1798, she began to wr ite
the ea rly t by for
s the fir st dra ft of No rth anger Abbey. This, too, she pu
wh ich wa d.A s
ars . La dy Su san wa s als o pro ba bly wr itt en du rin g this pe rio
so me ye rch ies
po leo nic W ars (18 00 -18 15 ) thr ea ten ed the safety of mo na
the Na liferated .
gh ou t Eu ro pe , go ve rn me nt censorship of literature pro
thr ou es
n en joy ed soc ial ev en ts, an d he r early letters tell of danc
Ja ne Au ste on ,
sh e att en de d in Ha mp sh ire , an d also of visits to Lo nd
an d pa rti es rd,
am pto n etc ., wh ere she att en de d plays and balls. Mrs. Mi tfo
Ba th, So uth
sy against Jap e Au ste n, ma de
a
ha ve ha d a pe rso na l jea lou
wh o see ms to ttiest, silliest, mo st affected,
en t tha t Ja ne wa s "th e pre
fam ou s sta tem be rs" . However, the re is little
ng bu tte rfl y she ev er rem em
hu sb an d- hu nti
of an y ser iou s co urt sh ips . In 1795-6, she ha d a 1n utu al
so lid ev ide nc e se
Th om as Le fro y, an Iri sh relative of Jan e Austen's clo
fli rta tio n wi th ry 15, 1796, wh en sh e was
s. An ne Le fro y. On Jan ua
old er fri en d Mr "A t len gth the day is co n1 e
in a let ter to Ca ssa nd ra:
twenty, sh e wr ote fro y, an d wh en yo u rec eiv e
flir t my las t wi th To m Le
on wh ich I am to a." Pe rha ps
s it wi ll be ov er. M y tea rs flow at the me lan ch oly ide
thi er he ha d
y co uld no t aff ord to ma rry Jane. M an y years later, aft
Le fro ew tha t he
me Ch ief Ju sti ce of Ire lan d, he confessed to his ne ph
be co o ha d
a "b oy ish lov e" for Ja ne ~u ste n. In 1797, Mrs. Lefroy, wh
ha d ha d ards Ja ne , t rte · d to fi1x
ve d of he r ne ph ew To ms co nd uc t tow ·
disappro · h h Re v. Sa mu el Blackall bu t Ja n
Jane Au ste n up wi t t e e was no t ve ry
• d
mt ere ste . .
Ba th in ho f
In 1801, the family mo ve d.t o the fam . pe s O reS t on ng he r fat he r's
th
he alt h. Du rin g the years in Ba 1
I y we nt to the se a-s
ide ev er y
. . '
-
 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL
8
holidays Jane Austen's most mysterious
summer. 0 n one Of those ' . h
romantic incident occurred. While the family was staying somew ere .
on the coast, probably in south Devonshire , west of Ly~e,Jane 1:usten
met a young nun w ho seemed to Cassandra .to have quite fallen h
in love ·
1
with Jane. Cassandra later spoke highly of him, and thought e wou d
have been a successful suitor.Altho ugh they parted, they perhaps planned
to meet again. However, shortly afterwards Jane in_stead he~rd of _his
death. Probably this experience made Anne Elliot_ see life. being
transmuted into art, in a crucial scene that takes place in Lyme in Jane
Austen's 1817 novel .Persuasion.
In 1802 Jane Austen was engaged briefly to Harris Bigg-Withe r, a
long time friend who was six years younger to her, when Jane Austen
and Cassandra were staying with the Bigg family at Manydown , near
Steventon. In an incident that occurred on the second day ofDecembe r
1802, Harris Bigg-Withe r, six years her junior, proposed to Jane, and
she accepted, though she dicf not love him. However, the next day she
thought better of it, her heart did not seem to have been seriously
affected, and she declined the offer. Mr. Harris Bigg-Withe r, though
prosperous, was big and awkward. Although Jane Austen wrote of
romance and idealistic love and was considered an attractive and
intelligent woman, she never plunged into matrimony.
After 1803, or 1804, there came a gap of several years in Jane Austen's
literary work. In 1803 Jane Austen actually sold Northanger Abbey (then
titled "Susan") to a publi_sher, for a paltry sum of £10. The publisher
chose not to publish it and it took fourteen years more for the final
publication. In January 1805 Reverend Austen Qane's father) died.The
income due to the remaining family was considerably reduced. Since
most of Mr. Austen's income had come from clerical "livings" which
lapsed with his death, they were largely dependent on support from the
Austen brothers. Later in 1805, Martha Lloyd, sister of James Austen's
wife, came to live with Mrs.Austen , Cassandra, and Jane, after her own ·
mother had died. The family left Bath for Clifton in 1806 and then to
Castle Square, Southampto n in autun1n 1806. Two years later, Jane
. recollected, in a letter to Cassandra, with "what happy feelings of Escape!"
she had left Bath. Southampto n was convenientl y near to the navy base
of Portsmouth and the naval brothers Frank and Charles. ·
Various reasons have been assigned for the gap in her literary
production between 180~ or 1804 and 1812. In 1803 or 1804 (according
to the only piece of evidence-t he dates in the water-marks of the
paper on which it is written), Jane Austen began a story that she never
finished; it was published under the title The Watsons by J. E. Austen-
Leigh in the second edition (1871) of his Memoir. In 1809 Jane Austen.,
 JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE 9

ndra Au st dM ,
he r mo th er , Cassain
W ch en , an art ha Lloyd moved to Chawton
n ea r Al to n an d sm all ho us e ow ne d by Jane's brothe
r
o f h . est er, to a
E dward on from he r
od h n e o f 1; est ate s. Th is was in Hampshire, no t far
ch ild h o
e o tev en ton . At Ch aw ton for the seven remaining
om fullest
lif e,J an _ e Au ste n's art su dd en ly blossomed and attained
~ear s o_fh er late
e rev ise d Se nse an d Sen sib ility, wh ich was accepted in
;; en ng. Sh It
1 18 11 by a pu bli she r, for pu bli ca tio n at he r ow n risk.
or ea rly ly
ym ou s1y ("B y a La dy ") in Oc tob er 1811. At first on
ap p~ are d a~ on rship. fan ny Knight's diary for
fam i ly kn ew of he r au tho
he r un me d1ate
, 18 11 , rec ord s: "L ett er fro m Au nt Cass. To beg we would
Sc p tcr nb ~r 28
t Au nt Ja ne wr ote Se nse and Sensibility. "T he re were at
no t ni cn ti~ n tha first edition eventually tur ne d
fav ou rab le rev iew s, an d the
least tw o fairly
a pr of it of £1 40 for her. shire.
um ed he r lite rar y act ivi tie s soo n after ret urn ing to Hamp
Sh e res ghly
ed by the suc ces s of Sen se an d Scnsibility,JaneAusten thorou
En co ur ag cation
r ea rly dra ft "F irs t Im pre ssions" in 1811 for final publi
rev ise d he Prejudice
an d /Jre j11 dic e. Sh e sol d it in No ve mb er 1812, and Pn'de and
as Pride shed on 28
wn <.f orl ing ch ild " as she ca lled it in a letter) was publi
(h er "o by 1812,
18 13 . Sh e ha d alr ead y sta rte d wo rk on Mansfield Park
Ja nu ary t kn ow led ge of
wo rk ed on it du rin g 18 13. It was durin g 1813 tha
an J ily.A second ed iti on of
r au tho rsh ip sta rte d to spread ou tsi de h er fam
he
wa s als o pu bli sh ed in O cto be r 1813. Since s~e ha d
Sense t1nd Sensibility ou tri gh t for £1 10 , she did no t
of Pri de an d Pre jud ice
so ld the co py rig ht ed ition was pu bli sh ed lat er in
mo re wh en a sec on d
rec eive an yth ing are d, and was sold ou t in six
14 , Nfa nsf ,el d Pa rk ap pe
1813. In M ay 18 nv en ien tly lived in Lo nd on
,
th er H en ry, wh o the n co
m on th s. H er bro l
w ith the pu bli sh ers on Jan e 's behalf, an d on severa
oft en in ter ac ted eets.
sio ns sh e sta ye d wi th him in Lo nd on to revise proof-sh
oc ca Em ma
ee n 18 14 an d 18 16 Ja ne qu ickly created tw o ne w novels
Be tw nts of
on . Al l the no ve ls de al wi th ro ma nti c en tan gle me
an d Persuasi steadily;
cte ris ed he roi ne s. Fr om 1812 to 1816, she wo rk ed
str on gly ch ara to he r
sig nif ica nc e of the da tes me nti on ed above is rel ate d
an d fu rth er on
pu bli sh an yth ing tha t ha d no t un de rg on e lo ng me dit ati
rel uc tan ce to
wa s no t till 18 12 tha t sh e be ga n Man.ifield Park, wh ich
an d revision. It in or ab ou t M ay 18 14 . Em ma
ne 18 13 , an d pu bli sh ed
was fin ish ed in ju h 18 15 , an d pu bli sh ed in
18 14 , fin ish ed in M arc
was be gu n in Ja nu ary nd ed iti on of
mb er 18 15 , de dic ate d to the Pr inc e Re ge nt .A se co
De ce es su ess ..
Park ap pe are d in Fe br ua ry 1816, bu t was no t a sal cc
Mansf iel d . f 'JI~ l"r. ld Park ate up mo st of h er 1n1 • ·
· •t1a
on th e rep rm t o 1via 115.11e 1
he r los ses . · bl. h d
of he pu Is e works
profits on ·Emth ma. Persuasion, the las t-w rit ten r '
er of 18 15 an d fin ish ed in A t 18 1 6
was be gu n m e su mm , alt ho ug h
ng increasingly weullg. uS 18 16 he r
du rin g 1816 she was becomi un In ea rly