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February 21, 2007
Jane, Churchill, The French Revolution, and Shidduchim
"What calm lives they had, those people! No worries about the French Revolution, or the Napoleonic Wars."
— Winston Churchill, on Jane Austen's Novels
Well, of course, Jane Austen had intimate knowledge of the French Revolution and the bloody Napoleonic wars. Two of her brothers served in the Royal Navy.
Sir Francis William Austen (1774 - 1865) became an admiral of the fleet. Francis was a great supporter of Jane's novels. In a letter to Eliza Quincy of Boston he wrote: “Of the liveliness of her imagination and playfulness of her fancy, as also of the truthfulness of her description of character and deep knowledge of the human mind, there are sufficient evidence in her works; and it has been a matter of surprise to those who knew her best how she could at a very early age and with apparently limited means of observation, have been capable of nicely discriminating and pourtraying such varieties of the human character as are introduced in her works... She was a most agreeable companion and by the lively sallies of her wit and good-humored drollery seldom failed of exciting the mirth and hilarity of the party.”
Charles John Austen (1779 - 1852) was the youngest of the Austen children. Charles enlisted in the Royal Navy when he was twelve-years old, and spent a great deal of time at sea, five years in North America. Charles adored his older sister's novels and read Emma three times.
Jane Austen was certainly inspired by her two brothers many adventures, and she paid tribute to the officers of the Royal Navy in Persuasion.
Jane also had a cousin, Eliza de Feuillide, whose husband, the Compte de Feuillide, had returned to France in an attempt to secure his estates — and was guillotined on 22 February, 1794. Thereafter, Eliza and her son Hastings spent a good deal of time at the Austen home in Steventon. Eliza was especially close to her cousin Jane.
So the question is: why didn't Jane Austen ever mention the major convulsion rocking Europe at the time? I posed this question privately to a literary scholar who reads this blog every once in a while, a brilliant woman who's something of an expert on the period. She did not bury me under obtuse literary theory, but was quite straightforward, stating: “Jane Austen wrote about what she knew.” Which is to say, the rural domestic life of the British family, and the desperate search for suitable marriage partners for a house filled with yearning daughters.
In short: Jane Austen wrote about shidduchim.
Here's an entire book devoted to what Jane Austen did not write: Jane Austen & The French Revolution
And here's probably the very best likeness of Jane Austen, that we have. It's only recently been discovered. As you can see, she is hard at work.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at February 21, 2007 04:04 AM
Comments
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Okay, I'll buy that... so why didn't she write about Napoleon's shidduchim? I mean, THAT'S a novel!
Posted by: Jake at February 21, 2007 09:25 AM
Jake:
Josephine: Shmutzy French skank. Not Jane's ideal heroine.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 21, 2007 09:44 AM
Great photo of Jane. Isn't that YOUR backyard pool that she's beside? I mean, Jane Austen is a fixture in your life and all, but c'mon, Robert...
Posted by: Pearl at February 21, 2007 09:59 AM
Pearl:
I confess, it is the pool at Casa Avrech. Notice how tznius Jane dresses, even to swim. A lovely guest. But oh boy, did she run up a phone bill.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 21, 2007 10:08 AM
That explanation is not sufficient. Jane Austen wrote a great deal about gossip, including gossip from military officers, and surely a lot of that gossip consisted of boasts and curses about Napoleon and the French.
The book, however, sounds interesting.
Posted by: Solomon2 at February 22, 2007 12:33 PM
Solomon:
The explanation was a bit longer. Essentially my scholar was saying that Jane Austen wrote about areas in which she had first-hand knowledge, that which filled her days and nights as a young lady of her time. She may have heard a great deal of the French revolution and Napoleon, but it was not the core of her female existence.
The proof is in her correspondence. She spends no time on the wars or politics, but on the drama of domestic life. It is only in her Juvenalia where Jane spent any time on politics when, at the age of thirteen, she wrote her hilarious "History of England." The beheadings are regular and treated with great wit and irony.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 22, 2007 12:43 PM
Actually Robert I do know of one quote from her letters on the subject of war (or something like it): "How horrible it is to have so many people killed! And what a blessing that one cares for none of them."
Austen's "History of England" is on my wishlist. As are numerous other of her works that I have yet to acquire.
Posted by: Molly at February 22, 2007 05:56 PM
Molly:
Thanks so much for the correction. I just don't remember reading it, but then I have not read Jane's correspondence for a few years. And you know what, I may not have read all of it.
Hollywood screenwriter with ADD.
"History of England" is an absolute hoot. Enjoy!
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 22, 2007 06:21 PM