A Reflection of Jane Austen Essay

Submitted By belove751
Words: 1849
Pages: 8
Open Document
Jennifer Stewart Jones
Instructor Barnhardt
English 111-01
16 April 2014
A Reflection of Jane Austen
Jane Austen is one of the world’s most renowned authors. She was born in Steventon, a small village in England on 16 December 1775 (Craik 187.) She only lived forty two short years, passing away on 18 July 1817 under the care of her best friend and sister, Cassandra (C. Austen.) Austen composed her writings in the Georgian era of British history, which is undoubtedly evident in her compositions. If readers examine and explore her wonderful works, they will discover who Austen was and what inspired and influenced this amazing author. A great deal can be learned from Austen’s writing, about not only her family and daily life but how women lived in the 1800s. Readers can examine the customs and etiquette of the people of her time and the social and economic context in which her books were written. In her books most of all the characters she brought to life are inspired by relationships she had, which is made evident in her personal letters to or from these acquaintances. A closer look into Austen’s life is required to develop a sense of how all of these factors influenced her works.
In Jane Austen in Her Time, it is made clear that Austen is not born into wealth. Her father was a simple clergyman and made little money. Jane did move up into more comfortable settings as she was often invited to stay in luxurious Godmersham to stay with her brother, Edward, whom had been adopted to the Knight family and became the heir of their wealthy estate. Once married, Edward and his wife often saw that Jane and Cassandra would stay for extended visits with them and attend balls in their lavish home. Jane Austen attends many balls, a formal social event common in the 1800s that included dining, drinking, music and dancing. “Such [wealthy] people are to be in the happy state of being thoroughly at home, but being detached enough [from the city] to be conscious of the excellence and beauty of their surroundings” (Craik 102). It was an age of extravagance and the picturesque, but of the passion in gardening and farming also. Austen was seen as a sort of outcast at times in Edward’s home; she would laugh to herself and run across the room to write something down. She was shy and preferred to keep to herself.
Austen writes mostly of only what she knew, women’s issues and the inner workings of a household, of passion and romance. In Godmersham, Jane’s role is to nurse her mother and writes sarcastically to her sister Cassandra:
My mother desires me to tell you that I am a very good housekeeper, which I have no reluctance in doing, because I really think it my peculiar excellence and for this reason - I always take care to provide such things as please my own appetite, which I consider as the chief merit in housekeeping.
Finances were not a major concern for women of her time but Jane expresses her thrift and is very practical as she writes:
Now I will give you the history of Mary's veil, in the purchase of which I have so considerably involved you that it is my duty to economize for you in the flowers. I had no difficulty in getting a muslin veil for half a guinea, and not much more in discovering afterwards that the muslin was thick, dirty, and ragged, and therefore would by no means do for a united gift. I changed it consequently as soon as I could, and, considering what a state my imprudence had reduced me to, I thought myself lucky in getting a black lace one for sixteen shillings. I hope the half of that sum will not greatly exceed what you had intended to offer upon the altar of sister-in-law affection (Austen.)
Austen’s novels often parallel her own experiences in life and the characters parallel acquaintances and close correspondents. Her writing is at times harsh, challenging the societal norms of her time, but mostly she writes with great etiquette and reserve. Reserve is particularly important to women, whose dependence on
Show More

Related Documents: A Reflection of Jane Austen Essay

Assignment: Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen Essay example

formation……………………………………………...11 4.3 Social reflection………………………………………………….13 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………..14 References……………………………………………………………..15 p.s我的论文的题目是 On the Narrative Features and Functions in Pride and Prejudice （试论《傲慢与偏见》中的叙述方式和作用） 1.Introduction Pride and Prejudice is about the Bennets, a family with five daughters whose rather irresponsible mother’s only concern is to see them all well married. As the novel begins, Jane, the eldest daughter, soon falls…

Words 2713 - Pages 11

Persuasion Individuality Essay

the sovereignty of individual humans has captured the attention of thinkers from John Locke and Carolyn Sherif, to Josiah Warren. Jane Austen explores the theme of individuality in her novel, Persuasion. By prizing theory of mind and free indirect discourse, Austen proposes an argument against the dhavni of the time period in which she wrote, England’s Georgian era. Austen suggests individuality and one’s own desires should be valued above those of the surrounding society. Anne Elliot, the main character…

Words 2167 - Pages 9

Pride And Prejudice Research Paper

Pride and Prejudice Essay In Jane Austen’s time, certain things were expected of both men and women, and marriage was defiantly one of them. Marriage offered a lot of things for both sides of the story, from money to a nice, adequate home to raise a family in. In Austen’s time, the differences and gender roles between men and women were very distinct. This is clearly shown in Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Collins is outside running errands and what not and Mrs. Collins is inside all day, keeping the…

Words 1056 - Pages 5

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1. The author’s background Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. She was born seventh out of eight children into a family of a modest income. Her father, George Austen, was a reverend and her mother, Cassandra Leigh taught her children at the family home. When Jane was eight years old, she and her eldest sister, Cassandra, were sent to a boarding school for a proper education. Austen was always intrigued with English and…

Words 5483 - Pages 22

Essay Pride And Prejudice Lizzy And Lydia

Importance of Change Through a greater self knowledge, which comes through reflection and learning from her own and others experiences, Elizabeth grows in her character; meanwhile Lydia, through lack of reflection and proper formation, remains an immature, self absorbed flirt. Pride and Prejudice emphasizes the need for change in order to mature and grow in character, which can only come through experience and reflection. Through the characters in the book the reader is shown examples of those who…

Words 781 - Pages 4

Anne Elliot's Identity In Persuasion By Jane Austen

The protagonist of Jane Austen's Persuasion has lost her identity. Generally, the main character of a novel has a major presence and is acknowledged by other characters directly. In this novel, however, Anne Elliot is ignored, disregarded, and forgotten. As the story progresses Anne begins to obtain recognition from the other characters and becomes the focus of the story. She earns the title of main character. The reader sees her character progress as she gains confidence in her opinion, regains…

Words 974 - Pages 4

Emma And Clueless Analysis

The profound and satirical reflections of Georgian Society and postmodern America poignantly portrays Jane Austen’s novel ‘Emma’ and Amy Heckerling’s film, ‘Clueless’ respectively. The adjustments of social values and postures towards class and gender roles over the past two centuries gives insight by habituating the polished, idyllic country society of Highbury to the upper- expeditious-paced microcosm of modern Beverley Hills. A prospect of fellowship that is reflected in both Emma and Clueless…

Words 406 - Pages 2

Pathetic Comedy In Shakespeare

Elizabeth Dammeyer AP Senior English Mrs. McFarlan March 3, 2013 Desperate Laughter For thousands of years, comedy has been used to bring people together, to make people forget their troubles, but most importantly, to entertain. While comedy’s main objective is to get a rise out of the audience, writers utilize the absurdity of satirical situations to subtly bring light to contemporary societal problems and provoke change within a culture. While many people are resistant to change, if the impetus…

Words 4773 - Pages 20

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions Essays

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions 89S. Imagining War. Instructor M. Maiwald. WF 8:30-9:45 In this course, we will consider how the experience of war has been represented in American fiction, non-fiction, and film. We will investigate how attitudes toward war have evolved throughout American history: our timeline begins with the Civil War—the traumatic event that birthed the modern American state—and ends with the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In particular…

Words 9501 - Pages 39

Syllabus: University of Cambridge and Cambridge Pre-u Syllabus Essay

Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in LITERATURE IN ENGLISH For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Literature in English (9765) Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in Literature in English (Principal) For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 QN 500/3685/3 www.cie.org.uk/cambridgepreu 1 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Support CIE provides comprehensive support for all its qualifications, including the Cambridge Pre-U. There…

Words 5225 - Pages 21