FAITH MATTERS IN

The Clergy, the Church, and Christian Life JANE AUSTEN’S FAITH AND FAMILY

The clergy she knew and evidence of her faith Jane Austen knew a lot of clergymen, both Jane Austen’s Clerical Connections socially and through her family. This list is likely not exhaustive. Relatives Friends and Neighbors

◦ Father: George Austen ◦ Godfather: Samuel Cooke ◦ Maternal Grandfather: Thomas Leigh ◦ Suitors: Samuel Blackall, mystery man at the seaside (family legend) ◦ Maternal Great Grandfather: Theophilius Leigh ◦ Various Neighbors: James Digweed, George ◦ Great Uncle: Thomas Leigh Lefroy and 2 of his sons, Terry family, Peter ◦ Brothers: James and Henry Debary, Fulwar Craven Fowle, Henry Rice, Tom Chute, Charles Powlett ◦ Cousins: from the Leigh and Austen families (also with the surname Cooke) ◦ Acquaintance: James Stanier Clarke (librarian of the Prince Regent) ◦ Uncles: Thomas Leigh, Henry Austen, William Cooper ◦ Parson’s Wives: Martha Lloyd and her daughters Martha (Jane’s eventual sister-in-law) and Eliza, Anna (Jane’s niece) Austen’s Clerical Characters

◦ Edward Ferrars, ◦ Mr. Collins, ◦ Edmund Bertram, ◦ Dr. Grant, Mansfield Park ◦ Mr. Elton, ◦ , ◦ Charles Hayter, ◦ Rev. Dr. Shirley, Persuasion ◦ Mr. Watson, Steventon Rectory

◦ Jane Austen was born at Steventon Rectory, where she lived the first 25 years of her life. ◦ Her father, George Austen, held the position of rector at Steventon and the neighboring Deane ◦ At Steventon, in Northern , the Austens enjoyed a good community of neighboring villages and relatives, from whom they enjoyed friendships, intellectual companionship, and gentility ◦ When George Austen retired in 1801, he gave the living to his eldest son James, who had served as curate at Deane (also given to him by his father). It was incumbent on relatives to supply livings to their family members, if they could. Edward Austen Knight, Jane Austen’s brother who was adopted by the Knight family, supplied a curacy to his brother Henry at . Jane Austen’s Prayers

◦ We have three prayers attributed to Jane Austen in family manuscripts. Each was intended for reading in the evening for devotion with the Lord’s Prayer to follow. The Austen family often enjoy reading together before bedtime from novels, poetry, sermons, and from pieces Jane wrote. Before bed, they would likely do family prayers. ◦ Jane’s prayers closely echo the Book of Common Prayer in their format and petitions. Each evening prayer expresses reflections on the day, gratitude for blessings, and offers petitions for safety, health, travel, and comfort. ◦ Jane’s prayers indicate a deep and devout faith, and it is possible that she considered religion too serious a matter to have her characters talk about continuously (though there is certainly religious feeling in her novels). Her sincere religious faith manifests in her novels, especially in her emphasis on her heroines’ self-reflection and self-knowledge, as well as the strengthening of their moral fiber through crises. ◦ Bruce Stovel notes that Austen’s prayers share a theme of “the struggle for Christ-like forbearance and charity,” much like Jane Bennet exemplifies and acquires in Pride and Prejudice (167). Stovel also labels Pride and Prejudice as a “drama[] of self-discovery,” much in line with the language of the prayers (177). Mr. Darcy’s reflections on thinking “meanly of the world” at the end of the novel closely matches sentiments in Austen’s third prayer about thinking too severely of others (177). Copies of the prayers, like this one, hang on the walls at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, UK. Jane Austen’s Devotional

◦ One of the devotionals Austen is known to have owned is William Vickers’s A companion to the altar: shewing the nature & necessity of a sacramental preparation in order to our worthy receiving the Holy Communion, to which are added Prayers and meditations (1793). ◦ Her great-niece Florence Austen states, “this book of devotions always used by Jane Austen, we used to be told by Aunt Cassandra.” ◦ Vickers’s text offers prayers and meditations that advises detailed self- examination prior to every occasion when Holy Communion was taken (communion was usually only offered a few times a year for very special occasions). ◦ The Companion places extreme emphasis on the need for a candidate to thoroughly examine their own lives and deeds and to be truly penitent before taking the sacrament. Irene Collins calculates that it would take several hours to fully carry out Vickers’s advice. Where Jane Worshipped: Steventon

Plaque in St. Nicholas, Steventon Interior of St. Nicholas Church, Steventon Where Jane Worshiped: Bath

St. Mary’s Chapel, where Austen is thought to have Spire of Walcot Church, 1790. This is the only church worshipped in 1799 named in Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen uses the word ‘church’ or ‘churches’ 45 times in her novels, but The Octagon Chapel, where it is thought Jane Austen worshipped Walcot Church is the only one ever named. Walcot while living in Bath. There are, of course, other possibilities, since Church is also where George Austen’s funeral was held; she and her family lived in different areas of Bath. Jane could not attend, as per the custom that ladies not attend. Where Jane Worshiped: Kent

Church of the Holy Cross, Goodnestone, St. Laurence-the-Martyr Church, Godmersham, Near Jane’s sister-in-law’s family estate where Where Jane would worship when visiting her brother Jane and Cassandra would visit. Edward Austen-Knight’s Kent estate Godmersham Park. Where Jane Worshiped: Chawton

Exterior of St. Nicholas Church Interior of St. Nicholas Church Jane Austen’s Cross Necklace

◦ Jane and received the gift of topaz crosses on gold chains from their naval brother Frank in 1801. ◦ Austen writes in her letters on the necklaces: “He has received 30£ for his share of the privateer & expects 10£ more—but of what avail is it to take prizes if he lays out the produce in presents to his Sisters. He has been buying Gold chains & Topaze Crosses for us;— he must be well scolded” (26–27 May 1801). ◦ Jane was well-pleased with the gift, though she teases about scolding Charles for his generosity. ◦ The topaz cross is one of the few pieces of jewelry Jane owned. ◦ Likely inspired by the gift of the topaz cross necklace, Jane Austen has her heroine Fanny Price receive a similar gift from her sailor brother William in Mansfield Park. ◦ Fanny receives an amber cross, which is not as expensive as the topaz cross Jane received. William Price would not have been able Topaz cross necklaces belonging to the Austen sisters. to afford a topaz cross, and the amber cross is comparable with his On the upper left is Jane’s cross; on the lower right is income. Cassandra’s. Austen’s Faith & Her Novels

◦ While biographers and scholars focus on Austen’s later novels as having a more overt religious valence, there is a pervasive sense of Austen’s faith throughout all of her novels even if there aren’t many specific references to religion. The values her characters hold stem from her religious beliefs; her novels espouse self- examination, self-improvement, forgiveness, repentance, forbearance, a belief in the transformative power of love, reason, care for neighbors, appreciation for nature/creation, and morality. ◦ Laura Mooneyham White notes, “The world of her novels is a Christian one in which worldliness competes against traditional orthodoxy and moral precepts. Living in the real world, Austen shows, is the best test of one’s Christian values, and the novels rest on this foundation of Christian purpose” (66). ◦ Michael Giffin observes that Austen’s novels participate in the idea of salvation, noting that the Greek root of salvation is soteria; soteria has a variety of meanings, including wholeness, health, preservation from disease, and self-knowledge. Giffin contends that Austen’s novels seeks the physical and emotional sense of soteria for the characters and communities. Giffin writes, “Austen’s primary theme is social being and social becoming, with a focus on the potential of maturity and the consequence of immaturity. For Austen, interpretation is the key to maturity and the soteria that maturity confers. Maturity depends on a character interpreting self, Watercolor of Jane Austen, world, and other “correctly”; and on arriving at a ‘proper’ understanding of their painted by her sister Cassandra dependent and interdependent social context.” Where Jane is Buried: Winchester Cathedral

A statue of Austen at one of her three memorials in Winchester Cathedral. She died in Winchester in July 1817, and her modest funeral was held before services one Sunday morning. She lies Austen’s gravestone. under the floor of the north It honors her virtues, but aisle of the nave. The exterior of Winchester Cathedral, a building does not mention her Jane admired. writing. CLERICAL MATTERS

Clergy in Jane Austen’s England Education for the Clergy

◦ Oxford and Cambridge Universities supplied the clergy for the Church of England. ◦ These universities were deeply committed to defending the established faith, which the government and society were believed to rest upon. ◦ The undergraduate course of study consisted of the classics (Latin and Greek) and the ‘sciences’ (logic, rhetoric, Euclid, morals, and politics). 19th Century Oxford Clergymen received a general education, rather than a theologically specific one; caring for the souls of the parish involved so many things besides the conduct of public worship that a general course of study was considered more valuable than narrowly professional study. ◦ There would be some divinity lectures one could attend, but the university student was there more for general professional training (becoming a clergyman was a profession in Austen’s day more so than a calling as we understand it now). It was also known that attaining ordination was not particularly difficult, due to the need for clergy amongst the many parishes in the Church of England. ◦ Prospective clergy were also encouraged to pursue further studies in divinity with Fellowships that paid little and were often ended if the fellow received a living. 19th Century Cambridge Who were the clergy of England?

◦ The social range from which clergy came was rather wide: the majority were from lower gentry and professional backgrounds, though a portion also come from upper gentry and aristocratic background (younger sons who will not inherit). Clergy were typically genteel in their background, since only the better off families could afford to send their sons or relatives to school.

Portraits of Clergy from Jane Austen’s Era Patronage: Getting a Living

◦ The Church of England did not distribute livings; the system by which clergy received placements was largely by patronage. ◦ Patrons, landowners who owned the holdings on which the church and parsonage existed, would bestow the ‘living’ and sometimes pay for the incumbent’s education (though this was usually only the case if a family member was to take the living). ◦ The Church of England and the Crown had holdings to bestow, but the bulk of the livings in Austen’s time were bestowed by patrons all around the country. Making Money: Tithes ◦ Tithes were tied to a living and served as a major means of income ◦ It was a legal statute that the parson was entitled to10% of the agricultural product or profits in the parish county. ◦ Negotiating and deciphering the owed 10% could, however, be very complex, depending on how the locals farmed. For very rural, poor parishes, there was little benefit to collecting 10%. In others, it was difficult to know from whom to collect the tithe if they were tenant farms (who do you solicit: the farmer or the landowner?). If some of the products were sold, that was easier, but what about what was kept? If farms gained more land or had higher yields in a given year, it would be even harder to calculate the amount due (and the clergyman would have to somehow keep track of it all to solicit the tithes). Tithes were tricky business, indeed! ◦ Tithes were for the rectors, not the curates who would work solely for an annual stipend. While it was hard on a rector to ensure he collected his tithes, it’s not all that very different from the amount of time contemporary rectors work on fundraising for their parish and for outreach. ◦ The parson/rector was responsible for going around to collect his tithes, a delicate business, since it could surely foster ill will against him! He had to act as a tax collector, essentially, and had to be on the lookout to calculate what was due to him. He also could not neglect to collect the tithes, since it would lessen the value of his living for his future replacements. ◦ Mr. Collins, in his speech at the Netherfield Ball, notes the collecting of tithes as one of the highest duties of a rector. We know what he cares about, don’t we? The Glebe: The Other Portion of a Living

◦ A glebe was a parcel of land connected to a living that the rector could work for food and/or profit to supplement his income. ◦ The glebe was an area of land donated to the church (usually in the distant past) for the benefit of the rector. ◦ Granted, this necessarily would also make the rector a farmer, taking a good bit of time away from religious tasks. ◦ George Austen, Jane Austen’s father, had the glebe at Steventon, which added a good bit of money and food for the Austen family, along with the additional fields he rented from the Knight family to increase his farming enterprise and profits. ◦ Farming the glebe could not only produce a profit, it could supply food that a rector and his family would often need if they were in a country parish worth little money (most parishes fell into this category). The glebe land at Steventon Other Sources of Income for a Rector

◦ A rector could also supplement their income through fees collected for: ◦ Baptisms ◦ Weddings ◦ Funerals ◦ Tutoring boys ◦ George Austen supplemented the Austen family income by taking in male pupils, running a boys’ boarding school in his home at Steventon. Duties of the Clergyman ◦ The duties of a clergyman were quite light compared to the expectations on clergy today. Clergy were more important for what they were than for what they did, and they were expected to be more like gentlemen (meaning they would live with a good bit of leisure). ◦ Clergy with livings were expected to run Sunday services, though the time of the service could be quite flexible depending on how many parishes the clergyman served. ◦ Matins, the Litany, or Ante-Communion was usually held at10 a.m. and lasted about three hours; Evening Prayer was usually held at 3 p.m. and was of shorter duration (the sermon would not always be read, though training in catechism could be offered instead). ◦ Clergy were not expected to read the Daily Office, though midweek services were not unheard of. ◦ Clergy were expected to be attendant on new parents, as Baptisms (private and public) and ‘churching’ (a short service offering thanksgiving for safe delivery of a child; infant mortality was not uncommon) were considered very important parish duties; clergy were usually fetched any hour of the day to attend after a birth, especially if the child were thought to be dying. ◦ Visiting the sick was also incumbent on the parish clergy and likely took a fair bit of time (ill- health in villages was pretty common). ◦ Preaching the sermon on Sunday was one of the highest duties, though parishioners did not expect an original composition every Sunday. There were a number of popular sermon writers that clergy could pull from, including Thomas Sherlock (a favorite of Jane Austen’s), John Tillotson (Archbishop of Canterbury, 1691), and Samuel Clarke. ◦ Finally, attending the weekly meeting of the vestry was also a task of the clergyman. What Clergymen Wore

◦ The well dressed clergyman would have dressed somberly, in a black suit, with a stock or cravat. ◦ Surplice: while performing some sacraments, such as weddings, baptisms and funerals clergy might add a white surplice (hence the fee paid for such services was called a "surplice fee".) ◦ Cassock: an Anglican cassock is usually double- breasted (called a sarum), and this black garment would typically be worn while preaching ◦ Bands: to lighten up the sober attire of a cassock, many clergy chose to wear a white band at their collar, also known as Geneva bands (named for the birthplace of the reformation) or a tab. Bands consisted of two strips of white cloth. Preaching

◦ Preaching in the Church of England in Austen’s time was different for a rector than it is today. ◦ Weekly original sermons were not an expectation among the parishioners, so clergy would often select a sermon (or ‘discourse’ as they were also called) from books of published sermons. ◦ A clergyman might produce an original sermon 2-3 times a year. The Parson’s Wife ◦ When a clergyman attains a living, he becomes an eligible bachelor, and it was not uncommon for bachelor rectors to seek a wife. He would generally seek a genteel woman (hopefully with a good dowry, since livings were pretty poor on the whole), who could provide good companionship (especially country parsons, who lived primarily amongst agricultural workers—they were often starved of intellectual conversation) and could live on a tight budget. ◦ Parson’s wives were not expected to be particularly pious, though they were usually expected to dispense charity to the locals and to keep an eye on parish needs. They would often be in charge of tending the poultry or other livestock at the parsonage, like Charlotte Lucas does in Pride and Prejudice. ◦ A wife who could help add to the living through connections or by keeping a patron happy was definitely a plus. Charlotte Lucas demonstrates this quality, in that she is attentive and submissive to Lady Catherine de Bourgh and she prefers Mr. Darcy as a match for her friend Lizzy Bennet, since he is a landowner who likely had control of a living. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Morals and Manners Morals and Manners

◦ The Church of England was largely understood as the moral foundation of the nation and what society and the government were formed upon. ◦ Morals and manners were considered intrinsically linked: morals were considered the inner principles that distinguished right and wrong, and manners were the code of conduct that dictated outward behavior. Religion, morality, and manners were seen as undivided in Austen’s time. ◦ Austen’s novels showcase how people are often judged by their manners and those manners can be misleading. Take Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, for example. His manners are pleasing to the people of Meryton, but his charm hides quite ungentlemanly behavior. When measured against the yardsticks of loyalty, integrity, self-sacrifice, or self-discipline, he is found quite lacking. ◦ The importance of manners (or ‘good breeding,’ as it is often called in Austen’s novels) should not be underestimated in Georgian England; they were a bedrock of society that maintained order and community. Living with manners and morality, to the Georgians, was akin to living by God’s laws for the universe. Inside the Church

◦ Depending on the church, pews could be like we expect today (wooden and with low sides), or there would be pew-boxes with high sides that only the vicar could see into from the pulpit. The idea of pew-boxes was that in them a churchgoer could focus entirely on what was being said without distraction from other attendants. ◦ Churches built in the Georgian era were typically architecturally plain, with whitewashed walls inside, clear glass, and wide naves where congregants could generally see and hear the service unimpeded (earlier church building tended more towards the Gothic style, with high arches, and soaring spires). ◦ The buildings and worship of Austen’s day tended towards austerity, embodying restraint; anything more elaborate might be conceived as vulgar pretense (one can see this judgment against overelaborate services in Emma, as the characters ) A fashion plate featuring a churchgoer in a pew-box What Sunday Service Was Like

◦ The Book of Common Prayer, of course, delineated the order of services. ◦ Sermons were a large focus of worship – the minister would expound on a text from the Bible, sometimes for hours. Taking communion was something done rarely (maybe five times a year; the BCP stipulated three times a year as the obligation, Easter being one of the times), so the pulpit was more the focus than the altar. ◦ There was typically no music during the service; there would be recitation of the Psalms and the liturgy in most churches. Only in cathedrals were Psalms and Print by Rowlandson, Dr Canticles were sung. Syntax Preaching (1813) ◦ After Sunday service, it was standard for families to walk about town or in the village. ◦ Morning Prayer was more populated by the more prosperous families, where as Evening Prayer was more often populated by domestic servants and farm laborers who would have to work during the longer, more elaborate morning service. In morning service, pews were typically rented out, so only the better to do could afford a pew; pew-owners didn’t usually attend the evening service, so those pews would be available to anyone. Evensong would usually start at 3 p.m. when there was still daylight to see by and after farm animals received their midday feeding. The General Confession in Morning and Evening Prayer (BCP 1790)

◦ “Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.” ◦ The wording here is only slightly different from what we have in our Prayer Book for Rite I. ◦ Austen’s novels echo the ideas of repentance and the process of self-examination seen here in the general confession. Elizabeth Bennet is ashamed of her vanity and pride after reading Darcy’s letter, concluding, “Till this moment, I never knew myself.” Catherine Moreland, Marianne Dashwood, and Emma Woodhouse experience similar moments of self-reflection and contrition. ◦ Sunday and daily services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in The Book of Common Prayer begin with repentance. Laura Mooneyham White observes, St. Nicholas Church, Steventon “Austen would have heard and herself recited Morning and Evening Prayer countless times in her life” (33), and the Austen family would attend both services on Sundays. That’s all, folks! Bibliography

◦ Bain, Sue. “Commemorating Jane Austen’s Churches.” JASNA News, vol. 17, 2001. ◦ Capitani, Diane. The Clergy in Austen’s Time. JASNA Chicago Online Exhibit. ◦ Collins, Irene. “Displeasing Pictures of Clergymen.” Persuasions, vol. 18, 1996. ◦ Collins, Irene. Jane Austen: The Parson’s Daughter. The Hambledon Press, 1998. ◦ Collins, Irene. Jane Austen and the Clergy. Hambledon and London, 2002. ◦ Cox, Brenda S. “Marianne Dashwood’s Repentance, Willoughby’s “Repentance,” and The Book of Common Prayer.” Persuasions, vol. 39, 2018. ◦ Dodge, Rachel. “Exploring Jane Austen’s Prayers.” Jane Austen’s World Blog, 2017. ◦ Giffin, Michael. “Jane Austen and Religion: Salvation and Society in Georgian England.” Persuasions, vol. 23, 2002. ◦ McKellar, Hugh. “Attending Divine Service in Revd George Austen’s Day.” Persuasions, vol. 6, 1984. ◦ Stovel, Bruce. ““ ‘A Nation Improving in Religion’: Jane Austen’s Prayers and Their Place in Her Life and Art.” Persuasions, vol. 16, 1996. ◦ Stovel, Bruce. Jane Austen & Company: Selected Essays. Ed. Nora Foster Stovel. University of Alberta Press, 2011. ◦ Tavela, Sara. ““I Have Unpacked the Gloves”: Accessories and the Austen Sisters.” Persuasions, vol. 38, 2017. ◦ “The Well Dressed Clergyman.” at Bath Blog, 2013. ◦ Wheeler, Michael. “Religion.” Jane Austen in Context. Ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge, 2007. ◦ White, Laura Mooneyham. Jane Austen’s Anglicanism. Routledge, 2016.