What did it mean to be a woman in Jane Austen times? Let's go back to 1811.

The

beginning of regency period. King George III is declared unfit to rule (he probably suffered

of porphyria, a disorder in the production of hemoglobin, which causes sensitivity to light,

severe abdominal pain, mental changes, such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations,

disorientation or paranoia among others). Prince of Wales, his son (later King George IV)

assumed the role of Prince Regent, but instead of trying to bring back the popularity to the

Crown lost together with the American colonies, he indulged into excesses.

At the same time the first experiments with electricity are made, Mary Shelley publishes

“Frankenstein” (1818), the gas is brought to the London streets to illuminate them by the

Britosh Gas Company funded in 1812 and the first steamer crosses the Atlantic. All the

improvements didn't change much the situation of women. The young ladies ready to get

married are officially presented into a society at the official dances, it's in fashion to have

visit cards. Curiously enough those that belong to women are bigger than the ones that

belong to men.

But to be a woman in regency period is reduced to be under the supervision of a father, a

husband or some other kind of male relative. Women are always dependent on men.

That's the world that Jane Austen experienced.

What is more, a spinster is not ina good position. She usually lives with the relatives and

takes care of the house, children, tries to be as useful as possible to pay back for the place

she's living at. That was the situation in which Jane was. One of the examples of her

obligations, one which was a little bit more pleasent than others, esa tea. Tea was

considered a luxury and was quite expensive (to that point that some shops to make it

cheaper mixed it with other things including arsenic and sheep excrement). Fot that reason

the person who took care of it had to be a responsible one and usually it was some less

important family member, not servants. In he house of Austen's brother, the one who took

care of it was Jane and she kept the tea and all the things necessary to prepare it under
lock and key. The only one with the access to it was her. She prepared tea and breakfast,

which consisted of toasts, muffins or rolls with butter, homemade jam or honey from her

sister´s hive. That rituals are reflected in some of her novels: in “Mansfield Park” it is

Fanny Price who takes care of tea, not a servant, due to her position in the family. Austen

bought tea always in the same shop: Twinnings in London, as that was the place she could

be sure it would be unadulterated. The shop is still there, on the Strand and it's popular as

ever.

Tea and its price were the recurring topic in her letters to her sister Cassandra: “I suppose

my mother recollects that she gave me no money for paying Brecknell and Twining, and

my funds will not supply enough.”; “My mother made her entrée into the dressing-room

through crowds of admiring spectators yesterday afternoon, and we all drank tea together

for the. first time these five weeks.”; “We began our China tea three days ago, and I find it

very good. My companions know nothing of the matter. As to Fanny and her twelve pounds

in a twelvemonth, she may talk till she is as black in the face as her own tea, but I cannot

believe her -- more likely twelve pounds to a quarter.”; “I am sorry to hear that there has

been a rise in tea. I do not mean to pay Twining til later in the day, when we may order a

fresh supply.”.

On the other hand, the first half of XVIIIth century witnessed the growth of a novel and

shortly after that, the progress of Romanticism into literature. However, towards the end of

the century, a new genre appeared in England: a novel of manners, repeating after

Wikipedia: “work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with finely detailed

observation the customs, values, and mores of a highly developed and complex society.

The conventions of the society dominate the story, and characters are differentiated by the

degree to which they measure up to the uniform standard, or ideal, of behaviour or fall

below it. The range of a novel of manners may be limited, as in the works of Jane Austen,
which deal with the domestic affairs of English country gentry families of the 19th century

and ignore elemental human passions and larger social and political determinations. It

may also be sweeping, as in the novels of Balzac, which mirror the 19th century in all its

complexity in stories dealing with Parisian life, provincial life, private life, public life, and

military life. Notable writers of the novel of manners from the end of the 19th century into

the 20th include Henry James, Evelyn Waugh, Edith Wharton, and John Marquand.”
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in rectory in Steventon, a little village in

north-east Hampshire. She was the second daughter, seventh child of the Reverend

George Austen and his wife Cassandra Leigh, who he married in 1764. Apart from her

older sister, also called Cassandra Jane also had 6 brothers. The fact that there were only

two sisters in teh family and six boys, brought the girls very close. In order of birth, all the

Austen siblings were: James, George, Edward, Henry, Cassandra, Francis, Jane and

Charles. Of all of the brothers, Jane was closest to Henry, who acted as her literary agent

in the later stages of her writing. Of her brothers, two were clergymen, one inherited rich

estates in Kent and Hampshire from a distant cousin and the two youngest became

Admirals in the Royal Navy; her only sister, like Jane herself, never married.

The Rectory was Jane's house for the first 25 years of her life. The family believed in open

learning and dialogue between adults and children and it is known Jane was very close to

her father, who apart from working in the rectory, also did some farming and teaching to

maintain the family.

In 1783, Cassandra and Jane, just 8 at the time, were sent to a boarding school to Oxford

and Southampton to be educated. Formal education for girsl includes French, music and

dancing. During an outbreak of typhus at the boarding school, Jane almost died and finally

both girls returned home to continue their studies. That meant that the further education

was done by the father and older brothers and was radically different to that official one.

Also, the extensice library that belonged to the reverend was open without any limitations

to both girls and the reverend was eager to provide Jane with writing materials. The family

debated together, organised plays of known works, in general the environment was very

creative.

From 1785 to 1786, Jane and Cassandra attended the Reading Ladies Boarding School,

where they studied French, spelling, needlework, music, and dancing, but the economic

problems forced the family to bring the girls back home again.
More or less in 1795 she wrote her first novel, “Elinor and Marianne”. In the years 1787 –

1793 she wrote numerous poems, comic pieces, stories and those were compiled in 3

notebooks, which experts refer to as the Juvenilia.

In December 1795, Jane met Tom Lefroy, the nephew of her neighbor at Steventon, a

student at London to become barrister. It's the only time we know she fell in love: in her

letters to Cassandra, she wrote about spending time with Lefroy and mentioned her

romantic feelings for him. However, Tom's family considered that union impractical, and

sent him away. They also took care of them never seeing each other again.

After that, Austen began work on a second novel called First Impressions, which would

later become Pride and Prejudice. The first draft was completed in 1799. And then, Austen

began to revise her initial outline for Sense and Sensibility and worked on Northanger

Abbey, a satire of the Gothic literary genre.

At the same time Mr. Austen wanted to help his daughter and tried to publish one of her

works through Thomas Cadell, a publisher in London, who refused to even open the

package. Jane probably never knew about that attempt.

In December 1800, George Austen told the family that he was retiring from the clergy. That

meant that the family had to leave the house in Steventon and they moved to Bath. It

made Jane profoundly unhappy and her creativity and productivity in writing fell down. The

family first rented number 4 on Sydney Place (1801-1804), to move later to number 3 on

Green Park Buildings East.

It was in Bath that Austen received her only known marraige proposal. In December 1802,

Harris Bigg-Wither, a childhood friend of the family asked her to marry him and she

agreed. But knowing she was not in love and only looking only at the practical outcome of

the relation, she revoked her acceotance the very next day. It is easy to imagine reading

her novels, or a letter she wrote some years later to her niece, that she believed a
marriage should be based on true love and her not being in kove with Harris Bigg-Wither

made it impossible for her to go on with the arrangement.

In 1803 her brother Harry visited a publisher, Benjamin Crosby and sold the rights to

“Susan” (later to become “Northanger Abbey”) for 10 pounds with the promise that it will be

soon published. It never was and the fight over the rights to the novel took some years.

On January 21st 1805 George Austen died and left his wife and daughters with no means

to live. The brothers stepped in and took care of them. They first moved to Southhampton

and then to Chawton (1809) to a little cottage on Edward's property. The cottage is known

as Chawton cottage. It made their lives easier and gave Jane new strength to continue

with her work.

Her brother Henry stepped in again to help with publishing and in October 1811 “Sense

and Sensibility” was released by Thomas Egerton. It was well received and sold out by

1813. Then Egerton published “Pride and Prejudice” in January 1913. By October the

second edition is ordered. Next one was “Mansfield Park”, which even though not as well

received by the vritics as other novels, was the biggest economic success as long as Jane

was alive.

To make her works even more popular Austen left Egerton and started working with John

Murray, who published “Emma” and the second edition of “Mansfield Park”. At that time

businesses led by the prothers Henry, James, Frak and Edward were passing through

some really difficult moments and all the family was in a precarious situation.

At the beginning of 1816 Jane's health rapidly declines but she continues working more

then ever on “The Elliots”, which she finished by January 1817. She immediately starts

working on “The Brothers”, but she manages to write only 12 chapters before her health

declines even more. At the age of 41 she suddenly can't even walk. By April she is

completely confined to her bed. In May 1817 Henry and Cassandra take Jane to
Winchester for medical treatment. On July 18th, 1817 Jane Austen died in Winchester

(College Street 8) and was burried in Winchester Cathedral. She possibly died of

Addison's Disease. In 1967 the commemorative plaque was presented in the place of her

burial.

Henry and Cassandra published “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion” with Murray as a

collection set and relieved the author's identity up to that point unknown.Jane Austen was

for the first time publicly connected to her works.

At the beginning of Xxth century Austen became extremely popular and her enthusiasts

received the name “janeites” (first used in “A memoir of Jane Austen”, 1870). According to

Austen scholar Claudia Johnson Janeitism is "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm

for 'Jane' and every detail relative to her"

 EMMA

Austen's protagonists tend to have financial problems, look for their place, for home where

they would stay, same as Austen did all her life. However, in 1815, another type of novel

was published. Emma, the main character was "handsome, clever, and rich, with a

comfortable home and a happy disposition.". What is more, she has no romatic interest of

her own and doesn't plan to get married. But let's start from the beginning.

Upon finishing her novel “Emma”, the prince regent gave her “the honor” of dedicating it to

him. But as you remember, he was not popular because of his luxurious lifestyle and

expenses he was generating and Jane, unable to disregard it, she showed her disdain in a

hidden way: “To His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, this work is, by His Royal

Highness's permission, most respectfully dedicated to His Royal Highness by His dutiful

and obedient humble servant, the Author.”

In ine of her letter Austen wrote to her niece Anna of the perfect subject for a novel: “Three

or four families in a country village”. It describes “Emma” perfectly. It was certainly not

revolutionary because of any intellectual or political content. But it was revolutionary in its

form and technique. Its heroine is a self-deluded young woman with the leisure and power

to meddle in the lives of her neighbours. The narrative was radically experimental because

it was designed to share her delusions. The novel bent narration through the distorting

lens of its protagonist’s mind.

We can see that innovation in narration on an example of multiple sentences in the novel.

For example: “But in every respect as she saw more of her, she was confirmed in all her

kind designs.” The sentence is in the third person, but what we get to know is Emma's

opinion, not the author's. “Kind designs” is Emma’s cway of thinking of her project to mould

Harriet. Yet it is still a third-person narrative; Emma is not telling her own story. We both

share her judgments and watch her making them.

Austen was the first novelist to manage this kind of revelation. She was perfecting a

technique that she had begun discovering in her first published novel, “Sense and

Sensibility”. It was only in the early 20th century that critics began agreeing on a name for

it: free indirect style (a translation from the original French: style indirect libre). It describes

the way in which a writer imbues a third-person narration with the habits of thought or

expression of a fictional character. Before Austen, novelists chose between first-person

narrative (letting us into the mind of a character, but limiting us to his or her understanding)

and third-person narrative (allowing us a God-like view of all the characters, but making

them pieces in an authorial game). Austen miraculously combined the internal and the

external.

There is, however, one carefully calculated chapter in the whole novel narrated from

another character’s viewpoint. Deep in the third volume, Austen jolts the reader with a

chapter from Mr Knightley’s point of view. It comes at a crucial point, where Frank

uncharacteristically blunders by mentioning an item of parochial gossip that he can only

know from his secret correspondence with Jane: Mr Perry the apothecary is getting a

carriage (because he is making so much money from the maladies imaginaries of

Highbury). How could he know? “It must have been a dream,” laughs Frank. Emma is “out

of hearing”, but Mr Knightley is observing. He watches as all the major characters sit down

to play a word game (the novel is full of games and puzzles) and Frank selects the letters

for the word “blunder”. Mr Knightley sees and suspects. “Disingenuousness and double-

dealing seemed to meet him at every turn.” The spell of Emma’s consciousness has been

so powerful that Austen has to wake us up for a moment. But the chapter ends with Mr

Knightley suggesting to Emma that there might be some intimate “degree of acquaintance”

between Frank and Jane – only to have his suspicions routed by her. “There is no

admiration between them, I do assure you.”

One of the parts that is criticised in Austen novels is that no one seems to work there. It

may be true for Mr. Bingley or Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice”, who receive anually great

sums of money without any effort on their part, but in “Emma” it's different: both Knightleys

work: George Knightley is a landowner and spends great deal of time supervising the

works, his brother John is a lawyer in London, Mr Weston used to be an army captain and

then engaged in trade. Even women, which was not typical for Austen novels at all, work:

Miss Taylor was Emma's governess for 16 years, Jane Fairfax is expected to become one

too...

Becuase of that, the novel becomes somtheing much more than just a romance: it is a true

novel of manners, desceibing common problems of Austen's times.

PRIMARY CHARACTERS:

Miss Emma Woodhouse - - - Daughter of Mr. Woodhouse, self-proclaimed match-maker

Mr. George Knightley - - - Gentleman, brother-in-law to Emma

Miss Harriet Smith - - - Emma's friend and resident of the local boarding school

Mr. Frank Churchill - - - Stepson of Mrs. Weston, son of Mr. Weston, heir to Mrs.

Churchill's fortune

Miss Jane Fairfax - - - Niece of Miss Bates, comtemporary of Emma

SUPPLEMENTARY CHARACTERS:

Mr. Woodhouse - - - Father of Emma and Isabella

Isabella Knightley - - - Sister to Emma, sister-in-law to George Knightley and wife of John

Knightley

Mr. John Knightley - - - Brother of George Knightley, brother-in-law of Emma and husband

of Isabella
Mrs. Weston - - - Step-mother of Frank Churchill

Mr. Weston - - - Father of Frank Churchill

Mrs. Churchill - - - Wealthy aunt and guardian of Frank Churchill, sister-in-law to Mr.

Churchill

Miss Bates - - - Friend of Mr. Woodhouse and aunt of Jane Fairfax

Mr. Elton - - - Local vicar

Mrs. Elton - - - Wife of Mr. Elton

Mr. Robert Martin - - - Local farmer and friend of Mr. George Knightley

THEMES

social class

marriage

gender limitations

misperception

pride and vanity

SYMBOLS

Riddles and words

letters

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/05/jane-austen-emma-changed-face-fiction