Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Jane Austen: An influential woman

Thanks to her sharp wit and strong female characters, Jane Austen’s literature is still utterly relevant. Author Claire Harman asks – is she the most influential woman of the past 200 years?

In 1811, a 35- year-old Hampshire spinster had her first book published anonymously: Sense And Sensibility, By A Lady. It got two brief, polite reviews, sold 500 copies and was swiftly forgotten. But 200 years later, everyone knows Jane Austen. She’s not just a writer, she’s a cult, a brand and a cultural touchstone.

This marked the transition from obscurity to being one of this century and last’s most influential literary figures. It’s hard to believe her six short novels – yes, it really is just six – are still bought in their millions (because her work is out of copyright, there is no accurate estimate of how many). Austen’s influence and literary pulling-power can’t be over-estimated. She’s reached millions of people all over the world, not simply through the number of languages she’s been translated into (35 at the last count), but because there’s something in her work that readers connect with instantly. We read her because we feel she understands us – despite being born over two centuries ago.

In many ways, her books are more in tune with our times and tastes than her own. In the first review she ever received, she was taken to task for a ‘want of newness’, but her books now seem markedly more original than anything else of the period. After all, have you read any Sir Walter Scott – a contemporary of Austen’s – who sold proportionally the same amount then as JK Rowling has today? Austen simply wasn’t loved by the reviewers of her time. In 1817, English author Maria Edgeworth found the plot of Emma dull, while another contemporary novelist, Mary Russell Mitford, thought the wit of Elizabeth Bennet showed an “entire want of taste”. So perhaps Austen was so ahead of her time, she couldn’t be completely understood by her contemporaries. Over the past decades we have loved the fact that Lizzie is always answering back (and is fine with making self-deprecating remarks, such as admitting that she began to love Mr Darcy when she first saw his enormous estate, Pemberley). Austen knew her characters went against the grain and that she was out of step with her times. “I am going to take a heroine whom nobody but myself will much like,” she said when setting out to write Emma.

Of course, Austen’s books have surface appeal too. She is unparalleled at luring us into a fantasy world of bonnets and gossip – ‘literary comfort food’ as the author Lori Smith has called it. It’s a world where there are single men of good fortune like Mr Darcy round every corner, in possession of a stately home and in want of a wife. There’s something for everyone: a great plot, a happy ending (always), carriages, ballgowns and romance. Think about the best love scenes you’ve ever read – how many of them at least faintly echo the understated passion, or endless yearning, of Austen? She has a hold over how we see love, and our voracious appetite for it – nearly half of all paperbacks published now are romances, and Austen is the acknowledged mother of the genre. She took the age-old romance plot and gave it several twists, centralising the heroine’s point of view, tastes and desires. Guardian columnist Zoe Williams believes Austen’s greatest mainstream influence is “the heart wants what it wants idea where a person’s true love is more important than his or her social duties. In Jane Austen’s own century that actually would have been considered pretty abhorrent.”

The earliest readers of Pride And Prejudice were surprised that such a clever book could have been written by a woman. It is, of course, the book from which Austen’s most famous line comes: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Playwright Richard Sheridan advised a friend to “buy it immediately” as it “was one of the cleverest things” he had ever read – high praise from a man of the Regency period. Austen seemed to know too much about everyone’s follies and was so worldly that nothing shocked her. It’s a form of knowing satire that has become a national trait: deliver your cynicism with a polite smile, keeping the tone ‘light, bright and sparkling’, as Austen herself aimed to do.

That her characters were strong, witty women might have surprised those who knew Austen – she didn’t openly sympathise with radical contemporaries such as Mary Wollstonecraft, the British writer and advocate of women’s rights. Austen’s feminism is more subtle, but she was still one of the first authors to suggest that women should marry for love, and not increased social standing or money. She gave her female characters the right to be happy too – a right we now take for granted, but certainly was not a given in Regency England. Persuasion, her last finished novel, is so bold as to suggest that happiness lies in a woman’s courage to act upon her passion.

In fact, her novels all deal with the choices involved in being a woman – although she refuses to discriminate between characters on grounds of gender, and serves up fools on a plate, regardless of their sex. She saved her most searing critique not for male idiocy, but the forces behind it – morals, property, money. And it worked. She has always been widely read by men and been praised for her rationality. This was also her approach to the political and class system of the time, which was rigid and very biased towards men – using her romantic novels as a mouthpiece for social commentary.

Fielding and other authors like her have also benefited from Austen in a subtler way: thanks to her, the novel is perceived as an art form women excel at. She put so much more than a love story into her books: she modernised the novel almost single-handedly – streamlining plot, cutting down physical description, adding realistic dialogue. Her volumes still regularly appear in top 10 must-read lists and her most famous work, Pride And Prejudice, was voted The Book The Nation Can’t Do Without in The Guardian in 2007 (the Bible came sixth). From wit to women’s rights, romance to morals, there really is no denying Austen’s life and her literature’s power are still relevant well into the 21st centur

She also highlighted that women couldn’t inherit wealth – leaving many destitute on their husbands’ deaths. It’s a very dark subject, and one which many female novelists of the time shied away from. And her female characters are always reading, always educated, always well-versed in literature.

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in novels including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma.

QUOTE

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

—Jane Austen

Synopsis

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. While not widely known in her own time, Austen's comic novels of love among the landed gentry gained popularity after 1869, and her reputation skyrocketed in the 20th century. Her novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, are considered literary classics, bridging the gap between romance and realism.

Early Life

The seventh child and second daughter of Cassandra and George Austen, Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Jane's parents were well-respected community members. Her father served as the Oxford-educated rector for a nearby Anglican parish. The family was close and the children grew up in an environment that stressed learning and creative thinking. When Jane was young, she and her siblings were encouraged to read from their father's extensive library. The children also authored and put on plays and charades.

Over the span of her life, Jane would become especially close to her father and older sister, Cassandra. Indeed, she and Cassandra would one day collaborate on a published work.

In order to acquire a more formal education, Jane and Cassandra were sent to boarding schools during Jane's pre-adolescence. During this time, Jane and her sister caught typhus, with Jane nearly succumbing to the illness. After a short period of formal education cut short by financial constraints, they returned home and lived with the family from that time forward.

Literary Works

Ever fascinated by the world of stories, Jane began to write in bound notebooks. In the 1790s, during her adolescence, she started to craft her own novels and wrote Love and Freindship [sic], a parody of romantic fiction organized as a series of love letters. Using that framework, she unveiled her wit and dislike of sensibility, or romantic hysteria, a distinct perspective that would eventually characterize much of her later writing. The next year she wrote The History of England..., a 34-page parody of historical writing that included illustrations drawn by Cassandra. These notebooks, encompassing the novels as well as short stories, poems and plays, are now referred to as Jane's Juvenilia.

Jane spent much of her early adulthood helping run the family home, playing piano, attending church, and socializing with neighbors. Her nights and weekends often involved cotillions, and as a result, she became an accomplished dancer. On other evenings, she would choose a novel from the shelf and read it aloud to her family, occasionally one she had written herself. She continued to write, developing her style in more ambitious works such as Lady Susan, another epistolary story about a manipulative woman who uses her sexuality, intelligence and charm to have her way with others. Jane also started to write some of her future major works, the first called Elinor and Marianne, another story told as a series of letters, which would eventually be published as Sense and Sensibility. She began drafts of First Impressions, which would later be published as Pride and Prejudice, and Susan, later published as Northanger Abbey by Jane's brother, Henry, following Jane's death.

In 1801, Jane moved to Bath with her father, mother and Cassandra. Then, in 1805, her father died after a short illness. As a result, the family was thrust into financial straits; the three women moved from place to place, skipping between the homes of various family members to rented flats. It was not until 1809 that they were able to settle into a stable living situation at Jane's brother Edward's cottage in Chawton.

Now in her 30s, Jane started to anonymously publish her works. In the period spanning 1811-16, she pseudonymously published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice (a work she referred to as her "darling child," which also received critical acclaim), Mansfield Park and Emma.

Death and Legacy

In 1816, at the age of 41, Jane started to become ill with what some say might have been Addison's disease. She made impressive efforts to continue working at a normal pace, editing older works as well as starting a new novel called The Brothers, which would be published after her death as Sanditon. Another novel, Persuasion, would also be published posthumously. At some point, Jane's condition deteriorated to such a degree that she ceased writing. She died on July 18, 1817, in Winchester, Hampshire, England.

While Austen received some accolades for her works while still alive, with her first three novels garnering critical attention and increasing financial reward, it was not until after her death that her brother Henry revealed to the public that she was an author.

Today, Austen is considered one of the greatest writers in English history, both by academics and the general public. In 2002, as part of a BBC poll, the British public voted her No. 70 on a list of "100 Most Famous Britons of All Time." Austen's transformation from little-known to internationally renowned author began in the 1920s, when scholars began to recognize her works as masterpieces, thus increasing her general popularity. The Janeites, a Jane Austen fan club, eventually began to take on wider significance, similar to the Trekkie phenomenon that characterizes fans of the Star Trek franchise. The popularity of her work is also evident in the many film and TV adaptations of Emma, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility, as well as the TV series and film Clueless, which was based on Emma.

Austen was in the worldwide news in 2007, when author David Lassman submitted to several publishing houses a few of her manuscripts with slight revisions under a different name, and they were routinely rejected. He chronicled the experience in an article titled "Rejecting Jane," a fitting tribute to an author who could appreciate humor and wit.

HER WORK

Emma, novel by Jane Austen, published in three volumes in 1815.

SUMMARY: Of all Austen’s novels, Emma is the most consistently comic in tone. It centres on Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy, pretty, self-satisfied young woman who indulges herself with meddlesome and unsuccessful attempts at matchmaking among her friends and neighbours. After a series of humiliating errors, a chastened Emma finds her destiny in marriage to the mature and protective George Knightley, a neighbouring squire who had been her mentor and friend.

DETAIL: Austen said of her fourth published novel that it would contain a heroine no one would like but herself—and as if to prove her wrong, generations of readers have warmed to the flawed protagonist of Emma. “Handsome, clever and rich,’’ Emma is a young woman used to ruling over the small social world of the village of Highbury. The comedy as well as the psychological interest of the novel lies in seeing what happens when people fail to act as she hopes and ordains. She attempts to pair her protégée Harriet Smith with two unsuitable candidates, and completely fails to read the true direction of the men’s affections. She also fails to decipher, until it is almost too late, the nature of her own feelings for Mr. Knightley, her wise neighbor who functions throughout as Emma’s only critic. Some recent readers view the novel as dangerously paternalistic in its intertwining of romance and moral education, but it should be said that Emma is less concerned with teaching a lesson than in exploring the mortifying effects of learning one. Austen’s trademark blending of an omniscient and ironic third-person narrative voice with a more indirect style that renders individual points of view comes into its own. A form suited both to the novel’s concerns with individual, solipsistic desires and to its overarching moral commitment to the importance of frankness and mutual intelligibility, it points the way toward later nineteenth-century works of novelistic realism.

Mansfield Park, novel by Jane Austen, published in three volumes in 1814. In its tone and discussion of religion and religious duty, it is the most serious of Austen’s novels. The heroine, Fanny Price, is a self-effacing and unregarded cousin cared for by the Bertram family in their country house. Fanny’s moral strength eventually wins her complete acceptance by the Bertram family and marriage to Edmund Bertram himself.

Northanger Abbey, novel by Jane Austen, published posthumously in 1817. Northanger Abbey, which was published with Persuasion in four volumes, was written about 1798 or 1799, probably under the title Susan. In 1803 the manuscript of Susan was sold to the publisher Richard Crosby, who advertised for it, but, unaccountably, it was not published at that time.

The novel combines a satire on conventional novels of polite society with one on Gothic tales of terror. Catherine Morland, the daughter of a country parson, is the innocent abroad who gains worldly wisdom: first in the fashionable society of Bath and then at Northanger Abbey itself, where she learns not to interpret the world through her reading of Gothic thrillers.

Persuasion, novel by Jane Austen, published posthumously in 1817. Unlike her novel Northanger Abbey, with which it was published, Persuasion (written 1815–16) is a work of Austen’s maturity. Like Mansfield Park and Emma, it contains subdued satire and develops the comedy of character and manners.

Persuasion tells the story of a second chance, the reawakening of love between Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth, whom eight years earlier she had been persuaded not to marry. Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic Wars with prize money and the social acceptability of naval rank. He is now an eligible suitor, acceptable to Anne’s snobbish father and his circle, and Anne discovers the continuing strength of her love for him.

Pride and Prejudice, novel by Jane Austen, published anonymously in three volumes in 1813.

SUMMARY: The narrative, which Austen initially titled “First Impressions,” describes the clash between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich and aristocratic landowner. Although Austen shows them intrigued by each other, she reverses the convention of first impressions: “pride” of rank and fortune and “prejudice” against Elizabeth’s inferiority of family hold Darcy aloof, while Elizabeth is equally fired both by the pride of self-respect and by prejudice against Darcy’s snobbery. Ultimately, they come together in love and self-understanding

DETAIL: Pride and Prejudice is the second of four novels that Jane Austen published during her lifetime. As widely read now as it was then, Austen’s romance is indisputably one of the most enduringly popular classics of English literature. Written with incisive wit and superb character delineation, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennett family, its ignorant mother, negligent father, and five very different daughters, all of whom Mrs. Bennett is anxious to see married off. Set in rural England in the early nineteenth century, its major plot line focuses on the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and her turbulent relationship with the handsome, rich, but abominably proud Mr. Darcy. Slighted by him when they first meet, Elizabeth develops an instant dislike of Darcy, who, however, proceeds to fall in love with her, despite his own better judgement. Subsequent to a disastrous and rejected marriage proposal, both Elizabeth and Darcy eventually learn to overcome their respective pride and prejudice.

Although the novel has been criticized for its lack of historical context, the existence of its characters in a social bubble that is rarely penetrated by events beyond it is an accurate portrayal of the enclosed social world in which Austen lived. Austen depicts that world, in all its own narrow pride and prejudice, with unswerving accuracy and satire. At the same time, she places at its center, as both its prime actor and most perceptive critic, a character so well conceived and rendered that the reader cannot but be gripped by her story and wish for its happy dénouement. In the end, Austen’s novel remains so popular because of Elizabeth, and because of the enduring appeal to men and women alike of a well-told and potentially happily-ending love story.

Sense and Sensibility, novel by Jane Austen, published anonymously in three volumes in 1811. The 1995 film adaptation—starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, and Hugh Grant—was a critical and commercial success and earned seven Academy Award nominations (winning one for Emma Thompson for best screenplay). The hit film spurred a resurgence of interest in the novels of Jane Austen and in period films in general, and it helped to establish the reputation of Taiwanese director Ang Lee.

SUMMARY: The story pivots on two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, personifications of good sense and sensibility (emotionality), respectively. They suddenly become destitute upon the death of their father, who leaves his home, Norland Park, not to them, their younger sister, and their mother but to their stepbrother, John. Although instructed to take good care of his sisters, John is dissuaded of his duty by his greedy wife, Fanny. The family moves to a modest home in Devonshire. The passionate and enthusiastic Marianne becomes infatuated with the attractive John Willoughby, who seems to be a romantic lover but is in reality an unscrupulous fortune hunter. He deserts her for an heiress, and she eventually makes a sensible marriage with Colonel Brandon, a staid and settled bachelor. Marianne’s older sister, the prudent and discreet Elinor, is constant toward her lover, Edward Ferrars, Fanny’s older brother, and, after some distressing events, marries him.

The novel had a long period of gestation. It was initially begun in 1795–96, when Austen was but 19 years old, as a sketch entitled Elinor and Marianne, and she significantly revised it 1809. It was her first published novel, she paid to have it published, and it contained all of the elements of her trademark features to come: insightful observation, astute characterization, and dazzling wit. There has long been debate whether Austen favored one quality over the other—sense or sensibility—or whether she favored an equal dose of both as the best recipe for life.

CHARACTER SKETCH

1- EMMA

Emma Woodhouse The imaginative and self-deceived heroine of the novel. At almost twenty-one years of age, she is handsome, accomplished, and willful, her main duty in life that of being companion and mistress of the house for her widower father.

Henry Woodhouse Emma's elderly father, who basks in routine and Emma's attentions and resists any kind of change, compensating somewhat for his selfish whims by being kindly and concerned about people's health.

George Knightley A well-to-do man of about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, an admirably calm and rational man who for years has befriended and advised Emma.

Miss Anne Taylor For years Emma's devoted governess and friend, who at the beginning of the novel has just married Mr. Weston.

Mr. Weston A near neighbor to the Woodhouses, whose son by a former marriage is Frank Churchill.

Philip Elton The rector of Highbury, a twenty-six-year-old clergyman who is very eligible for marriage.

Frank Churchill Mr. Weston's son, who has never visited Highbury but who has a reputation for polished charm and manners.

Miss Hetty Bates The kindly old maid talker who, at least in her dialogue, runs the details of everything together as of equal importance.

Jane Fairfax Miss Bates' orphan niece, elegant and accomplished, who has visited her aunt in Highbury before but not for two years now.

Harriet Smith The illegitimate, seventeen-year-old girl whom Emma befriends and tries to marry off to Mr. Elton.

Robert Martin A respected young farmer who wants to marry Harriet Smith.

Augusta Hawkins A vain and talkative young lady whom Mr. Elton meets on a trip to Bath and to whom he quickly gets himself engaged.

John and Isabella Knightley Respectively the brother of George Knightley and the sister of Emma Woodhouse, they, except for occasional visits to Highbury, live in London with their five children.

Mrs. Goddard The lady who runs the boarding school where Harriet Smith lives.

Mr. and Mrs. Cole A nouveau riche couple who are determinedly making their way into Highbury society.

Mr. Perry The village apothecary, who is Mr. Woodhouse's constant reference on matters of health.

2-Pride n prejudice

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: PLOT ANALYSIS

CHARACTER ANALYSIS IN DETAIL

Elizabeth Bennet

Elizabeth is a spontaneous, high-spirited, vivacious, witty, and warm young lady. She is also a bright, complex, and intriguing individual who is realistic about life. Unlike her sister Jane, she is not ready to believe that everyone is flawless. She knows the ‘impropriety’ of her father and is aware that it springs from the unhappiness of his life with his wife. She also perceives the fickleness of her mother’s temper and her crass social behavior. Even to the point of being saucy and blunt at times, Elizabeth is not afraid to speak her mind.

Throughout the novel, Elizabeth’s encounters with Darcy are a battle of adult minds. Elizabeth’s speeches, crackling with irony, filled with pep, and displaying vibrant humor, exert a magnetic pull on Darcy. He recognizes that she is a woman endowed with sense and sensibility, radically different from most young females that he knows. He is particularly impressed with her poise; she is not intimidated by the upper class or overawed by the arrogant Darcy.

Elizabeth’s main flaw is an exaggerated prejudice. Her first negative impression of Darcy at the Netherfield ball, Wickham’s tall story about him, and Darcy’s influencing Bingley against Jane fuel her prejudice. She spends most of the novel truly disliking her future husband. When Darcy proposes to her the first time, she does not even give the offer serious thought before turning the man down. Fortunately, Darcy is determined and does not give up on Elizabeth.

Fitzwilliam Darcy

While Elizabeth is the symbol of prejudice in the novel, Darcy embodies the element of pride, which is clearly established in him from the very beginning of the book. His arrogant ways make him unpopular and misunderstood, even though he is envied for his good looks and wealth. Elizabeth takes a particular disliking to him for his haughty rudeness when he initially says that he is not interested in her at the ball. When she learns that he has advised Bingley not to pursue a relationship with Jane, she is further incensed at the man. It is not surprising, therefore, that when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, he is turned down, especially since his offer was made in a haughty and condescending manner. Elizabeth’s refusal jolts his pride and sets him on a course of self realization.

When Elizabeth visits Pemberley, she discovers a different side of Darcy. She is impressed with the taste and refinement of his home. He is obviously a cultured and intelligent man. From the housekeeper, she also learns that he is a generous landlord, a kind master, and a devoted brother. Later in the novel, it is revealed that he is the only son of aristocratic parents and that at a very early age he had to take up family responsibilities which made him independent and conceited.

Mr. Bennet

Although Mr. Bennet is basically a sensible man, he behaves strangely because of his disillusionment with his wife. Living with Mrs. Bennet has made him somewhat bitter and cynical. Trapped in a bad marriage, he makes life endurable for himself by assuming a pose of an ironic passive spectator of life, who has long ago abdicated his roles as a husband and a father. Once in awhile, he comes out of his ivory tower to amuse himself by pestering his foolish wife or making callous remarks about his daughters. He reality, he is quite fond of his children, particularly Elizabeth, who he finds sensible and witty.

Mrs. Bennet

Mrs. Bennet is described by the author as "a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper." In her youth, her beauty won her a husband, but she could not sustain Mr. Bennet’s interest for long because of her crude behavior. As the novel opens, she has one purpose in life - to find acceptable husbands for her oldest three daughters.

Mrs. Bennet is loud and gauche as is illustrated in her behavior at Netherfield. Whenever she opens her mouth, she seems to make a fool of herself. Her vulgar social behavior becomes a major deterrent for Bingley and Darcy in the pursuit of her daughters. In addition to her crass behavior, Mrs. Bennet is not very intelligent or sensible. She is given to hasty judgments and fluctuating opinions. Throughout the book, her opinions of people swing between abhorrence and admiration, as seen in her changing feelings for Mr. Collins, Wickham, Bingley, and Darcy. Of course, much of how she judges them is based on whether or not she believes they will become her sons-in-law.

In the end, Mrs. Bennet gets exactly what she has desired; her three eldest daughters are married. She, however, remains the same gawking, vulgar and foolish woman.

Jane Bennet Jane is the beautiful, charming, and subdued sister of Elizabeth. In fact, she is so gentle and kind that she genuinely and naively believes that everyone else in the world is the same. Elizabeth even tells her that "you never see a fault in anybody. All the world is good and agreeable in your eyes. I have never heard you speak ill of any human being." Her attraction for Bingley is instant, for she sees him as a simple, unassuming man and a perfect mate. She is greatly disappointed when Bingley seems to lose interest in her, but she patiently waits for him. At the end of the novel, the good Jane is rewarded for her patient endurance when Bingley proposes to her.

Bingley

A promising young man endowed with wealth and social ease, Bingley is the owner of Netherfield. Unlike Darcy, he is very popular with everyone because he is gentle, kind, and amiable, and his manners are socially pleasing. His love for Jane is instant and pure; unfortunately, he is at first discouraged from pursuing a relationship with her.

At times, Bingley seems a bit weak, lacking self-confidence. He lets himself be manipulated by his friends and his sisters. Darcy acts like an adviser, philosopher, and guide to him, leading him away from his attraction to Jane. Unfortunately, Bingley always places a great premium on Darcy’s sense of judgement and follows his advice, almost without questions. On the whole, Bingley is a very simple, uncomplicated character. Elizabeth Bennet correctly depicts him as a man who is ‘very easy to understand’.

3-Mansfield Park

Characters

Fanny Price - The protagonist. The daughter of a drunken sailor and a woman who married beneath her, she comes to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. They take her in as an act of charity to her parents. She is mistreated and always reminded of her "place" as a charity ward, but she eventually comes to be an indispensable member of the family. Modest, always proper, and, as she grows older, quite beautiful, Fanny is secretly in love with the Bertrams' son Edmund but is the subject of proposals by the slick Henry Crawford.

Sir Thomas Bertram - A wealthy landowner and Fanny's uncle. He is authoritarian and rather hard on his children until a series of disasters show him the error of his ways. He owns slaves on his plantations in the Caribbean, a fact that hangs over the book. He means well and eventually does right by Fanny.

Lady Bertram - Fanny's aunt; her mother's sister and Sir Thomas's wife. She is neurotic, a hypochondriac, and lazy. A beauty in her youth, she values people's attractiveness over all else, yet she is honest enough to admit how much Fanny means to her.

Edmund Bertram - The Bertrams' younger son. Since he will not be the heir to Mansfield, he will become a clergyman. The only one of the Bertrams' children with a good head and a good heart, Edmund is Fanny's closest companion. He rather blindly falls in love with Mary Crawford, which almost leads to his downfall.

Maria Bertram - The Bertrams' older daughter. Vain and pretentious, she abuses Fanny and marries the odious Rushworth for his fortune. Her self-indulgence eventually gets her in quite a lot of trouble. Her name would have been pronounced "Mariah" (as in Mariah Carey).

Julia Bertram - The Bertrams' younger daughter. She is equally vain but slightly less cocky, since she is younger and less beautiful than Maria. She follows Maria around, and, upon Maria's elopement, she runs away with Yates, her brother Tom's friend.

Tom Bertram - The Bertrams' older son and the heir to Mansfield. He lives to party and has gotten into debt, for which Edmund will suffer. Eventually, his lifestyle catches up to him, as he nearly dies from an illness caused by too much drinking.

Mrs. Norris - Sister to Fanny's mother and Lady Bertram; wife of the first parson at Mansfield Parsonage. She has no children of her own and is an officious busybody, always trying to derive glory from her association with the family. She is horribly cruel to Fanny, whom she is always reminding of her "place" in the family.

Mary Crawford - Sister of Mrs. Grant, who is the wife of the second parson at Mansfield. She is beautiful and charming, but also shallow and evil. She has been brought up poorly by an aunt and uncle and has been subject to the influences of her fashionable friends. She becomes friends with a reluctant Fanny, while Edmund falls in love with and nearly proposes to her.

Henry Crawford - Mary's brother. He is equally charming and possibly even more amoral, and he possesses a sizeable estate. First Maria and Julia fall in love with him, and he takes to Maria, despite her engagement. When Maria marries and the sisters leave Mansfield, he falls for Fanny and proposes to her. Everyone is convinced he is a changed man. Eventually, he meets up with Maria again, and the two run off, but their relationship ends badly.

William Price - Fanny's brother. Sir Thomas has gotten him a commission in the Navy, and Henry gets him a promotion as part of his effort to seduce Fanny. William and Fanny are extremely close, and he impresses everyone as a bright, capable young man. He represents a sort of ideal companion for Fanny, although, as her brother, of course, he is not an eligible mate for her.

Rushworth - Maria's fiance and then husband. He is an idiot and a bore, but quite wealthy. It is his estate that the group visits early in the novel. He provides some comic relief with his stupid comments.

Susan Price - Fanny's younger sister, with whom she gets reacquainted when she returns to her family's home. Susan is a diamond in the rough, a smart girl with essentially good manners who is stuck in a terrible home. Fanny brings her back to Mansfield Park with her, where she becomes a new favorite of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram.

Yates - Tom Bertram's friend, who proposes the amateur theatricals at Mansfield. He shows an interest in Julia, which continues in London. After Maria runs off with Henry, Julia and Yates elope and marry; they, however, are rehabilitated within the family.

4-Northanger Abbey

Catherine Morland - The protagonist of Northanger Abbey. Catherine is seventeen years old, and has spent all her life in her family's modest home in the rural area of Fullerton. While Catherine has read many novels (particularly Gothic novels), she is very inexperienced at reading people. Her naiveté about the world and about the motivations and character of the people she meets is an endless source of confusion and frustration for her. Nonetheless, Catherine is very intelligent and learns from her mistakes, and can also be witty. Her strongest attributes are her integrity and caring nature.

Henry Tilney - Henry Tilney is a 26-year-old parson in a small village called Woodston. He is intelligent, well-tempered, and attuned to the motivations and behavior of those around him. He is very well read, and enjoys novels as much as history books. He is good natured, but has a wry cynical view of human behavior. He is often amused at the folly of others, but he takes care to gently instruct them properly, if possible, particularly in the case of the naïve Catherine.

Eleanor Tilney - Henry's younger sister, Eleanor is a shy, quiet young woman. She shares an interest in reading with her brother, but for the most part, her reserve prevents her from having many friends. Like her brothers, Eleanor is often subject to the somewhat tyrannical behavior of her father, General Tilney.

General Tilney - The domineering father of Henry, Eleanor and Captain Tilney. He is a widower. Like several characters in the novel (such as Mrs. Allen), the General is very concerned with material things. He takes great pride in his home, Northanger Abbey, which he has refurbished himself. He is preoccupied with both earning money and spending it. He enjoys eating a large dinner and having the best of everything, and he wants his children to marry wealthy people. He has a gruff nature which make some, such as Catherine Morland, think poorly of him..

Isabella Thorpe - One Mrs. Thorpe's three daughters, and the sister of John Thorpe. She is Catherine's best friend for the first half of the novel. Isabella is attractive and very spirited, but like her mother, she is a gossip and often concerned with superficial things. She enjoys flirting with many young men, which bothers the more reserved Catherine. Ultimately, Isabella's nature causes her to lose both James and her other boyfriend, Frederick Tilney.

John Thorpe - The brother of Isabella, he is conceited, arrogant, and given to boasting and exaggeration. He talks endlessly and rarely listens. Like his sister, John is given to superficiality. John tries to woo Catherine, but his arrogance quickly turns her against him.

James Morland - The brother of Catherine and a fellow student of John Thorpe at Oxford University. James is mild-mannered and very caring, like his sister. James falls for Isabella Thorpe and becomes engaged to her, but breaks off the engagement when she begins a flirtation with Frederick Tilney.

Frederick Tilney - Captain Frederick Tilney (often referred to simply as "Captain Tilney") is the oldest sibling in the Tilney family. Unlike his brother Henry or his sister Eleanor, Frederick is a flirt and given to mischief. Austen suggests that Frederick is the Tilney child closest in character to General Tilney by identifying both men by their ranks rather than by their names. Frederick flirts with Isabella Thorpe and leads her to break off her engagement with James Morland, then abandons her in Bath.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen - The couple that invites Catherine to go to Bath with them. Like Catherine's family, the Allens live in the rural town of Fullerton. They are older and wealthier than the Morlands, but they are childless, and they see Catherine as a kind of surrogate daughter. Mr. Allen is a practical man who spends most of his time in Bath playing cards; Mrs. Allen is greatly concerned with fashion, and spends her time either shopping, knitting, or talking to Mrs. Thorpe.

Mrs. Thorpe - Mrs. Thorpe is the widowed mother of Isabella and of two other daughters. Like her daughter, she is concerned primarily with gossip, fashion, and money. In conversation with her friend Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Thorpe talks mostly about her pride in her children (Mrs. Allen has no children) while Mrs. Allen talks about her gowns (Mrs. Thorpe is not nearly as wealthy as the Allens).

Mr. and Mrs. Morland and family - The family, which includes Catherine and James, is from the rural town of Fullerton. We visit the Morlands only briefly, at the beginning and end of the novel. Mr. and Mrs. Morland are relatively simple, practical folk, especially compared to people like Mrs. Thorpe and General Tilney. Both James and Catherine must get the approval of their parents before they can marry their prospective spouses.

5-Persuassion Sir Walter Elliot

The baronet of Kellynch and the father of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anne. Having lost his wife Lady Elizabeth thirteen years ago, Sir Walter remains a widower to this day. This fact plays a passive but important role in the novel, as Mrs. Clay ingratiates herself with the Elliots in hopes of winning Sir Walter over. The narrator states from the beginning that "vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot's character" (4). This vanity is both of his person (the Crofts are surprised by the number of mirrors in his room) as well as of his rank (he generally does not deign to treat those below him in rank very well). Sir Walter's vanity even influences the way he treats his own daughters. He favors Elizabeth heavily because she has inherited both her mother's good looks and her father's sense of pride. He sees a great deal of himself in her and presents her proudly as an Elliot, whereas the same cannot be said of Anne and Mary.

Lady Elizabeth Elliot

At the time of the novel's opening, Lady Elliot has been dead for thirteen years. It appears that she had been a “excellent woman” and wife, both more sensible and more amiable than her husband .

Elizabeth Elliot

The eldest daughter of Sir Walter and Lady Elliot, born on June 1, 1785. Elizabeth resembles her parents closely in both looks and temperament: she is considered very beautiful and considers herself a proud Elliot. Following her mother's death thirteen years ago, she has supported Sir Walter as mistress of Kellynch Hall. As with Sir Walter, rank, consequence, propriety, and honor dominate her worldview. Although the Elliots are a respectable family, Elizabeth demonstrates her strong desire for upward mobility when the Dalrymples come to Bath. Even though the Dalrymples are at best tolerable poeple, Elizabeth appears to derive immense satisfaction from associating with them.

Anne Elliot

The second daughter of Sir Walter and Lady Elizabeth, born on August 9, 1787. As heroine of the novel, Anne's perspective is closely associated with that of the narrator's. The critic Stuart M. Tave observes that "nobody hears Anne, nobody sees her, but it is she who is ever at the center. It is through her ears, eyes, and mind that we know most of what we know and that we care for what is happening" . Anne's perspective is sensible, fair and enlightened. Although she is proud to be an Elliot, she places far more value on character than in rank or wealth. At home with Sir Walter and Elizabeth, therefore, her "word had no weight" . At Uppercross, on the other hand, everyone treats her with confidence—indeed, too much confidence. As the novel progresses, Anne demonstrates a strength of character that rivals that of, say, the courageous Captain Wentworth. In her own, gentle way, Anne is always willing to exert herself in order to help others. She draws Captain Benwick out of his melancholia and keeps Mrs. Smith company in difficult times. At crucial moments, she is always present. Although Anne sometimes intuits matters mistakenly, she is close to perfect — indeed, so much so that Jane Austen felt she was “almost too good" . Mary Elliot

The youngest daughter of Sir Walter and Lady Elliot, born on November 20, 1791. Although Mary has inherited her share of the Elliot pride, she has neither Elizabeth's good looks nor Anne's fine sensibilities. In her father's mind, however, she has "acquired a little artificial importance by becoming Mrs. Charles Musgrove" . She lives with her husband and children at the Cottage in Uppercross — not far from the Great House, where the older Musgroves live with their children. Mary has occasional hypochondriac tendencies, perhaps due to a want of attention and a somewhat temperamental nature. She can be very agreeable when in a good mood, but the converse is also true. She thus argues frequently with Charles Musgrove and Mrs. Musgrove. Fortunately, the Musgrove family accepts her temperament with good humor.

William Walter Elliot

A cousin of Elizabeth, Anne, and Mary's. Mr. Elliot is also the heir presumptive to the Elliot estate and title. Although he was expected to marry Elizabeth, he chose instead to marry a woman with considerable wealth. For this reason, he is estranged from Sir Walter and the rest of the Elliot family for many years. While the Elliots are at Bath, Mr. Elliot pays them many visits and makes up for the past. His perfectly agreeable manners and excellent sensibilities impress everyone, including Anne and Lady Russell. Ultimately, however, he is revealed to be a “a man without heart or conscience; a designing, wary, cold-blooded being, who. . . for his own interest or ease, would be guilty of any cruelty, or any treachery, that could be perpetrated without risk of his general character”). At the end of the novel, he is heard to have taken Mrs. Clay "under his protection" in London .

Lady Russell

A widow of "steady age and character, and extremely well provided for" who lives in Kellynch (4). She is one of the Elliots' most highly valued family friends and has fulfilled her role as godmother after Lady Elliot's death. Although she loves all of the Elliot girls, she is particularly fond of Anne and continues to serve as adviser and friend on a daily basis. Lady Russell's influence on Anne is a positive one, since she possesses a discerning mind and fine, understanding character. Occasionally, however, she places too much emphasis on such values as rank, family, and propriety. She plays an critical role in the plots of the novel, as it is she who advised Anne against marrying Captain Wentworth seven years ago.

Mr. Shepherd

A friend of the Elliot family, Mr. Shepherd is a "civil, cautious lawyer" who prefers to say only agreeable things . He helps the Elliots decide to leave Kellynch temporarily and is instrumental in finding an appropriate tenant (the Crofts).

Mrs. Clay

A daughter of Mr. Shepherd's who has returned home after an unsuccessful marriage, bringing with her two children. She exceeds at the art of pleasing at Kellynch Hall and is thought well of by both Sir Walter and Elizabeth. Although no one describes her as beautiful — she has a projecting tooth and freckles — both Lady Russell and Anne fear that she will ingratiate herself with the Elliots to the extent that an intimacy develops with Sir Walter.

Mr. Musgrove

The father of Charles, Henrietta, and Louisa Musgrove, he and his wife are described as a "very good sort of people, friendly and hospitable, not much educated, and not at all elegant".

Mrs. Musgrove

The mother of Charles, Henrietta, and Louisa Musgrove, she and her husband are described as a "very good sort of people, friendly and hospitable, not much educated, and not at all elegant" .

Charles Musgrove

Very much like his parents, he is an agreeable young man whose strength is more simplicity than elegance. He enjoys hunting and would rather spend an evening at the theater than at a party. Although he argues frequently with his wife Mary, he is still portrayed as an essentially good husband.

Henrietta Musgrove

A young lady of nineteen, just returned from school at Exeter, she is like "thousands of other young ladies, living to be fashionable, happy, and merry" (28). Like Louisa, she has every advantage of looks and character but does not possess a highly cultivated mind. At times, she can be flippant and unsure of herself.

Admiral Croft

The rear admiral of the white in the British navy. He is an accomplished and honorable man whom Sir Walter deems "the best-looking sailor he ha[s] ever met" and worthy of renting Kellynch Hall . Admiral Croft possesses a warm, unaffected, and hearty character.

Mrs. Croft

The wife of Admiral Croft and sister of Edward and Frederick Wentworth. Mrs. Croft is portrayed as an extremely kind and agreeable woman.

Edward Wentworth

The brother of Mrs. Croft and Captain Frederick Wentworth who formerly served as curate of Monkford, near Kellynch.

Frederick Wentworth A captain and brother of Mrs. Croft's. Seven years ago, the captain was engaged to Anne. When Lady Russell persuaded Anne to break off her engagement with him because he had neither title nor fortune, the captain left for sea. After seven years, Captain Wentworth has made his fortune and returned to Kellynch a rich man. He is also good-looking, smart, sensible, and cultivated, making him the most eligible bachelor at Uppercross.

Charles Hayter

A somewhat awkward but agreeable cousin of the Musgroves who resides at Winthrop. He is a clergyman who often visits Uppercross in hopes of winning Henrietta over. Although Mary deems his small income unworthy of Henrietta, Charles Musgrove finds him promising and states that he has liked Charles Hayter "all [his] life.

Miss Hayters

The sisters of Charles Hayter who visit Uppercross on occasion for dancing and entertainment.

Captain Harville

A good friend of Captain Wentworth and Captain Benwick. Since Captain Harville has a slightly lame leg that prevents him from exercising much, he applies his incisive mind to carpentry and other domestic activities. Although less polished than Captain Wentworth in manners, he is a perfect gentleman — open, warm, unaffected, and virtuous.

Mrs. Harville

Very similar in character to her husband Captain Harville, Mrs. Harville makes up for her lack of refinement with her good will. When Louisa takes a fall at the Cobb, Mrs. Harville proves herself to be an excellent nurse and plays an instrumental role in Louisa's recovery.

Fanny Harville

Captain Harville's sister. She was engaged to Captain Benwick but died before his return from sea. Captain Wentworth describes her as a "very superior creature" .

Lady Dalrymple

Dowager Viscountes Dalrymple arrives in Bath with much pomp and circumstance. Despite her title, however, "there was no superiority of manner, accomplishment, or understanding" in her or her daughter Miss Carteret. As the narrator notes: "Lady Dalrymple had acquired the name of 'a charming woman,' because she had a smile and a civil answer for every body" .

Miss Cartaret

Honorable Miss Cartaret, daughter of Lady Dalrymple. She is described as "so plain and awkward, that she would never have been tolerated in Camden-place but for her birth" .

Mr. Smith

The late Charles Smith was a man who spent his money too freely. He was an intimate friend of Mr. Elliot's and often gave him money.

Mrs. Smith

A former classmate of Anne's, though three years her elder. During her school days, Mrs. Smith helped Anne through her homesickness and loneliness. After school, Mrs. Smith married and lived the life of a young woman of society. Her husband's extravagant spending, however, has left her with no money upon his death. Despite her unenviable situation, she remains largely cheerful, agreeable, and sensible. A woman with a penchant for gossip, she renews her friendship with Anne through the latter's frequent visits to her in Bath.

Mrs. Rooke

The sister of Mrs. Smith's landlady at Bath, she is friend of Mrs. Smith's. Mrs. Smith describes her as "shrewd, intelligent, sensible woman" who has a gift for observing human nature that is "infinitely superior to thousands of those who have only received 'the best education in the world'"

6-Sense n Sensibility

Colonel Brandon - A retired officer and friend of Sir John Middleton who falls in love with Marianne Dashwood and acts kindly, honorably, and graciously towards the Dashwoods throughout the novel

Mrs. Dashwood - The kind and loving mother of Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret and second wife to Henry Dashwood. She has inherited no fortune of her own but wants the best for her daughters and shares Marianne's romantic sensibilities.

Elinor Dashwood - The nineteen-year-old eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood and the heroine of Austen's novel. Elinor is composed but affectionate, both when she falls in love with Edward Ferrars and when she comforts and supports her younger sister Marianne.

Henry Dashwood - The father of John Dashwood and, by a second marriage, of Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret Dashwood. He dies in the opening chapter of the novel and bequeaths his estate at Norland to his son, leaving his wife and daughters impoverished.

Fanny Dashwood - The selfish, snobbish, and manipulative wife of John Dashwood and the sister of Edward and Robert Ferrars.

John Dashwood - The weak-minded and money-grubbing heir to the Norland estate. At his wife Fanny's suggestion, he leaves his mother and sisters with very little money and remains largely unconcerned for their welfare.

Margaret Dashwood - The thirteen-year-old, good-humored youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood, Margaret shares her sister Marianne's romantic tendencies.

Marianne Dashwood - The seventeen-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. Marianne's spontaneity, excessive sensibility, and romantic idealism lead her to fall in love with the debaucherous John Willoughby, though he painfully spurns her, causing her to finally recognize her misjudgment of him. After this turn of heart, she ultimately marries her long-standing admirer, Colonel Brandon.

Mrs. Ferrars - The wealthy, manipulative mother of Edward and Robert who disinherits her first son when he refuses to marry a rich heiress.

Edward Ferrars - The sensible and friendly older brother of Fanny Dashwood and Robert Ferrars. Edward develops a close relationship with Elinor while staying at Norland and ultimately marries her, after he is freed from a four-year secret engagement to Lucy Steele.

Robert Ferrars - A conceited coxcomb and the younger brother of Edward and Fanny. Robert inherits his mother's fortune after she disinherits Edward. Ironically, he ultimately marries Lucy Steele, even though it was Edward's engagement to this same woman that caused his mother to disinherit him.

Miss Sophia Grey - The wealthy heiress whom Willoughby marries after abandoning Marianne.

Mrs. Jennings - Lady Middleton's gossipy but well-intentioned mother who invites the Dashwood sisters to stay with her in London and makes it her "project" to marry them off as soon as possible.

Lady Middleton - A distant relation of the Dashwoods who lives at Barton Cottage with her husband Sir John Middleton and their four spoiled children

Sir John Middleton - The jovial but vulgar distant relation of the Dashwoods who invites Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters to stay at Barton Cottage after Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood inherit Norland, leaving the women homeless.

Mrs. Charlotte Palmer - Mrs. Jennings' talkative and foolish daughter who invites the Dashwood sisters to stay at her home in Cleveland on their way from London to Barton.

Anne Steele - Lucy Steele's older, unmarried sister who accidentally reveals her sister's secret engagement to Edward Ferrars.

Lucy Steele - Mrs. Jennings' cousin and a sly, selfish, and insecure young woman. She has been secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars for four years but she ultimately marries his brother, Robert, once Edward is disinherited.

John Willoughby - An attractive but deceitful young man who wins Marianne Dashwood's heart but then abandons her (greedily) in favor of the wealthy Miss Sophia Grey.

BRIEF DETAILS

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen's first major novel was written in 1798-99, when she was in her early twenties. It is a comic love story set in Bath about a young reader who must learn how to separate fantasy from reality. Miss Austen sold the novel (then entitled Susan) to a publisher in 1803, and the work was advertised but never published. She bought it back many years later, and her brother Henry Austen published the novel as Northanger Abbey after her death in 1817.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be published. She began to write it sometime around 1797, and she worked on it for many years before its publication in 1811. The title page said that it was written "By a Lady", and only her immediate family knew that Jane Austen was the author. Impetuous Marianne Dashwood tumbles into a fairytale romance that goes sour, and her practical older sister Elinor copes with the family's financial problems while hiding her own frustrated romantic hopes. The book was a success, and it even earned a profit!

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice was first written in the late 1700's, then rewritten in 1811-1812 and finally published in early 1813. It is probably the most-read of all of Jane Austen's novels and is a popular favorite among many. Originally entitled First Impressions, the novel deals with the misjudgments that often occur at the beginning of an acquaintance and how those misjudgments can change as individuals learn more about each other.

Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park was written between February, 1811 and the summer of 1813. It was the third novel Jane Austen had published and it first appeared on May 4, 1814. During her lifetime, it was attributed only to "The author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice", and the author's identity was unknown beyond her family and friends. It is Jane Austen's most complex novel and deals with many different themes, from the education of children, to the differences between appearances and reality. The version of the novel housed here at Austen.com is slightly annotated.

Lovers' Vows: This is the play that the Bertrams wish to enact in the first volume of Mansfield Park. In addition to the text of the play, a synopsis is provided here, as well as a short analysis explaining some of the objections to the play within the novel and a cast list.

Emma

Emma was written in 1814-1815, and while Jane Austen was writing it, it was suggested to her by a member of the Prince Regents' household that she dedicate it to His Royal Highness. Austen took the suggestion as it was intended--as a command--and Emma was thus dedicated, but the dedication itself is rather slyly worded. Emma deals with a young woman's maturation into adulthood and the trouble she gets herself into along the way. The version of the novel housed here at Austen.com is slightly annotated.

Persuasion

Persuasion was written in 1815-1816, while Jane Austen was suffering from her fatal illness. She was still working on some revisions at the time of her death in 1817. The novel was published posthumously by her brother, Henry Austen. Persuasion is a novel of second chances, expectations of society, and the constancy of love. You can also read the preface which Henry wrote telling the world of his sister's authorship, life, and untimely death: A Biographical Notice of the Author.

 One of the most important themes in Jane Austen's writings is society and a woman's place in it. To deliver this theme she uses satire to get her female readers (and her male ones) to see themselves in the comical and small-minded antics of her characters and to relate to that, and think how they can improve in the elements that apply to them - each reader as an individual. For example, are they like fluffy and empty-headed and short-sighted like Mrs Bennet? Or perhaps they are Lydia (impetuous, naive, impulsive and similarly short-sighted? perhaps they are a tad arrogant and full of themselves to the extent that they are thoughtlessly hurtful to others ('badly done Emma, badly done!) For other readers, perhaps a female reader may recognize Mr Wickham as some irresponsible, self-serving youth as someone they know - a male reader may of course recognize himself! With gentle humor Austen gets us to see society in a new way.

 Austen was born in a rectory and died, unmarried, at the age of 41. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral, which she probably would have preferred to the Poets’ Corner in Westminster. Austen’s life is easily summarized because we don’t know much about it. We can assume, however, that nothing much happened in her life other than the writing of her novels. Unlike her contemporary Mary Wollstonecraft, Austen seems not to have held fierce views on the rights of women. She accepted the world into which she had been born and the status of women within it.

 The heroine of her first novel, Nortanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, is just 15, growing from a tomboyish adolescence into womanhood. The plot of Northanger Abbey revolves around the question: Who will Catherine marry, and how will she get to the altar? The theme, however, focuses on a different question: What is it to be grown up? What is it to be morally mature? How does one become the kind of person who can deal with the complicated issues of life? Austen intertwines that question with another question: What, in the process of growing up, is the function of the English novel? Austen believed that the novel could help readers mature; it could serve as a moral instructor, with a similar role as the weekly sermons the author would have heard in church. ion, which is romantic, addicting, light-headed, and corrupting. The point for Austen, though, is how fiction is used and, more importantly, the relationship of the novel to moral maturity and growth.

 In another early novel, Sense and Sensibility, Austen pondered, in the characterization of the two Dashwood sisters, which was the road to maturity—sense and rationalism, as embodied in the elder sister, Eleanor, or sensibility and passion, as embodied in the younger sister, Marian? In typically English fashion, the answer lies in the middle road.

 In a later novel, Mansfield Park, probably composed around 1810, Austen debates a central issue for her: Should a woman marry for love or for interest, prudently, that is, with an eye toward finances? The ironic opening of Mansfield Park recalls the decisions on this all-important question of three sisters of the Ward family. The novel tells us that there is no magic formula for happiness.This opening sets the stage for the novel proper, the story of Fanny Price, the namesake daughter of Frances, adopted from her impoverished house in Portsmouth to Mansfield Park, a grand estate, where she is never quite accepted. In the course of the novel, Fanny manages to resist pressures and make the right marriage choices. She becomes the mistress of Mansfield Park and a leading figure in society. These are the questions that Jane Austen asks: sense or sensibility, love in a cottage or love in a castle, marriage or independence? Time is an enemy here; a woman has only a few years in which to make these important choices.

 In Austen’s last complete novel, Persuasion, the heroine, Anne Elliott, at age 28, has lost her bloom. Will she be able to marry at her age?

 In her novels, Austen asks the most important questions in a woman’s life. How does any woman determine the course that her life will take? Such decisions depend on the situation in which the woman finds herself. For Austen, novels, particularly great works of morality such as her own, can help women negotiate these paths.

 If there is one striking common theme in Jane Austen’s novels, it would be marriage. Romance is central in most of her written works, such as in Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion, to name a few. The pursuit for true love was often depicted to have passed through a series of turmoil and rejection, of heartbreak and anguish; but the perpetrators of love stood victorious in the end.

 However, it is rather ironic that although matrimony pervaded in her novels, it never came to be in her personal life. Her cherished desire for privacy left scholars with little evidence to support the existence of romances in her life, for a great number of her intimate letters were destroyed. But there were speculations of her failed chances for marriage - one, from her childhood love, and the other from a mystery man whose death came too soon before they even arrived at matrimony. Despite all those, there was no account of her bitterness in living a single life. Her romance with writing blossomed, and it was an affair that produced outstanding results, with the publication of numerous novels.

 The road to her success as a writer was winding. Critics pointed out Austen’s poor craftsmanship in terms of her novel’s themes, with regard to the narrowness of her subject matter and the triviality that permeated in her works. She was also accused of creating characters with little emotions. Ian Watt, a critic, is quoted as saying her characters "have little appeal to those who believe thought inferior to feeling."

 On the other hand, a number of writers expressed faith in Austen. Among those were Virginia Woolf and Rudyard Kipling. The former pronounced credit in Jane Austen by saying: “Of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness." She contradicted the claims expressing the poor emotions displayed in Austen’s characters. She later said s "a mistress of much deeper emotion than appears on the surface. She stimulates us to supply what is not there."

 Thus was the life of woman who many knew little of her personal life, but whose characters immortalized in her works lived in the minds of their readers - critics or

supporters

THE END

COMPILED BY` HARIS