Jane Austen, born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon rectory, entered the world as the
seventh child and second daughter of Cassandra and Rev George Austen, a rector in
northeast Hampshire. "…last night the time came, and without a great deal of
walking, everything was soon happily over. We have now another girl, a present plaything
for her sister Cassy and a future companion." This comment of Austen proved perfect,
later on. Cassandra’s (Cassy) proximity with Jane is later on mentioned by Cassandra
as "an accent of living love in her voice." Jane’s parents came from Kent
and Oxfordshire respectively. Rev George Austen was a sheep-farming yeoman in Kent. Mrs
Austen was the daughter of the rector of Halpsden, Oxfordshire.
Cassandra and little Jane
were sent to Oxford to be tutored by Mrs Cawley at her residence. She was the widow of the
principal of Brasenose College. In those days, generally the sons were sent to school and
the daughters were taught at home by their mothers or a governess but the Austens changed
this usual procedure. May be, Mr Austen was unable to afford the expense of five sons at
boarding school. When Mrs Cawley moved to Southampton, she took the little girls along
with her. In 1783 the soldiers returning from Gibraltar, brought with them a typhus fever,
caused by the unhygienic conditions. It affected Jane and Cassandra too. Jane’s
condition became serious and her parents were forced to call the children back to
Hampshire.
In 1785, the Austens sent their daughters
to Mrs Latournelle’s Ladies Boarding School in Reading, Berkshire, famous for
its sensible and practical education and also known as Abbey House school. Jane was too
young to go to the school but it was difficult for her to live without Cassandra, if
Cassandra alone was sent to the school. "If Cassandra’s head had been going to
be cut off, Jane would have hers cut off too," mentioned Mrs Austen. Jane and
Cassandra enjoyed the domestic atmosphere at the school, having plenty of time to play in
the large garden of the Abbey. However, the expensive fees charged by Mrs Latournelle
forced the girls to return home to Steventon. Jane never stayed away from the family
circle there after.
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The Austen children were provided perfect environment for budding writers. They were made familiar with history and other subjects by Mr Austen as he would read the books aloud to the assembly of children. Jane and her siblings were brought up hearing to good and sophisticated English, never ever a slang was uttered in the house. Her father also took care about her writings and she had developed such neat hand that her father allowed her to make the official entries into church register. Though she was a little unsure about the spellings, especially in words like 'believe' or 'receive' she always faltered. Her early work bears a spelling mistake in its title itself - Love and Freindship!
People always found Jane very observant. Sometimes they did feel a peculiar gaze in her eyes which made them conscious about themselves, for they felt that little Jane has discovered something amusingly funny about them.
The children in the Austen family had a very good time organizing amateur theatrical performances for Christmas holidays between 1782 and 1788. James, the eldest one, used to write his own versified prologues and epilogues for these performances. |
The venue was either the rectory dining
room or in the barn, across the lane from the house. Matilda was the chosen drama while
– The Wonder, The Chances, The Sultan, High Life Below Stairs, The Rivals were some
of the comedies. The characters were young Austens and sometimes their cousins, while the
family and friends were the audiences. Jane Austen being much younger, used to play only
minor roles, but later on, the reminiscences of these amateur theatricals helped her, to
make Lovers’ Vows, one of the important event in Mansfield Park.
The family atmosphere soon
acted and Jane, after returning from school started writing. The first composition was a
collection of comic short stories or essays titled as Juvenilia. Many of these plays were
dedicated to the members of the family containing references or jokes.
Under the guidance of Jane’s parents
and eldest brother James, Jane continued her education at home after the end of formal
schooling. Her mother made her a practical housekeeper – teaching enough arithmetic
to maintain domestic accounts. She also taught her how to take help from the servants, how
to maintain the kitchen garden, the poultry yard and the domestic dairy and how to sew and
embroider and to mend clothes. However, Jane continued reading throughout that period.
James encouraged and guided her at studies. Some Winchester Cathedral organist taught Jane
music, singing and dancing. She also learned a bit of Italian and French, enough to read.
Jane always enjoyed dancing and balls
always fascinated her right from the time the invitation arrived. She used to dance
tirelessly at the balls, never missing a single dance. She loved singing too, but never
considered herself a good singer and always sang behind a closed door, before breakfast
time.
Mr Austen’s interest
in buying books amassed a library of some 500 volumes, which facilitated children and
pupils' reading. Jane’s repeated reading of Richardson’s Sir Charles Grandison,
made her well acquainted with its characters seeming as if they had been living friends;
and the same was the case with Fielding’s Tom Jones. She also enjoyed reading Dr
Johnson. She also read Shakespeare, Milton and Pope. The reading of Goldsmith’s The
History of England, from the earliest times to the death of George II helped her to get a
general view of English history. With that she was matured enough to point out
shortcomings of Goldsmith Text by producing a parody The History of England from the reign
of Henry the 4th to the death of Charles the 1st, by a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant
historian.
At 17, Jane came of age to witness the
society in the true sense, from close quarters. Though not an absolute beauty, she was
certainly a very pretty girl, tall and slender with curly brown hair and bright hazel
eyes. She had a rotund face with a small well-shaped nose, pleasant enough to evoke
jealousy and a Mrs Milford described her as "the prettiest, silliest, most affected,
husband hunting butterfly she ever remembered." However, it was certain that at the
age of 20, there were several young men in Hampshire and Berkshire, ready to admire her.
Mrs Austen, aware of Jane’s talent, was bit anxious about her future which she
mentioned in a letter to James’ fiancé : "I look forward to you as a real
comfort to me in my old age, when Cassandra is gone into Shropshire, and Jane – the
Lord knows where."
Among many admiring men, the only man who
attracted Jane was Tom Lefroy. The friendship with Tom blossomed into romance. Tom was a
fair, good looking, serious and scholarly young man, but slightly younger than Jane. Jane
and Tom used to dance and flirt together. Their affinity rose to such an extent that the
Lefroy family feared a formal engagement between the two. So Tom was sent off to London to
continue his legal studies at Lincoln’s Inn under his uncle’s tutelage. Tom and
Jane never met again. Though Jane told Cassandra that she was unnerved as Tom had
departed. Perhaps, for some time, she was unable to come out of the pain of separation.
For a long time, Jane had no news of Tom : "I was too proud to make any inquiries;
but on my father’s afterward asking where he was, I learnt that he was gone back to
London in his way to Ireland, where he is called to the Bar and means to practice."
Tom, later on, after becoming a successful barrister, ended his career as the Lord Chief
Justice of Ireland. Though he had a successful married life, he admitted that he could
never forget Jane, the object of his motivation since then. |
