Read Jane Austen For Dummies Online
Authors: Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray
Jane Austen For Dummies (11 page)
Being Jane Austen (1775â1817)
In This Chapter
Getting to know Jane Austen and her family
Shedding some light on Austen's younger years
Watching Austen grow as a young woman and young writer
Making the move with Austen to Bath
Witnessing a life of writing
Saying goodbye
J
ane Austen grew up experiencing most of the same events as her heroines: going off to school, as well as learning at home; rolling down hills; reading those new works of literature called
novels;
acting in family plays; laughing with her sister; and being teased by her brothers. And also like her heroines, in her adult life she enjoyed dancing at local balls; paying visits and calls to friends; playing cards, charades, and piano; selecting new fashions; attending the theater; and writing letters to friends and family (for she lived in the great age of letter writing).
But unlike her heroines, Jane Austen, by age 13 or 14, was doing something else, something unique: writing little vignettes and stories that unquestionably showed that she understood how fiction worked. This chapter explores her life and calls your attention, as well, to her writing, which was a major part of her life from later childhood until her death.
Jane Austen's parents and siblings formed a happy, educated group who provided Jane with a wonderful, encouraging family circle that appreciated her early writing just as they did her mature novels. The Austen brothers (with the exception of George, who, because of illness, lived apart from the family), all rode horses, hunted, fished, and played games â sometimes even with their sisters. As they grew older, the boys also danced with their sisters and discussed literature, especially with Jane. With a mild, intelligent father, a witty but hypochondriac mother, and lively siblings who loved her, young Jane grew up in a happy and supportive environment and grew into a cheerful, witty, and bright young woman.
While George Austen (1731â1805) hailed from an old and distinguished family in Kent, his early years were marked by misfortune. Orphaned and left with no money at age 6, he moved in with an aunt. But young George was a clever and diligent student, and he eventually won a university scholarship.
Educated at St. John's College, Oxford University (B.A., B.D., M.A.), he was known as a young man for his pleasant personality, strong academic ability, and good looks â the last item leading to his title of “The handsome proctor” (a proctor is a supervisor). In fact, even at the end of his life, people spoke of the tall clergyman's good looks and full head of (by that time) white hair.
He was ordained a deacon in The Church of England in 1754 and a priest the following year. Recognizing that he needed a wife (unlike the clergyman Mr. Collins in
Pride and Prejudice
who marries on orders from his patron, Lady Catherine!), George courted Miss Cassandra Leigh (1739â1827).
The couple married in the Walcot Church (still standing) in Bath on April 26, 1764, and moved to the Steventon rectory in Hampshire in 1768. Jane was born at the rectory seven years later. Jane's father was given the church living of Steventon, along with the rectory, by a rich relative. (For more on church livings, see Chapter 13.)
Jane was very close to her six brothers for her entire life, and she and her only sister, Cassandra Elizabeth (or Cassy) were best friends from childhood until Jane, her head resting on a pillow on Cassy's lap, peacefully breathed her last breath at the age of 41. The following list introduces Jane and her siblings in birth order:
James Austen (1765â1819):
As the eldest brother, James was 10 when Jane was born. A reader, hunter, rider, and writer of verse, James went off to Oxford and eventually in 1801 succeeded his father at Steventon rectory as an Anglican priest. James's son, James Edward, would publish in December 1869 his important
Memoir
of Jane Austen, a basic source for much of our knowledge about his aunt to whom he was very close. His sisters helped him with information.
George Austen (1766â1838):
This son was named for his father and was the brother of whom little is known. As an epileptic, George didn't live at the Steventon rectory; instead, he lived with nearby family but was always looked out for by the Austens. Many of his siblings saw to this care after their parents' deaths.
Edward Austen (1767â1852):
If any Austen lived the life of a fairy-tale character, it was this third Austen son. Polite, sweet-looking with blond hair and pink-cheeks, and smart, Edward, familiarly known as Neddy, was adopted at age 12 by Thomas Knight II, Mr. Austen's distant cousin. See the “Understanding Edward the inheritor” sidebar for details about this life-changing event and how it eventually affected Jane.
Henry Austen (1771â1850):
Henry was Jane's favorite brother. He was very tall, handsome, and witty, and like James, Henry went to Oxford and received his M.A. in 1796. As an optimist and extrovert, Henry found that it took a while for him to settle down. He joined the militia and became an army agent and a banker, but then in 1816, he was bankrupt. After that, Henry spent the rest of his life in holy orders, serving in various clerical capacities.
When Jane died in 1817, Henry was Jane's literary executor and first biographer. He wrote, in December 1817, a “Biographical Notice of the Author,” which was appended to Jane Austen's posthumously published
Northanger Abbey
and
Persuasion
in a four-volume set.
Cassandra Elizabeth
(1773â1845):
Named for her mother, Cassandra treated Jane like her new “plaything.” Though just two years younger than Cassandra, Jane followed her sister around so much that their mother commented that if Cassandra were to have her head cut off, Jane would want hers cut off, too (
The Family Record
, 47). Far more prim than Jane, Cassandra was her sister's first literary audience. Visitors to their house later recalled hearing the sisters laughing upstairs as Jane read aloud some of her latest writing long before it went to the publisher. As both sisters remained unmarried, they lived together for Jane's entire life.
Francis (Frank) Austen (1774â1865):
Called “Fly” by his family because of his active nature, the curly-haired boy, at the age of 12, went off to the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth. Entering Portsmouth at 12 wasn't that unusual.
Frank had a distinguished career in the navy, including his promotion to Admiral of the Fleet in 1863. He was also known for his devoutness and identified as “
the
officer who knelt in church.”
Jane Austen (1775â1817):
Jane was born at home in the Steventon rectory on December 16, 1775. She was named for her mother's sister, Mrs. Jane Leigh Cooper as well as for her father's uncle's wife, Mrs. Francis (Jane) Austen.
Families loved repeating names from generation to generation. But life was like that in Austen's day: Families regularly named their children after a relative either out of the desire to secure that person's patronage and favoritism or just to show plain, sincere love and respect for that relative.
Charles Austen (1779â1852):
Following his brother Frank's footsteps, Charles entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1791 at the age of 12. Charles, too, had a successful naval career and became rear admiral in 1846. Had he not died of cholera while on active duty in Burma in 1852, Charles, too, might have become admiral of the fleet, like his brother Frank, who outlived him by 13 years. (Attaining the rank, admiral of the fleet, was based on seniority of admirals, and so the admiral who lived the longest normally secured that rank.)