THE TYRANNY OF PASSIVE-AGGRESSION IN JANE AUSTEN'S NOVELS
by
Claudia J. Lockhart
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of
The Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, Florida
April 1993 THE TYRANNY OF PASSIVE-AGGRESSION IN JANE AUSTEN'S NOVELS
by
Claudia J. Lockhart
This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor, Dr. William Coyle, Department of English and Comparative Literature. It was submitted to the faculty of The Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.
SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:
Dean, The Schmidt College of Arts and Humanities •L~•-r•... K--...._.--. , - ' ll ABSTRACT Author: Claudia J. Lockhart Title: The Tyranny of Passive-Aggression in Jane Austen's Novels Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. William Coyle Degree: Master of Arts Year: 1993 Passive-aggression is an insidious form of tyranny that uses hypochondria and other tactics to manipulate. Presumably with her mother in mind, Jane Austen frequently portrays the passive-aggressive character and ridicules hypochondria, as in the satirical Sanditon. Mr. Woodhouse and Mrs. Churchill are life-denying parental figures in Emma, who use illness and hypochondria to manipulate their children, much like Mansfield Park's Lady Bertram, who uses hypochondria and social withdrawal to control her family. In Persuasion Mary Musgrove, a young copy of Lady Bertram, uses hypochondria and hysteria to manipulate, and Mrs. Clay passively ingratiates herself with the Elliot family in an attempt to become the next Lady Elliot. Through her novels Jane Austen shows the effects of this damaging, despotic behavior. lll Table of Contents Abstract . lll Introduction . 1 Chapter One: Mr. Woodhouse 5 Chapter Two: Lady Bertram 22 Chapter Three: Mary Musgrove 31 Chapter Four: Mrs. Churchill 39 Chapter Five: Mrs. Clay 44 Chapter Six: Illness and Hypochondria - Sanditon 47 Conclusion 51 Bibliography 59 lV Introduction Passive-aggression is the tyranny of the weak and powerless who subtly manipulate their victims with tears, reproaches, hypochondria, social withdrawal, depression, and anxiety. In addition, the passive-aggressive personality lS characterized by a resistance to life's normal demands, creating a childishly manipulative dependency, coupled with stubbornness, convenient forgetfulness, and deliberate inefficiency. These individuals may be so socially withdrawn and self-absorbed that there is an almost total absence of intimacy or real affection, although they project an overwhelming need for the affection of others (Goulet 140-43). The reasons for passive-aggression are many and complex. Taught from an early age to be nice, one quickly learns that it is not nice to be overly aggressive or hostile. While most people learn positive assertive skills, the passive- aggressive individual lacks these skills and resorts to an undercover aggression that is not easily identifiable. Passive-aggression allows one to attack and 1 defend and still be perceived as nice. This passive violence can be very damaging to the recipient (Cole 3-8). However, passive-aggression is an immature defense. When normal assertiveness is inhibited by neurotic guilt or fear of external retaliation, one regresses to a dependent position, and behavior becomes passive. In many cases the proper assertiveness skills exist, but anxiety prohibits their use. This nonassertive and compliant behavior in relationships hides the suppressed anger behind social phobias, panic disorders, and anxiety attacks, creating a general inadequacy to perform at a normal, mature level. Unable to relax enough to learn more adaptive coping behavior, the passive, dependent personality resorts to passive-aggressive tactics to manipulate others into coping for him or her (Perry 165-67). Passive-aggression and dependent personality are relatively recent clinical diagnoses, seen for the first time following World War II (Goulet 140). Jane Austen, however, was creating the passive-aggressive character nearly 150 years earlier. Without access to modern psychological teaching, she created textbook perfect characters, especially in Mr. Woodhouse and Mrs . Churchill of Emma, Lady Bertram of Mansfield Park, and Mary Musgrove 2 and Penelope Clay of Persuasion, while Sanditon is a biting satire on hypochondria and invalidism, one of the most common forms of passive-aggressive manipulation. Not all of Jane Austen's passive-aggressive characters are the same, but all exhibit some form of dependent and manipulative behavior common to this personality disorder that she examines from all angles. It can be no accident that most of these characters bear a strong resemblance to Jane Austen's mother. Mrs. Austen was an invalid who, in her later years, rarely left her sofa (Halperin 295). Jane Austen's exasperation with her mother's hypochondriacal ways is apparent in her letters, as in one to her niece Caroline where she says: "Your Grandmama is not quite well, she seldom gets through the 24 hours without some pain in her head" (Chapman, Letters 455). Even in her grief at her father's death she cannot resist a caustic comment on her mother's inability to cope. She writes to her brother Francis: "My mother is tolerably well; she bears up with great fortitude, but I fear her health must suffer under such a shock" (146). Further corroboration of Mrs. Austen's invalidism is given in James Austen-Leigh's account of the family move in 1771: "Mrs. Austen, who was not then in strong health, performed 3 the short journey on a feather-bed" (7). He also gives us a glimpse of her fondness for the sofa. When he arrives for a visit with Mrs. Austen, she tells him, "you find me just where you left me--on the sofa" ( 9) . It makes little difference whether Mrs. Austen's illness was real or imagined. Her invalidism created a dependency on her daughters while allowing her to shirk her responsibility to them. This dependency obviously preoccupied Jane Austen when she created such life-denying parental figures as Mr. Woodhouse, Lady Bertram, and Mrs. Churchill. While these fictional characters are exaggerated, they must surely reflect Jane Austen's feelings for her mother, and at the same time provide a safe outlet for the anger and frustration caused by living with a passive tyrant. As Emma tells Mr. Knightley: "Nobody, who has not been in the interior of a family can say what the difficulties of any individual of that family may ben (146). 4 Chapter One: Mr. Woodhouse Mr. Woodhouse is a victim of his own insecurities and fears, suffering from hypochondria, excess anxiety, social withdrawal, and depression. His anxiety frequently borders on hysteria, and he uses his invalidism to maintain a tyrannical hold on Hartfield and to a lesser degree, Highbury (White 233). Superficially he is seen as a kind hearted, polite old man; however, he is really a selfish hypochondriac. In his own words, "invalids . are privileged people" (57). Mr. Woodhouse is an extreme example of social withdrawal only slightly less lethargic than Lady Bertram of Mansfield Park. He happily exists in a closed world where life has no variety, complexity, or zest. It is a world where his valetudinarian wishes are forever acceded to because denial of even the most trivial of them provokes a bout of hypochondria or anxiety. At Hartfield Mr. Woodhouse has achieved a womb-like insulation against the external world, so that each excursion into even so small a society as Highbury causes him to feel severe anxiety and 5 nervousness as he ventures into what he perceives as an alien environment (Duffy, "Emma" 42). He claims to adore his daughter, yet he "could not be induced to get so far as London, even for poor Isabella's sake" (91). Donwell Abbey, home of his good friend Mr. Knightley, borders Hartfield, but "he had not been at Donwell Abbey for two years" (356) Therefore, it is not surprising that he will not travel the sixteen miles to London. By his own admission, he lived "out of the world" (252) and "never went beyond the shrubbery" (26). This avoidant or phobic personality causes Mr. Woodhouse to be extremely sensitive to any potential rejection, humiliation, or shame, and to become devastated by the slightest suggestion of criticism or disapproval (Simons 775). The passive-aggressive personality meets confrontation and criticism with a slightly condescending attitude of hurt dismay at what they consider an unjust accusation. There is also a tendency to misinterpret the remarks of others, seeing censure where it does not exist, as when Mr. Woodhouse responds to Mr. Knightley's teasing remarks to Emma, "I am afraid I am sometimes very fanciful and troublesome" (10) (777). Although he 1s fanciful and troublesome, at this particular moment he is not the subject 6 of discussion. His self-esteem is easily damaged, and despite his desire for affection and acceptance, he has withdrawn from society and close personal relationships. Mr. Woodhouse is selfishly altruistic in his concern for his coachman and his "poor horses" (8). He uses this concern to cover the fact that "his horror of late hours and large dinner-parties made him unfit for any acquaintance, but such as would visit him on his own terms" (20). Mr. Woodhouse, "having been a valetudinarian all his life" (7), with his "habits of gentle selfishness" and his complete inability to "suppose that other people could feel differently from himself" (8) perceives a world that consists almost entirely of threats to his own health and happiness. It is a confined and somewhat suffocating world in which appetites are too easily satisfied by basins of "nice smooth gruel" (105). It has almost nothing in common with the real world, but it is a version that is tolerated, and those, like John Knightley, who are too sharply critical of it are apt to sound merely churlish (Williams 117-18). However, John Knightley's censure of Mr. Woodhouse is more than justified when Mr. Woodhouse spends the evening finding fault with the way John cares for his family, often mendaciously attributing his own opinions to Mr. Perry. It 7 lS John's criticism of Mr. Woodhouse, apparently a habit of long-standing, that causes Emma occasionally to dislike him. This time, however, "she could not wonder at her brother-in law's breaking out" (106). With his weak mind and absurd and annoying peculiarities, Mr. Woodhouse is unable to grasp the fact that his own needs and fears are not shared by everyone else. He treats everyone the way he would like to be treated (Olsen 10-11). Although genuinely kind in his own way, Mr. Woodhouse lacks the controls of intelligence or awareness. His phobias often lead him into milder forms of condemnation, cruelty, and lying, as when his tyrannical valetudinarianism leads him to disappoint Mrs. Bates's eager anticipation of a "delicate fricassie of sweetbread and asparagus" on the grounds than the latter were not "quite boiled enough" ( 32 9) (Watt 193) . Instead, he offers her gruel, assuming that she shares his fear of a regular diet. He has no purpose in life other that to preserve his health and equanimity, and no subject of conversation other than the means of doing so. The most mundane daily occurrences appear to him as dangerous. To walk or drive is to incur unjustified risks, to eat an egg not coddled in the prescribed way is to invite misery (Trilling 161). He extends his own anxiety and hypochondria to others, assuming 8 that they are equally fearful of their health. Jane Fairfax's wet feet become an emotional crisis because "young ladies are delicate plants" who "should take care of their health and complexion" (294). His underlying concern for the health of Jane Fairfax is really his own hypochondria. An extension of this paranoia is his concern for Emma's health while Mr. Knightley is proposing to her in the garden, or that Mr. Knightley might have taken a chill from his cold ride (Lascelles 98-99). He must invent illness for Emma because "she had an unhappy state of health . for the child of such a man, for she hardly knew what indisposition was" (336). Nervous, easily depressed, Mr. Woodhouse hates change of any kind, especially marriage. He is against matchmaking because marriages are "silly things, and break up ones family circle grievously" (13), as if family circles could be perpetuated and reproduced without marriage (Tanner 179) Emma's marriage to Mr. Knightley was naturally a cause of much distress to Mr. Woodhouse, who would not think of it except as "a distant event" (483). It is an outside intrusion into his insular world that finally allows Emma and Mr. Knightley to marry. "They were befriended, not by any sudden illumination of Mr. Woodhouse's mind, or any 9 wonderful change in his nervous system" but by turkeys. Pilfering of poultry houses is tantamount to "housebreaking to Mr. Woodhouse's fears" (483). Deciding it would be prudent for his safety to have Mr. Knightley living under his roof, Mr. Woodhouse consents to his immediate marriage to Emma (Grove 182). However, he feels no joy for them as he has felt none for "poor Miss Taylor" and Mr. Weston. He only sees marriage from his own selfish point of view. Jane Austen describes Mr. Woodhouse as "affectionate and indulgent" (5) then portrays him as self-indulgent with little or no concern for anyone other than himself. There is a straightforward humorous treatment of Mr. Woodhouse, although his humorous affectations are based on an indulgence to himself (Bradbury 343). Donald Greene perceives Mr. Woodhouse as one of Jane Austen's "monsters," and sees his sloth as harmful, because it allows him to neglect his parental duties to Emma. However, Greene also believes him to be "too stupid" to have contributed very much to Emma's development even if he had been incline d to make the effort (270). Mr . Woodhouse's self-indulgent hypochondria has also had an obvious effect on his eldest daughter, I sabella, who enj oys h er Mr. Wingfield almost as much as her father enjoys the attentions of Mr. Perry. 10 Fortunately for Isabella, John Knightley does not suffer fools or hypochondriacs easily. He will not allow her to see illness in him where it does not exist: My dear Isabella . pray do not concern yourself about my looks. Be satisfied with doctoring yourself and the children, and let me look as I chuse. (104) There is hope that, with John's guidance, she will escape becoming a replica of her father. Jane Austen satirizes the sentimental ideal of the devoted daughter through Emma, who, while often self critical in other areas, never questions her attitude toward her father. Although Emma knows that his constant "Emma never thinks of herself, if she can do good to others" or "Dear Emma bears every thing so well" (11) are not well judged, she is affected by their constant repetition, for they have done more than anything else to make her think too well of herself (Kirkham 125-26). By making Mr. Woodhouse a selfish old woman, Jane Austen mocks her heroine in the one respect where she believes herself to be above reproach. Unable to see him as he really is, Emma suffers from a peculiarly insidious form of parental tyranny for, with all 11 her apparent independence, she is prevented from growing up ( 126). Mary Wollstonecraft finds excess parental affection the "blindest modification of perverse self-love." She sees parental affection as nothing more than a pretext to "tyrannize where it can be done with impunity" (185). This parental affection and attention is impossible for a dutiful child to ignore. It becomes a habit to rely almost unquestionably on the opinion of the respected parent. Wollstonecraft finds this habit not easily abandoned, even when: . matured reason convinces the child that his parent is not the wisest man in the world. This weakness a reasonable man must steel himself against; for the absurd duty . . of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it for slavish submission. (267-68) These remarks are particularly applicable to Emma, for her father is the most "absurd" of tyrants. He is a travesty of a father whose minimal energy is expended in speaking out against marriage and lamenting his various ailments. His passive power is made all too clear 1n Emma's unthinking 12 resolve never to leave her father or her father's house (Tanner 201). The danger to even a spirited person like Emma succumbing to an oyster-like environment is not negligible. The temptation persists throughout the novel of Emma's accommodating herself to her father and remaining unmarried as both his child and his mother (Duffy, "Emma" 42-43). Mr. Woodhouse's passive-aggression manifests itself in an almost total dependency on Emma. He is manipulative and demanding, becoming depressed and anxious when he perceives himself to be neglected. He affects a subordinate position, thus avoiding having to care for himself. Emma must always bear responsibility for her father's care (Golet 140). Even though Emma is devoted to her father, her filial piety is tinged with a sense of security in being "so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right" (84) ln her father's eyes. Her constant solicitousness toward a trying old man is distinctly a virtue, since "he could only be kept tolerably comfortable by almost ceaseless attention on his daughter's side" (422). This "ceaseless attention" that Emma is required to give her father keeps her a virtual prisoner (Shannon 132). 13 The frustration and exasperation of those who have to live with a passive-aggressive personality occasionally leads to an outburst of anger or other expression of irritation. This anger may be covered in a friendly attitude or hidden behind words of agreement or respect (Simons 777-78). We are allowed a glimpse of this side of Mr. Woodhouse when Emma, in a rare mood of irritable playfulness with him, tries to point out the contradiction between his respect for brides and his dislike of marriage. She only succeeds in making him nervous and irritable (Mudrick 195). A more striking example is John Knightley's gleeful malice toward Mr. Woodhouse's timidity on the occasion of the Weston's dinner party. Well aware of Mr. Woodhouse's fear of exposure to the elements, John Knightley exaggerates the severity of the snowfall: "Something new for your coachman and horses to be making their way through a storm of snow" (126). John Knightley is apparently the only one in Highbury who dares to upset Mr. Woodhouse's static existence (Watt 192). Mr. Woodhouse's fussing is comic, as hypochondria is frequently portrayed 1n Jane Austen's novels, yet ill health is obviously a condition to be taken seriously and to awaken sympathy. Health, seaside resorts, and doctors are 14 compelling subjects to Mr. Woodhouse and Isabella, who ceaselessly discuss the rival merits of the spas at Cromer versus those at Southend where John Knightley has taken his family. Eventually John can stand it no longer, bursting out with a display of ill-temper, which is quickly concealed by his brother who skillfully and tactfully turns the conversation away from him. If Mr. Woodhouse's perversity is enough to anger a man like John Knightley during a short visit, we can begin to comprehend something of the difficulties with which Emma has to contend in the day-to- day conduct of life with her father. Isabella, who has escaped to London, can afford to hold her own opinions. Emma has to practice a self-denial which is continual and relentless in its demands, requiring her to put her father's comfort before her own, agreeing with him, soothing him, and sheltering him from ideas which would be likely to upset him. Her success in this is remarkable, her patience measureless (Watson 335). The passive-aggressive individual is quite capable of giving and receiving affection and is held in esteem by most acquaintances, but is extremely manipulative in personal relationships, often using flattery as an effective tool (Small 979). In Mr. Woodhouse's case, he needs to be liked, 15 wanted, loved, and to be of importance to others, especially Emma. He has a morbid dependency on her for his care and protection. He attempts to overcome his anxiety by gaining approval and by controlling others through mutual dependency. His self-esteem rises and falls with the approval and disapproval of others (Horney, ore 51-52) While Mr. Woodhouse's demands for care impose a kind of hardship and discipline on Emma that molds her into a dutiful daughter, his admiration and applause are the grossest form of flattery (Paris 69). Abdicating his responsibilities and allowing her to be "mistress of his house from a very early period" (5) is a blatant form of flattery, and although his mental deficiencies disturb her at times, she usually welcomes them as confirmation of her own superiority (77). Mr. Knightley refers to Harriet Smith as "a flatterer in all her ways" (38), but that is a more appropriate description of Mr. Woodhouse, who is a much worse influence on Emma than Harriet. Emma is so thoroughly indoctrinated by Mr. Woodhouse's flattery that it will be extremely difficult for her to abandon his parasitic behavior because "never could [she] expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as [she is] in [her] father's" (84). 16 Emma's perfectionism is strikingly illustrated in its most compulsive form in her relationship with her father. It derives chiefly from their pathological interaction. Emma may seem to be in control at Hartfield, but she manages her father and her own life in small matters only. It is Mr. Woodhouse who dictates the lifestyle of Hartfield and who determines the possibilities of Emma's existence. He presents himself as a man on the verge of extinction who can be kept alive and in tolerable comfort only by the rigid observance of his wishes. He manipulates Emma through a combination of dependency and praise, and she receives from him two complimentary messages. The first lS that if she does not cater to his weakness and respect his obsessions, he will become nervous and depressed and may die. The second is that she is wonderful for being so good to him. The result is that she cannot do anything that will disturb her father. If she does she will risk destroying him and losing her status as the perfect daughter. The resulting guilt and shame will be unbearable. This combination of praise and demand forces Emma into a self-alienated development which severely restricts any emotional growth she s hould have experienced. She is not free to f eel her own feelings or to consult her own wishes. She is compelled 17 much of the time to repress her resentment, to disguise her feelings, and to act a part. In her father's presence, her lack of spontaneity, harmony, and transparency is striking. It is not pleasant to imagine the constant hardship of pretending which living with him entails (Paris 81-82). To an impartial observer, Miss Bates and Mr. Woodhouse seem much alike. Like Miss Bates, Mr. Woodhouse "is everywhere beloved for the friendliness of his heart and his amiable temper" (7) and, like her, he is an unfortunate blend of the good and the ridiculous. Comic as these characters are when encountered in a book, it is impossible to enjoy their society or to find them less than oppressive as persons to live with. Emma's heart goes out to Jane Fairfax at Donwell Abbey when she thinks Jane's distress lS because of her aunt: "Oh! Miss Woodhouse, the comfort of being sometimes alone!" seemed to . . describe the continual endurance to be practiced by her, even towards some of those who loved her best. "Such a home . such an aunt!" said Emma "I do pity you." ( 3 63) Emma lS mistaken about Jane, but her response indicates what her own feelings would be if she had to live with Miss 18 Bates. More to the point, it indicates what Emma's feelings are, unconsciously, about having to live with her father. She cannot stand being with Miss Bates because of "the continual endurance" which she must practice towards Mr. Woodhouse. She has no patience left. What Mr. Knightley sees as Miss Bates's harmless absurdities produce in Emma an almost phobic reaction (Paris 86-87). As Emma points out to Mr. Knightley, it "is very unfair to judge any body's conduct, without an intimate knowledge of their situation" (146). Mr. Woodhouse, ln his tyrannical, clinging relationship with Emma, acts out his dependent needs more openly than any other character in the novel. The account of his invalidism closely resembles the references in the letters to Mrs. Austen's valetudinarianism, but the novel is kinder. We are reminded by his taste for soft-boiled eggs and gruel that Mr. Woodhouse's behavior is baby-like. He shows a child like interest in the book of riddles being prepared by Harriet and Emma, ev e n asking h i s frie nd Mr. Perry for help. It is questionable whether or not Emma could have shown the same indulgence to an infantile, demanding mother. Her rela tions hip wi th Miss Bat es makes it seem highly unlikely (Moore 578-79). 19 Mr. Woodhouse emerges as initially amusing, but lS finally only tiresome. While he produces the effect of decayed gentlemanliness, this clever creation of Jane Austen's is really only an old woman, of the vacuous, mild natured, weakly selfish sort very common to novels and to life. He has no single masculine trait (Rosmarin 318). He enters the carriage ahead of the ladies because he must always be "the first object on such occasions" (128). He prefers to join the women in the drawing room for tea rather than remain with the men for brandy and cigars: To be sitting long after dinner was a confinement he could not long endure. Neither wine nor conversation was any thing to him; and gladly did he move to those [women] with whom he was always comfortable. (122) He is Miss Bates elevated to the dignity of Hartfield (Mudrick 192-93). Anything is satisfactory to Mr. Woodhouse as long as it does not require change. As he has no taste for food he has no taste for people. He is appalled by the propensity of young people to marry, especially to marry strangers. Mr. Woodhouse completely embodies the principle of perfect stasis, of total inertia. His tenacious clinging to Emma, 20 to his acquaintances, to the seen boundaries of his world comes to resemble the clinging of a parasitic plant that must be shaken off. He is the barely living excuse for Emma's refusal to commit herself to the human world (Mudrick 196-97). It is little wonder that Jane Austen foresaw his death in two years following the close of the novel (Shannon 145) . 21 Chapter Two: Lady Bertram Lady Bertram employs two very common passive-aggressive tactics in manipulating her family--hypochondria and social withdrawal. She is selfishly heartless and uninterested in her children or anything else in which she is not directly concerned. As long as her creature comforts are satisfied, she is content to let life drift past her. She expects the other inmates of Mansfield Park to cater to her every need, whether real or fanciful. While Jane Austen may not have purposely patterned Lady Bertram after her mother, the fact remains that in refusing to "go into public with her daughters" and being "too indolent even to accept a mother's gratification in witnessing their success and enjoyment at the expense of any personal trouble" (35), Lady Bertram undoubtedly mirrors the reclusive side of Mrs. Austen, who became reluctant to leave her horne for any reason although she was still a healthy woman. Of Lady Bertram it is said: Everything that a considerate parent ought to feel was advanced for her use, and everything that an affectionate mother must feel in promoting her 22 children's enjoyment was attributed to her nature. ( 285) This is false, of course, because she feels nothing. The phrasing here is vivid, and possibly reflects an aspect of Jane Austen's view of her mother. Jane Austen is at her most sardonic when she ridicules hypochondriacs like Lady Bertram who "was the happiest subject in the world for a little medical imposition" (429). This may represent another view of her mother's hypochondria, which always seemed to annoy her (Halperin 237-38). Although Lady Bertram is a splendid portrait of pampered indolence and the major comic emphasis in Mansfield Park, it is through her character that Jane Austen shows that she does not admire hypochondria (Kirkham 104). Lady Bertram lives in an insular world of her own making. According to Joseph Duffy, she is "a superfluous and inexplicable oyster . almost irrelevant to the world in which she is set" ("Moral" 72) . Perpetually sunk in self-indulgent lethargy, she is easy- going and indolent, having more interest in her pug and her sofa than her family. She spends her days: . sitting nicely dressed on a sofa, doing some long piece of needlework, of little use and no 23 beauty, thinking more of her pug than her children, but very indulgent to the latter, when it did not put herself to inconvenience. (19-20) The reference to needlework is obviously intentional. R. W. Chapman tells us that visitors were likely to find Mrs. Austen "busily engaged with her needle" (Facts 21). Lady Bertram is so self-centered that she is virtually incapable of observing others. On the morning after the ball her self-absorption is obvious: She was not certain of any body's dress, or any body's place at the table but her own. She could not recollect what it was that she had heard and she had forgot to ask Sir Thomas what it could be. (282-83) The seriousness of disasters which befall the family is measured by their effect in overcoming Lady Bertram's apathy and inertia. Tom's near-fatal illness, for example, gives her a reason to wake up and write letters. As Jane Austen sarcastically comments, "La dy Bertram's hour of good luck came" and "was . . to promise occupation for the pen for many days to come" (425). As is typical of hypochondriacs, Lady Bertram not only enjoys her own ill h ealth, but s he delights in dwelling on the ailments of others. She 24 especially enjoys being the first to pass on the "good" news of others' misfortune (Lascelles 155). Lady Bertram's indolence is graphically portrayed when Tom tries to use her anxiety over his father's absence as an excuse to put on the play: The expectation of his return must be a very anxious period to my mother . . we can be the means of amusing that anxiety, and keeping up her spirits. (126) The irony of this speech is not lost on his audience who all turn to look at Lady Bertram who is "sunk back on the sofa, the picture of health, wealth, ease, and tranquility" (126) Jane Austen's use of a sofa for Lady Bertram's favorite spot cannot have been an accident, as she must surely have had her mother in mind. The following account by James Austen-Leigh shows that Mrs. Austen also had a fondness for the sofa, making it her special province: The sitting room contained only one sofa, which was frequently occupied by her mother . . Jane would never use it even ln her mother's absence; but she contrived a sort of a couch for herself with two or three chairs, and was pleased to say 25 that this arrangement was more comfortable to her than a real sofa. (146) This may have been genuine concern for her mother's comfort, or a disinclination to put herself under an obligation to a parent with whom she had never had an easy relationship, and whose hypochondriacal ways had annoyed her for years (Halperin 338-39). She told a niece that she did it because she was afraid her mother would not use the sofa as much as was good for her (Austen-Leigh 147). It is more probable that she allowed her mother to manipulate her in much the same way that the characters in her novels manipulate their victims. Lady Bertram is sublimely insensitive to the feelings and needs of anyone other than herself, and this is most vividly portrayed in her relationship to Fanny Price. For example, on telling Fanny that she is going to live with Mrs. Norris, who has never shown Fanny any kindness, Lady Bertram says, "It can make very little difference to you, whether you are in one house or the other" (25). In her self-centered environment, she does not consider what effect a tyrannical, sadistic woman like Mrs. Norris will have on a frail, timid creature like Fanny. Her selfishness is again apparent when the outing to Sotherton is being planned. 26 Although Fanny dearly wants to go, Lady Bertram says, "I cannot do without her" (78). Edmund arranges for Mrs. Grant to spend the day with his mother so that Fanny may join the expedition. Considering that Lady Bertram has a full staff of servants to tend to her every need, and that she will probably sleep the day away on her sofa, this is the height of self-indulgence. It is Lady Bertram's sofa-bound inertia that allows the ascendancy of Mrs. Norris. As long as everyone, including Mrs. Norris, caters to her whims, Lady Bertram is content to allow her to become a tyrant and to rule Mansfield Park in her place (Tanner 152). By refusing to "go into publ ic with her daughters" Lady Bertram gives Mrs. Norris the perfect opportunity to step in as she "desired nothing better than a pos t of such honorable representation, and very thoroughly relished the means it afforded her" (35) . As is typical of the passive-aggressive personality, Lady Bertram use s her hypochondria and apparent h e lplessness t o manipul ate her family a nd friends into doing exactly as she wishes. She abdicates her everyday responsibilities to Mrs. Norris and Sir Thomas. This lack of attention t o the da ily care of her horne and family is a l s o a s ignificant passive-aggressive characteristic (Small 982). Lady Bertram 27 has seemingly lost any self-assertive traits that she may have had. Lady Bertram's indolence and passivity damage her family in many ways. She allows Mrs. Norris to usurp her authority over the household, particularly in the care and supervision of her children, and the result is a dysfunctional family unit. With the exception of Edmund, the children grow up to be selfish and spoiled, although all but Maria eventually redeem themselves. Maria is, in fact, of questionable moral character. Her scandalous behavior with Henry Crawford and her subsequent elopement from Mr. Rushworth's house cause her to be ostracized by society and banished from Mansfield Park. Julia commits the social indiscretion of eloping with the less-than-desirable Mr. Yates. Even Sir Thomas is not unaffected. His harshness and lack of intimacy with his family might have been tempered by the softening influence of his wife if she had ever made the effort, rather than being enhanced by the attitudes of Mrs. Norris. Influenced by his wife's trust ln Mrs. Norris, Sir Thomas allows his sister-in-law too much latitude in the daily supervision of his home, inadvertently supporting her rise to power. Finally, Tom grows up to be a wastrel and a spendthrift who throws away part of Edmund's 28 rightful inheritance and is only saved from a life of dissipation by a near-fatal illness. It is Fanny, however, who suffers the most. She arrives at Mansfield Park a shy, retiring ten year old who might have blossomed into an outgoing, happy young girl with love and understanding. Instead, she is subjected to the tyrannical abuse of Mrs. Norris and the passive neglect of Lady Bertram. As a result, she grows up to be a shy, reserved adult. The passive tyrant uses the vic tim's weakness to gain the desired results. Lady Bertram uses Fanny's insecurity and her need to belong. Fanny finds security in the long empty hours she spends with Lady Bertram. It gives her a place in t he family, and makes her feel useful. Lady Bertram's indolence becomes the peace, tranquility, and stability that Fa nny desires (Paris 38-45). The passive a ggress i v e indiv idual has t he abilit y t o ma ke people who might otherwise feel unappreciated or even incapable feel inordinat ely apprec iated. Fanny is no more immune t o Lady Bertr a m' s flattery t han Emma is t o Mr. Woodhouse' s or Anne Elliot is to Mary Musgrove's. This type of personalit y is difficult t o resist and i t 1s even more difficult t o abandon (Col e 55). Fa nny f inds i t extremely dif fic u lt to "a b a ndon" Lady Bertram in order to marry Edmund: 2 9 Selfishly dear as she had long been to Lady Bertram, she could not be parted with willingly by her. No happiness of son or niece could make her wish the marriage. But it was possible to part with her, because Susan remained to supply her place.--Susan became the stationary niece- delighted to be so!--and equally well adapted for it by a readiness of mind, an inclination for usefulness, as Fanny had been by sweetness of temper, and strong feelings of gratitude. (472) So the cycle continues. Susan Price is as eager a victim and as susceptible to flattery as Fanny, allowing Lady Bertram to continue her indolent, selfish ways reclining on her sofa. 30 Chapter Three: Mary Musgrove Mary Musgrove is a self-indulgent hypochondriac reminiscent of Lady Bertram--not as lethargic, but with little energy to spare from her selfish hypochondria. What energy remains is devoted to upholding her notions of the Elliot consequence (Mudrick 232). Mary is also vain and superficial. She has no inner resources and does not deserve the privileged position she enjoys. When Anne Elliot lives for a time with Mary, we are given a vivid picture of the differences between the sisters. Mary is selfish, ineffectual, and dependent, whereas Anne is helpful, competent, and self-sufficient. Mary is "very prone to add to every distress that of fancying herself neglected and ill used" (37). Anne lS neglected and ill-used, but she bears her fate with fortitude (Paris 148). Anne, having been a nonentity in her family for most of her life, is well-suited to her role as Mary's victim. When Mary insists that Anne remain at Uppercross Cottage instead of going to Bath because she "cannot possibly do without 31 Anne" (33), she is using Anne's lack of importance in the family to her own advantage: Mary . . always thinking . of her own complaints, and always in the habit of claiming Anne when any thing was the matter, was indisposed; and foreseeing that she should not have a day's health all autumn . . required her to . . bear her company as long as she would want her. (33) At Uppercross Cottage, Anne will have some of the importance she needs, and Mary uses this need to manipulate her. Dissatisfied with the unrelieved tedium and ineffectuality of her own life, Mary claims Anne's attention without regard for her sister's feelings and well-being (Swanson 7). Mary has little or no control over herself or anything else in her life. Lack of control or a feeling of powerlessness is often the basis for passive-aggression. People do not generally move into the passive-aggressive mode consciously, but compulsively and automatically, because of conditioning. Passive-aggression is a defense mechanism for survival in an environment where a person feels powerless, a way to strike back and resist being treated as a non-person (Burley-Allen 42). In Mary's case, 32 all of her life she has had to compete with Anne and Elizabeth for attention. Elizabeth is her father's favorite, Anne and Mary being of "very inferior value" (5); and while Elizabeth has her father's favor, Anne had her late mother's. After Lady Elliot's death, Anne turned to Lady Russell for love and attention. Mary, the youngest daughter, had no one, though her marriage to Charles helped her self-esteem some as she "acquired a little artificial importance, by becoming Mrs. Charles Musgrove" (5). Yet even then she is Charles's second choice, after Anne. Sir Walter Elliot's insensitivity to Mary's emotional needs has stifled any self-esteem, and when parental behavior stops all direct expression of aggressiveness in a child, the child learns to divert or disguise aggressiveness. Passive- aggressive behavior is an expression of social aggressiveness and maladaption. In Mary Musgrove's case, she never learns positive assertive responses (Golet 141). Mary has not been allowed to develop according to her own needs and possibilities. Her father is too wrapped up in himself and his own self-importance to give much love or attention to her. She never feels a sense of belonging, instead suffering from profound insecurity. Feeling isolated and helpless in a world perceived as hostile, Mary 33 develops coping mechanisms, determined by her temperament as well as her environment (Horney, NHG 18-19). Having vastly different personalities, Anne and Mary respond differently to their father's callous neglect. Anne more or less withdraws into herself with a quiet self-assurance, hiding any hurt she might feel. She goes on with her life, being congenial to everyone. Mary, on the other hand, has repressed her hostility toward her father. She blames herself for his neglect and feels unworthy of his love. This helplessness in childhood becomes the powerlessness of the passive-aggressive adult (Horney, NP 84-86). As Mary is incapable of controlling her own life, she is incapable of controlling her children as well. Her mother-in- law observes, "Mrs. Charles knows no more how they should be treated" (45). When little Charles dislocates his collarbone , Mary s ays: I am more unfit than any body else to be about the child . . I am not at all equal to it. You saw how hyst erical I wa s yesterday . I h a v e not the nerves for the sort of thing. (56) Mary's seeming inability t o control her children and her u seless hys terics a llow h er to abdicat e her position ; her responsibilities and duties devolve to Anne who "had 3 4 everything to do at once" (53). One begins to see a parallel between Mary and Anne and Lady Bertram and Mrs. Norris. Fortunately for Mary's family, Anne is very different from the tyrannical Mrs. Norris. It is hypochondria, however, that Mary uses most often to achieve her goals. When Anne arrives at Uppercross Cottage, she finds Mary "lying on the faded sofa" feeling "so ill I can hardly speak" (37). Anne nearly succeeds in convincing Mary that she is feeling far better than she imagines, telling her, "you will be better now . you know I always cure you when I come" (38). Mary has the neurotic need to fill the emotional void in her life with the attentions and sympathies of others. As Charles tells Anne, "I wish you could persuade Mary not to always be fancying herself ill" (44). Mary has an obvious incapacity to extend her thoughts to anyone else, except as other people's behavior affects her personally. Jane Austen 1s always critical of characters who over-indulge their feelings, and in this instance, where there is no reason for Mary to be emotionally upset and she is obviously not ill, the author's irony is unrestrained (Odrnark 84). Not everyone is as eager to yield to Mary's tyranny as Anne and Charles are. The Musgrove sisters do not want Mary 35 to accompany them on the walk to Winthrop because she tires too easily and they were going on a "long" walk. Anne also tries to dissuade Mary from going, but fails and Mary responds with, "I cannot imagine why they should suppose I should not like a long walk . Everybody is always supposing I am not a good walker" (83). Anne joins the group hoping to lessen the interference if Mary must turn back. Anne is motivated not by what she wants for herself, but by what will be of use to others. She seems to have accepted the idea that other people's feelings are important, although hers do not count. She adopts a retiring role when she is in company, and sees her aim ln life as service rather than self-fulfillment (Paris 157-58) It is Anne's inferiority complex that allows Mary to use her so shamelessly. Mary meets with only limited success when she tries to manipulate the other members of her set. With Anne, however, she is always successful. Like Fanny Price, Anne has a need to serve and find a useful place in her family: To be claimed as a good, though in an improper style, is at least better than being rejected as no good at all; and Anne, glad to be thought of some use, [was] glad to have . . a duty. ( 3 3) 36 When Louisa is injured on the Cobb, Mary again shows her self-centeredness and lack of self-control by having hysterics. She screams, "She is dead! She is dead!" (109), giving no thought to the feelings of Charles and Henrietta, whose sister is lying unconscious on the pavement. Rather, Charles must "witness the hysterical agitations of his wife, calling on him for help which he could not give" (110) Mary always imagines herself "neglected and ill-used" (37); consequently, it is not real concern for Louisa that is causing her hysterics but her need to be the focus of attention. As Mary has inherited a considerable share of the Elliot self-importance, she always expects to be given precedence over the Musgrove family in every situation, and if she has no real cause she will create one (Pinion 127) This uninhibited public display of exaggerated emotional reactions is typical of the dependent personality who, like Mary, is constantly seeking love and attention. While Mary's dramatic and histrionic behavior attracts the desired attention, and her observers do not at first recognize the exhibitionist quality of her behavior, their sympathy soon wanes beside the more genuine concern for Louisa (Simons 773-74) 0 37 Mary Musgrove manipulates almost everyone with whom she comes in contact. If there is a conflict of goals, she will manipulate the other person into doing as she wishes, even if the other person does not want to comply, as in the case of the walk to Winthrop. She consciously influences Anne to go on a walk on which Anne has no desire to go. Anne goes because "she might be useful" (85). Manipulation, however, does not exist in isolation. There must always be a victim who allows the manipulation (Bursten 20). Anne allows herself to be manipulated by Mary to fulfill needs of her own, becoming a willing victim. Charles allows Mary to manipulate him because it is the easiest route for him to take. He is no match for Mary, but if she is happy, then Charles is free to go his own careless, good-natured way and he is happy. Since Mary is still a young woman, we are not allowed to see the long-range effects of her passive tyranny. There is no question that she is a manipulative hypochondriac or that her passive-aggressive behavior will accelerate with time and age if it is not checked. One can only guess what she will be like when she reaches the age of Lady Bertram. 38 Chapter Four: Mrs. Churchill One of the dangers of hypochondria or psychosomatic illness is that it often leads to real illness. The hypochondriac may suffer from real ailments such as chronic digestive disorders, high blood pressure, ulcers, asthma, or skin diseases that were originally provoked, at least in part, by chronic conflict or emotional disturbance. This is not unexpected since the sufferer is usually somewhat neurotic and of a nervous disposition. In many cases it 1s a combination of both real and imagined illness, since the sufferer tends to exaggerate the severity of even minor ailments (White 51-52). In Mrs. Churchill's case, she has become an invalid, and whether her illness is genuine or feigned, the end result of her tyrannical behavior is the same. Through Frank Churchill, Jane Austen dramatizes the damaging effects of manipulation by a sick, life-denying parental figure. Frank is forced to adapt his life to Mrs. Churchill's whim. If he stands up to her and tries to live his own life, he is threatened with the fact that she may become genuinely ill and die. He is an emotional hostage 39 who must remain a prisoner to the obligation he feels he owes to his adoptive mother. According to Mr. Weston, Mrs. Churchill rules Enscombe and 11 is a very odd-tempered womann and Frank's "coming now depends upon her being able to spare him" (121). The child-like dependency that Mrs. Churchill shows for Frank is typical of the passive-aggressive invalid. She tends to cling to him, especially when she is under stress. When she is seriously ill she becomes even more child-like and dependent (Simons 777). While it is true that Frank should stand up to Mrs. Churchill in the name of the obligation he also owes to his father, it is understandable that he does not. As Mr. Knightley naively points out: The Churchills are very likely at fault . . but . I cannot believe that he has not the power of corning . There is one thing a man can always do, if he chuses, and that is, his duty. (145-46) However, Mr. Knightley, speaking from the point of view of a disinterested bystander, has never had to live with a tyrannical invalid. As Emma tells him, he has "no habits of early obedience and long obse rvance to break through" (147 - 48). He has always been his "own master" (146). Emma and 40 Frank are not their own master, they are slaves to the worst kind of tyrant. Even Isabella, who is a hypochondriac herself, feels sympathy for Frank's situation: To be constantly living with an ill-tempered person must be dreadful. It lS what we happily have never known anything of; but it must be a life of misery. (121) Obviously Isabella has escaped, or is blind to, the caprice of Mr. Woodhouse with which Emma is all too familiar. It is because of Mrs. Churchill that Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax must keep their engagement secret. Frank's dilemma and frustration account for his dishonorable behavior. Jane Austen treats his behavior with surprising mildness and sympathy, however. Nothing bad happens to Frank: he gets the girl he loves, and retains the esteem of the residents of Highbury. Even Emma empathizes with him: "I think it might have been some amusement to myself in the same situation. I think there is a little likeness between us" (478). There may also be a "little like ness" bet ween Frank Churchill and Jane Austen, suggesting a comparison with her feelings for own mother's invalidism. Frank is called to Mrs . Churchill's side once agaln when she finds York too cold for her ("as she had not been 41 well the whole winter") and the family must move to London at all speed spending "only two nights on the road" (305- 06) . This unseemly haste while traveling prompts Mr. Weston to remark dryly "delicate ladies have very extraordinary constitutions" (306). But then Mr. Weston, like most of Highbury, has never had "much faith in Mrs. Churchill's illness" (307). London proves to be too noisy and she seeks the seclusion of Richmond where she dies, proving her illness has not been fanciful. As the future of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill is governed by the health, wealth, and interest of Mrs. Churchill, her death is a fortuitous event, because "while poor Mrs. Churchill lived . there could not have been a hope, a chance . . a possibility" (398) for them to be married (Harvey 240). No one else seems to feel a great deal of grief, although the res idents of Highbury try to show at least a "degree of gravity and sorrow" and "after having disliked Mrs. Churchill at least twenty- five years" she is now "spoken of with compassionate allowances" and wa s "acquitte d of all her fancifulness, and all selfishness of imaginary complaints" (387). While her death proves that Mrs. Churchill' s illnesses were not completely imaginary, she still used her poor 42 health to manipulate her son and her husband. This passive aggressive behavior may have stemmed from a need for love or a need for power, or both. That her complaints were often exaggerated is apparent from the way in which she usually recovers very quickly after Frank returns horne. More often than not her illnesses are "all nothing of course" (304) Even her death is not from some chronic ailment, but "a sudden seizure of a different nature from any thing foreboded by her general state," which "carried her off after a short struggle" (387)--lending further credence to her hypochondria. The weak spot in the passive tyrant is a dependence on a large amount of supporting love. This weakness 1s analogous to a flourishing plant which has no capacity to endure droughts. It wilts and droop when other plants seem still to draw nourishment from dry ground (White 494) . 43 Chapter Five: Mrs. Clay Penelope Clay does not display a typically passive aggressive personality. She is not a hypochondriac, nor lS she a social recluse in the manner of Lady Bertram or Mr. Woodhouse. She is, however, selfishly manipulative in the extreme. Due to the weakness of her position as the widowed daughter of Sir Walter Elliot's agent, she must passively ingratiate herself into the Elliot household as she was "very unequal, and . . a very dangerous companion" ( 16) Her inferior social status precludes her acceptance into the Elliot's social milieu in any other way. Mrs. Clay's single most manipulative weapon is flattery. While she echoes her father's subservience, her remarks and behavior are more obvious attempts to flatter. She seeks the sympathy and good favor of the Elliots through subtle praise, open admiration, and frank adoration. Sir Walter, who is very handsome and knows it, is very severe upon the rapid aging of sailors, whereupon Mrs. Clay protests, "Have a little mercy on the poor men. We are not a ll born to be handsome" ( 2 0) . She then continues to denigrate every other 44 profession that comes to mind. It appears to her that only the country landowner (Sir Walter) has the hope of immortal beauty (Mudrick 209). In their arrogance and supreme self- confidence, Sir Walter and Elizabeth are unaware that they are being flattered. They accept Mrs. Clay's obsequiousness as their due. Mrs. Clay's purpose in becoming a part of the Elliot household is to become Sir Walter's wife, but because of her "inequality of condition" and lack of beauty, Elizabeth is positive that nothing could "induce my father to make a degrading match" (35). In order for manipulation to succeed there must first be a conflict of goals. The manipulator must want something that the other person does not want to give, and have the feeling of putting something over on the other person (Bursten 8). Mrs. Clay's goal is marriage to Sir Walter, and Sir Walter's goal is to remain single or at least to marry someone he considers his equal. Every manipulator must have a victim and Sir Walter and Elizabeth are perfect prey. All of Mrs. Clay's scheming would be of no avail if they were not so arrogant that they cannot see her flattery for what it is. Mrs. Clay is forced to use insidious methods to ingratiate herself with Sir Walter and Elizabeth because of 45 her inferior position. Like most women of her day she is likely to feel guilty or anxlous about aggression, and these feelings may inhibit normal assertive actions. Without the status of rank, wealth, or even beauty she is powerless and weak. Passive-aggressive manipulation is the only way she can hope to achieve her goals (Matlin 227). If this friendly and ingratiating approach fails, she may resort to less kindly tactics, as in her attempted alienation of Anne, who is left behind at Uppercross because of "Mrs. Clay's being of so much more use, while Anne could be of none" ( 34) . It is also Mrs. Clay who helps Elizabeth make party arrangements, usurping Anne's rightful place as a daughter of the house. Elizabeth is naively unaware that Mrs. Clay is a fraud who is slyly and skillfully manipulating her through guile and, occasionally, outright lies. However, Mrs. Clay is not operating in a vacuum. Her victims are fertile ground for her deceptive machinations. As Marvin Mudrick so succinctly puts it, "Sir Walter was born to be a dupe, and Mrs. Clay was born to dupe him" (215). 46 Chapter Six: Illness and Hypochondria - Sanditon Donald Greene writes that Sanditon would probably have been Jane Austen's best novel if she had been able to finish it: "It contains the largest quantity of freaks, all depicted with her most mature skill" (273). These "freaks" are some of her best invalids and hypochondriacs. A satire on the absurdity of hypochondria, Sanditon was written during Austen's last illness. That it was suggested by a comparison of her own terminal illness with her mother's hypochondria is fairly obvious. Here the attack on hypochondriacs is much less gentle and less subtle than in her earlier novels, and it is a commonly held opinion that her attack was a means of laughing away or defending herself against anxieties about her own health (Pinion 458). One need only read her letters to get her real opinion of hypochondria. To her sister Cassandra she writes: "Lady W has taken up her old tricks of ill-health again" (Chapman, Letters 304); or to her brother Frank that she knew a "poor honey" who was "determined never to be well" and "likes her 47 spasms and nervousness and the consequence they give her" ( 3 3 9) • Sanditon lS also a satire on seaside resorts. Jane Austen never made a secret of her dislike of Bath either in her novels or letters. When Mrs. Elton suggests that a trip to Bath might be beneficial to Mr. Woodhouse, Emma coldly replies, "My father tried it more than once . . without receiving any benefit" (275). In another letter to Cassandra she speaks of a friend staying in Clifton rather than Bath "and she is as glad of the change as you and I would be" (Chapman, Letters 391). All of her characters in Sanditon have a personal reason for preserving their own or another's ill-health. Mr. Parker has a commercial interest in Sanditon, and although not sickly himself, he has an avid interest in all who are ill, or imagine themselves so. Sickness is a commodity firmly linked to the economics of his health resort pro ject. Therefo re, to enco urage people to c ome and s pend t i me by t h e sea in Sanditon, it i s necessary to promote the undoubted pleasures and benefits of sea bathing as a medically desirable treatment, becaus e "no perso n could be really well . ln a s tate of s ecure a nd p e rma nent health without spending at least six weeks by the sea every 48 year" (373). To sell sea-bathing it is not enough simply to convey the fact that it is both pleasant and good for you. Mr. Parker finds it necessary to stress its therapeutic properties, since "sea air and sea bathing were nearly infallible . being a match for every disorder" ( 3 73) . Mr. Parker is blessed with relatives who enjoy "wretched health" (385), although his brother Sidney feels that "there is a good deal of Imagination in my two sisters' complaints" (385). His brother Arthur "is so delicate that he can engage in no profession" (385). As Diana Parker says, they are "Invalids indeed . . there are not three people in England who have so sad a right to that appellation" (410). Jane Austen uses the characters of Sidney Parker and Charlotte Heywood as a foil to the hypochondriacs, as well as to promote the satire and sustain the humor. Charlotte, who has the "boldness of her own good health" (413) feels that the sisters' "quacking measures touch on Extremes" (388), and "Sidney might find something extremely entertaining . and make us laugh" in Diana's letter detailing her sister Susan's poor health (387). Mr. Parker, on the other hand, can find nothing diverting in Susan's treatment, having "six Leaches a day for 10 days" or "3 teeth drawn" to relieve a headache. It is no wonder 49 Susan's "nerves are a good deal deranged" (387). Even Mrs. Parker feels that they "carry it too far sometime would be better, if they would leave themselves alone" (388). The hypochondriacs in Sanditon are different from those in the earlier novels. They are not as manipulative in the sense of using a victim. There are no victims per se in Sanditon. The hypochondriacs enjoy their ill health and everyone else humors them. However, the fact that Jane Austen was dying when she wrote Sanditon cannot be ignored, and it is very likely that this is the reason for so many references to illness. In this way she manages to depersonalize her obsession with her own illness (Tanner 267). Jane Austen could see that what she calls "enjoyment of invalidism" could have very destructive effects on herself and others. She saw the dangers and perversities which could be involved in hypochondria and quack medicine ( 2 69) . 50 Conclusion In all her novels, Jane Austen depicts illness and invalids: Mr. Woodhouse has his own peculiar brand of dyspepsia; Lady Bertram falls victim to ennui and self indulgence; Marianne Dashwood develops an infection with a putrid tendency; Louisa Musgrove has a concussion; Jane Bennett has a violent cold; Mrs. Tilney dies of a bilious fever; and Sanditon is devoted entirely to illnesses and invalids of all kinds. In delineating the characters' focus on their own health and on the complaints of others, Jane Austen seems to be reflecting real life at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Georgians were consumed by the thought that wet shoes and stockings made the body more susceptible to illness (Kaplan 122-23). They were very much like Mr. Woodhouse, who, upon learning that Jane Fairfax has been out in the rain, i s immediately concerned about her health and asks "did you change your stockings" (294). Jane Austen's portraits of convalescents agree well with the picture of medicine that we d erive from t he literature o f the period, with its regimes of cupping, purging, and 51 lowering diets such as Mr. Woodhouse's gruel (Steele 156). Her own attitude toward sickness seems to have been practical and unfussy, as when John Knightley tells Emma not to physic his sons in contrast to the accepted treatment of purging. Despite the regularity with which rheumatic and gouty symptoms send her characters to Bath, she herself, like Anne Elliot and Emma Woodhouse, disliked the place and had little faith in the fashionable treatments offered there (Chapman, Letters 63). For her own rheumatic twinges she preferred more traditional measures, "just a little pain in my knee now and then, to make me remember . . and keep on the flannel (479). Although her letters contain many references to minor ailments and little doses of calomel and hartshorn, she has "not much compasslon for colds . without fever" (57) and believes her mother's head will stop aching when she can be "out of doors and hard at work every day" in her garden (355). This is a very different picture from that of poor Fanny Price "drooping among the roses" in Mansfield Park (73). Jane Austen would seem to be entirely in sympathy with Charlotte Heywood, who, when visiting the "invalids" at Sanditon, "could perceive no symptoms of illness which she . would have undertaken to cure by 52 putting out the fire, opening the windows, and disposing of the drops and the salts" (413). That Jane Austen used her novels as a forum to express her views on illness is apparent; also apparent is her mother's role in Austen's choice of this theme of dependency and devaluation of the parental role. Her relationship with her father appears to have been amicable. As she wrote to her brother Frank upon the death of her father: "We have lost an Excellent Father" (145); "His tenderness as a Father, who can do justice to" (146); "It preserves the sweet benevolent smile which always distinguished" (147). It was also her father who had her first two nov els published and encouraged her writing. One can perceiv e only good feelings and affection between Jane Austen and her father, so if parents in her novels are often bad parents , they probably r epres ent h e r mo t her a lone, with whom her relations were always less comfortable (Halperin 144-45). With the exception of Mr. Woodhouse, who is really an old woma n, a ll of her life- d e nying pare n t al f igures are female . She satirizes her mother's predilection for the sofa in several of her novels: Mrs. Churchill is not "able t o leave her s opha f or a wee k" (3 06); Anne Elliot f inds Ma ry Musgrove "lying on the faded sofa" (37); Lady Bertram spends her days 53 "sitting nicely dressed on a sofa" (19); Laura and Sophia of Love and Friendship "fainted alternately on a Sofa" (86); and Susan Parker is "hardly able to crawl . . to the sofa" (386). While Jane Austen often portrays her passive aggressive characters with tongue-in-cheek humor, she does not hide the fact that they are destructive tyrants. In many ways the passive tyrant is as abusive, despotic, and oppressive as the overt tyrant: the abuse is only more subtle. This deceptive form of tyranny catches the victim by surprise. Unlike the aggressive tyrant who is a known evil, the passive tyrant must be handled carefully, because he or she is most often portrayed as a weak, pathetic creature. The victim cannot fight back or retaliate in any way without strong feelings of guilt, which is frequently the passive aggressive character's strongest weapon. Mr. Woodhouse has kept Emma a virtual prisoner at Hartfield. She is not allowed to travel to London to stay with her sister or participate in the frivolous activities which young girls need and enjoy. She has never even traveled to Box Hill, a day excursion from Highbury. She has few friends other than her father's contemporaries. Her social life is limited to what can be adapted to Mr. Woodhouse. Emma cannot change 54 anything in this static environment because she is afraid that Mr. Woodhouse will become ill and die. Emma lives with this threat daily. More damaging, however, is Mr. Woodhouse's constant flattery of Emma, the main source of her inflated sense of self-importance. She will find it difficult, if not impossible, to leave him even for short periods of time, because no one else can give her this feeling of power that her father's dependency does. Unless Emma is removed from Mr. Woodhouse's parasitic influence, her emotional growth will be severely restricted. Fortunately for Emma, she has Mr. Knightley to counteract the influence of her father. Also in Emma, the tyrannical behavior of Mrs. Churchill forces her adopted son Frank to deceive the good people of Highbury, including his parents. He must keep his relationship with Jane Fairfax a secret, and in doing so causes Jane much anguish. When so honorable a character as Jane Fairfax resorts to lies and deceit, one begins to see just how destructive passive tyranny can be. Through passive neglect of her parental duties, Lady Bertram is directly responsible for the disintegration of her family unit. Her children grow up self-centered, spoiled and prone to scandal. Sir Thomas is forced to rely 55 on Mrs. Norris to handle the day-to-day problems which arise at Mansfield Park, and this aids Mrs. Norris in her rise to power. Mary Musgrove's manipulative behavior, coupled with her lack of control, creates chaos in her home. Her children are undisciplined and bound to become more destructive and spoiled as they grow older. Charles Musgrove's good-natu red boyishness is no match for her manipulative, jealous, selfish personality; consequently, he exerts no control over her behavior. It is difficult to predict the future effects of Mary's behavior on her family, but the outlook is not bright. It is hard to be sympathetic to anyone as arrogant and egotistical as Sir Walter and Elizabeth Elliot. One almo st wishes Mrs. Clay success in her endeavors, yet she could h a ve done great har m. She s ucce eds in further a lienating Anne from her father and sister and one can only imagine what she would have done as Lady Elliot. It seems her only mis take is t o b e come infatuated with William Elliot, a better manipulator than herself. On the surface , Sandit on appears to be a victimless portraya l o f hypochondria and i nvalidism. It i s impossible, however, to determine how Jane Austen would have completed 56 this unfinished novel. Mr. Parker is obviously eager to promote any form of illness, real or imagined, because it lS good for the prosperity of his resort. The hypochondriacal characters of Susan, Diane, and Arthur Parker are three of Jane Austen's best portrayals of invalids. One can only speculate how she would have developed their characters, but they are fertile ground for passive tyranny. They provide Jane Austen with the means of showing the dangers of a morbid fascination with ill-health. In Austen, passive aggressive characters are placed in positions of powerlessness. Hostility is often a consequence of this powerlessness, showing itself in negative attitudes and behavior intended to hurt, undermine, or belittle anyone perceived as a threat. In fact, their hostility is a safeguard against their vulnerability. Physical or emotional withdrawal may be more difficult to recognize as hostility, but the purpose and intent are no different from overt retaliation. The powerless person believes that he or she cannot express anger and resentment, and this produces indirect, passive-aggressive behavior that provides the sense of power that comes from making life miserable for the perceived oppressor (Green 1230-32). 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