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 Jane Austen Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, England. She was the seventh child of the rector of the parish, and lived with her loving family, which included one sister and six brothers, until they moved to Bath, a setting she utilized to advantage in many of her novels, when her father retired in 1801. Her father, Reverend George Austen (1731-1805), was from Kent and attended the Tunbridge School before studying at Oxford and going on to make a living as a rector at Steventon. Her mother, Cassandra Leigh Austen (1739-1827), was the daughter of a patrician family. Upon her father's death in 1805, Austen moved with Cassandra and her mother to live with her brother Frank, and afterwards moved in 1809 to a cottage at Chawton, where her wealthy brother Edward had an estate. Like many women of the era, Austen had almost no formal education, but she was an avid reader and a highly-regarded critical thinker. Although Austen's family was neither noble nor wealthy, Rev. Austen had a particular interest in education, even for his daughters. In 1783, she received instruction from a relative in Oxford, and then went to study in Southampton. She also attended the Reading Ladies Boarding School in the Abbey gatehouse in Reading, Berkshire for one year (1785-1786). From her teen years on, she wrote comic pieces for an audience, and parodies of famous eighteenth-century novels in the manner of her novel Northanger Abbey, a satire of Ann Radcliffe's famous Gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. In addition, the youngsters in the Austen family often staged theatrical productions perhaps similar to the production described in Mansfield Park. Unlike many famous writers, who lived lives filled with adventure and travel, Austen lived an extremely quiet, uneventful life. She never married, but did accept an offer of marriage once from Harris Bigg-Wither, a "big and awkward" man six years her junior. However, for some unknown reason she changed her mind and rescinded her promise the day following her acceptance. In this era, unmarried women were not highly regarded: women of high social rank were not permitted to work, and thus remained dependent upon their families for financial support. For Austen, turning down a marriage proposal was an important decision indeed, because marriage would have freed her from the embarrassing situation of being a "dependent." More than anyone, Austen was close to her older sister Cassandra, who was her lifelong companion. The rest of her siblings were brothers. Frank and Charles went to sea and eventually became admirals. Most of Austen's novels contain admirable characters who go to sea and do very well. For example, Fanny Price's brother William in Mansfield Park begins his career as a midshipman and is eventually promoted to Lieutenant thanks to Henry Crawford, who arranges an interview with his uncle, the Admiral. William is one of the finest, most morally upright characters in the novel. Plagued by ill-health, Austen lived much of her life in seclusion. (It is thought that she may have suffered from Addison's disease.) She died in Winchester on July 8, 1817 and was buried at the city's famous cathedral. In all, Jane Austen published four novels anonymously during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815). Two novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously, in 1817. Her novels focus on courtship and marriage, and remain well-known for Austen's satiric depictions of English society and the manners of the era. Her insights into the lives of women during the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century Regency period, in addition to her highly regarded ability to handle form, satire, and irony have made her perhaps the most noted and influential novelist of her time. Incredibly, however, she achieved little renown during her lifetime. In short, Jane Austen was an English novelist whose work is considered to be a strong influence on the Western canon of English literature. Austen's portrait, a colored sketch by her sister Cassandra, is available for viewing in National Portrait Gallery in London. |
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