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'The Last Will & Testament of John Austen of Horsmonden'
~ Full Transcript, Introduced and Transcribed by Dr Jon Spence
The purpose of the publication of the will of John Austen (1629-1705) is not to provide
a scholarly commentary but to give those interested in Jane Austen and her forebears the
chance to see what her great-great grandfather actually said in his will, which in effect
created two branches of the family: The rich side descended from John Austen’s eldest
Austen grandson; and the poor side descended from his five young younger Austen grandsons,
one of whom was Jane Austen’s grandfather, William Austen.
John Austen died the year after his only son, also John Austen
(?1670-1704), who had left one daughter and six sons – the eldest boy yet another
John Austen (1696-1728), only nine years old when he was made rich by his
grandfather’s will.
The account of this will given in biographies of Jane Austen has always left unanswered
questions.
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'Landscape in Northanger Abbey'
~ Christine Alexander
This paper was delivered to the Society at its 1999 Conference on
Northanger Abbey.
In the introduction to the latest Penguin edition of Northanger Abbey, Marilyn Butler
clearly shows that the novel is essentially a work of the late 1790s. She lists as her
evidence various external events, such as General Tilney’s installation of an
efficient new fireplace in his drawing-room, and modifications he made in his kitchen: all
technological innovations that were popularised in 1796 and 1797. She shows that the
literary theme – the importance of reading and the satire on Gothic – are
specific to this final decade of the 18th century, as are the cultural themes of the
picturesque, estate management, gardening, and the modernisation of ancient buildings. In
this paper I want to add to this evidence by suggesting that Austen’s attitude to
current landscape design in Northanger Abbey is based on work carried out in the late
1790s by the professional landscape gardener Humphry Repton. First, however, I want to
look at the way landscape in Northanger Abbey can help us gain an insight into
Austen’s engagement with the dominant culture and ideology of the last decade of 18th
century England.
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'Emma: When Imperfection becomes Perfection'
~ Leonora Walker & Pamela Whalan
A paper first given at the 1999 JASNA Conference in Colorado
Springs, revised and presented at the April 2000 Meeting of JASA
The call for papers for the 1999 JASNA Conference, entitled Emma: Austen at her Peak
included a request for submissions of papers in the point/counterpoint style. As Leonora
and Pamela rarely agree upon any interpretation of the characters in Austen’s work,
this form of presentation provided a wonderful opportunity for them to air their
differences in a public forum. They enjoyed the experience so much that they were very
happy to repeat it at the April meeting of JASA.
Firstly, they had to decide whether Emma Woodhouse was really a heroine. They went to
the Oxford English Dictionary and found three definitions. According to the first of these
definitions:- the principal character in a play, book or poem in whom the interest centres
- Emma Woodhouse is a heroine. Emma is the only one of Jane Austen’s major novels to
bear the name of the leading character.
Agreement was not so readily forthcoming on the second OED definition
of heroine: one who displays exalted courage. Leonora felt that Emma is not called upon to
display courage so we could dismiss this definition as being inappropriate to our
argument. Pamela disagreed. She felt that although physical courage is not required by
Emma, both mental and moral courage are. Emma displays these qualities by facing up to the
consequences of her actions, e.g. by undergoing ‘the necessary penance’ of
informing Harriet of Mr Elton’s preference for herself and seeing her duty ‘to
promote Harriet’s comfort’ despite the trial this is on her patience (Vol.1,
Ch.17). Another proof of this moral courage is in the way she faces the consequence of her
rudeness to Miss Bates by going, as soon as possible, to visit the lady. Leonora conceded
that these actions do require moral courage and drew attention to the way in which Emma
persists in her repeated offers of kindness to Jane Fairfax despite Jane’s rejection,
made even more humiliating to Emma by Jane’s acceptance of kindnesses from other
neighbours. (Vol.3, Ch.9)
The third definition of ‘heroine’ given by the OED is from
ancient mythology:- a demi-goddess, an intermediary between a woman and a goddess. Both
agreed that this definition was pertinent to the discussion. Emma’s mischievous
meddling in the affairs of others as she tries to order the lives of those around her
bears similarities to the meddling of the gods in the lives of mortals in The Iliad.
Emma’s capricious demi-goddess behaviour is most evident in her attempts to find a
husband for Harriet. Her blundering efforts would be completely laughable except for the
pain experienced by Harriet and the potential for permanent damage to Harriet’s
prospects for a respectable alliance when Emma persuades her to reject the proposal of
Robert Martin. The scene at Box Hill, where those present look down on Mickleham and
Dorking, is similar to the ‘gods’ looking down on the humans in The Iliad. When
Frank Churchill says ‘Miss Woodhouse commands ...’ he is reinforcing the idea of
Emma as demi-goddess – as one who may command others and may even order their speech.
(Vol.3, Ch.7). That Emma is omnipotent but not omniscient shows her similarity to the
demi-gods of mythology who often brought unhappiness to those they favoured.
Having agreed that Emma does satisfy the OED definitions of
‘heroine’, Leonora felt it proper that we should examine the character of Emma
Woodhouse through the concept of heroine as displayed in the conduct or courtesy books of
the 18th century. This required an examination of Emma’s character through her
display of the seven virtues.
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'Prudence & Providence in Jane Austen’s Persuasion and
Mansfield Park'
~ Susan Brodrick, University of South Africa
Prudence, like experience, must be paid for. (Joseph Surface to
Lady Teazle in Sheridan’s The School for Scandal, IV: 96-7).
In a poignantly retrospective passage towards the close of chapter four
in Persuasion, Jane Austen lets her heroine, Anne Elliot, reflect on her past
attitudes to ‘Providence’ and ‘Prudence’, attitudes which have shaped
her destiny thus far and seemingly blighted1 her life:
How eloquent could Anne Elliot have been, – how eloquent, at
least, were her wishes on the side of early warm attachment, and a cheerful confidence in
futurity, against that over-anxious caution which seems to insult exertion and distrust
Providence! – She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as
she grew older – the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning. (30)
Austen here employs two euphemistic phrases: ‘cheerful confidence
in futurity’ and ‘Providence’. Anne balances her ‘early warm
attachment’ and her previous ‘cheerful confidence in futurity’ against the
‘over-anxious caution’ and ‘distrust of Providence’ that was forced
upon her, and finds the latter wanting. But what do these phrases mean? The former
(‘cheerful confidence in futurity’) could possibly be interpreted as sanguine
serenity, optimism or hopefulness about what the future holds, or, with our knowledge of
Austen’s orthodox Anglican background, faith in God’s benignity. The latter
(‘Providence’) could best be understood by referring to Austen’s
‘dear’ Dr Johnson.
In his 1755 Dictionary, Johnson defines Providence as
‘The care of God over created beings, divine superintendence’, and cites
quotations from Hooker, Raleigh, Milton and More, with the quotation from Raleigh
describing Providence as ‘...foreseeing, caring for, and ordering all things’. Prudence,
Johnson defines more succinctly as ‘Wisdom applied to practice,’ and exemplifies
this by a quotation from Peacham: ‘...that discreet, apt suiting, and disposing as
well of actions as words, in their due place, time and manner.’ (Johnson: Dictionary
of the English Language: London: Clarendon Press: 1755).
Johnson’s illustrations from Hooker, Raleigh, Peacham, Milton and
More are but a sample of how frequently ‘Providence’ occurs in both sacred and
secular writers of the 17th and 18th century. As an orthodox Anglican, Austen’s
theological conception of Providence was probably conventionally pious. Her use of
‘Providence’ in the above quotation from Persuasion can be interpreted as
a reference to God, and in particular, the first person of the Trinity described in the
Apostles’ Creed as ‘God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth,’
and in the Book of Common Prayer as ‘Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, who,
of [his] divine Providence has appointed ...’ (BCP: Prayers and Thanksgivings Upon
Several Occasions).
Yet, one may ask, what was Austen’s personal attitude towards Providence?
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