This source is an excerpt from a scholarly work analyzing Jane Austen’s novels in relation to Romantic literature, particularly the works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, and Byron. The author argues that Austen’s later novels demonstrate a shift in focus towards themes and techniques prevalent in Romanticism, such as the exploration of individual psychology, the significance of memory, the impact of social change, and a nuanced understanding of relationships. The text examines specific novels like Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, highlighting parallels and divergences between Austen’s narrative approaches and the literary innovations of her Romantic contemporaries. Ultimately, the work seeks to reposition Austen within a broader Romantic context, demonstrating how her engagement with contemporary literary trends shaped the evolution of her artistry.
Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets: A Study Guide
Quiz
- According to the text, what specific visual detail in Mansfield Park suggests a connection to Wordsworth? Explain the reference.
- How does Edward Ferrars’ description of a “fine country” in Sense and Sensibility contrast with more purely “picturesque” views of nature associated with Romanticism? What does this reveal about Austen’s perspective at that point in her career?
- The text argues that Austen’s late novels demonstrate a different understanding of the mind compared to her earlier works. Briefly describe this shift, referencing the discussion of memory in Sense and Sensibility.
- What is meant by the “forensic language” used in Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice? How does Edmund Bertram’s letter to Fanny in Mansfield Park differ in its approach to expressing feeling?
- Explain the significance of the word “perfect” in Emma, according to the text. Provide an example of how this word is used in the novel.
- How does Austen’s use of the word “harmonized” in Emma relate to a specific phrase in Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey”? What does this connection suggest about Austen’s artistic aims?
- The text discusses Fanny Price’s frequent use of the word “no” in Mansfield Park. What does this characteristic usage signify about her character, according to the analysis?
- What is the older meaning of the word “friend” that the text describes as prevalent in Austen’s time? How does John Dashwood’s use of the term in Sense and Sensibility reflect this meaning?
- According to the text, how did Byron’s view of friendship differ from the classical tradition? How does Austen engage with this evolving understanding of friendship in Emma?
- The conversation between Jane Fairfax and John Knightley at the dinner party in Emma is presented as uniquely characteristic of the novel’s interest in friendship. What is significant about this particular interaction?
Quiz Answer Key
- The text points to “three transparencies” in Mansfield Park depicting Tintern Abbey between an Italian cave and a Cumberland lake. This alludes to Wordsworth’s poem “Tintern Abbey,” suggesting an awareness and perhaps engagement with his work and the popularization of the Wye Valley through picturesque tourism, notably influenced by Gilpin.
- Edward’s ideal of a fine country prioritizes “beauty with utility,” admiring flourishing, straight trees and snug farmhouses over crooked trees and banditti. This contrasts with a purely aesthetic appreciation of wild or dramatic landscapes favored by some Romantic perspectives, suggesting Austen’s early focus on a more socially and morally grounded evaluation of nature.
- The early novels, like Sense and Sensibility, present memory in a more schematic way, often tied to specific moral lessons and resolutions. The late novels, however, suggest a deeper and more complex understanding of memory’s role in shaping identity and the experience of time, moving beyond a purely instrumental function.
- “Forensic language” in Darcy’s letter refers to its structured, analytical, and almost legalistic tone, focusing on presenting evidence and refuting Elizabeth’s charges without overt emotional expression. Edmund’s letter, in contrast, is characterized by its direct expression of intense feeling and a less formally structured outpouring of his thoughts.
- In Emma, the word “perfect” is insistently undermined by qualification and irony, often associated with characters of questionable judgment like Mr. Weston. For example, Weston’s riddle equating “M. and A.” (Emma) with perfection highlights the novel’s critical examination of idealized notions and Emma’s own flawed self-perception.
- Austen’s use of “harmonized” to describe the integration of past and present feelings echoes Wordsworth’s lines in “Tintern Abbey” about an “eye made quiet by the power / Of harmony” that allows one to “see into the life of things,” and memory as a dwelling place for “sweet sounds and harmonies.” This suggests Austen shared Wordsworth’s interest in the mind’s ability to synthesize experience and find deeper meaning.
- Fanny’s frequent use of “no” signifies not a strong will but rather self-denial and a reluctance to assert her own desires. It highlights her subordinate position and her internal struggle to reconcile her own feelings with the expectations placed upon her by her family.
- The older meaning of “friend” referred to a kinsman, near relation, or important associate, often carrying implications for social standing and familial obligations, particularly in matters of marriage. John Dashwood uses “friend” in this sense when discussing potential advantageous matches for Elinor, focusing on social and financial considerations rather than personal affection.
- Byron positioned friendship as the “dear peculiar bond of youth,” suggesting it was a transient experience that faded with adulthood, contrasting with the classical ideal of a mature and virtuous connection. Austen engages with this by exploring the complexities of youthful friendship while also developing the ideal of a more mature, enduring friendship between equals, as seen in the relationship between Emma and Knightley.
- The conversation is significant because it showcases two different styles of “friendship” existing simultaneously. John Knightley employs the older, formal style to express a personal hope for Jane’s future, which she receives kindly. Mr. Woodhouse’s interaction represents a more ceremonial and less personally insightful form of goodwill. This juxtaposition highlights the novel’s exploration of the evolving meanings and expressions of friendship within a community.
Essay Format Questions
- Explore the argument that Jane Austen’s novels, particularly Emma, demonstrate an engagement with and development of Romantic ideas, focusing on the concept of friendship as presented in the text. Consider the influences of Wordsworth and Byron in your analysis.
- Analyze the changing representation of the inner lives of Austen’s characters from her early to late novels, as discussed in the provided excerpts. How does the understanding and portrayal of memory contribute to this shift?
- Discuss the significance of nature and the “picturesque” in Jane Austen’s novels, drawing on the examples and arguments presented in the text. How does Austen’s approach to nature compare with that of the Romantic poets mentioned?
- Examine the concept of “ambiguous relationships” as it is developed in Emma, particularly focusing on the evolving dynamic between Emma and Mr. Knightley. How does the novel redefine the term “friendship” and what are the implications of this redefinition?
- Consider the role of social and historical context in understanding Jane Austen’s novels, particularly Persuasion. How does the text connect Austen’s work to the Napoleonic Wars and the evolving social landscape of England?
Glossary of Key Terms
- Picturesque: An aesthetic ideal, popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, emphasizing a type of beauty found in rugged, irregular, and varied landscapes, often with elements of the sublime but on a smaller, more domesticated scale.
- Sensibility: An 18th-century cultural and literary movement that emphasized feeling, emotion, and refined sensitivity as moral guides. Characters often displayed exaggerated emotional responses.
- Utility: The quality of being useful or practical. In the context of the text, it is contrasted with purely aesthetic appreciation, suggesting a value placed on the functional aspects of the landscape and social arrangements.
- Forensic Language: Language characterized by its formal, analytical, and logical structure, resembling that used in legal arguments or investigations.
- Fetish (in this context): Not solely in the Freudian psychoanalytic sense, but also referring to objects (including ideas or social conventions) that are invested with disproportionate value or veneration, sometimes obscuring or replacing the reality they represent.
- Harmonized (in relation to memory): The process by which past experiences and present feelings are integrated and reconciled in the mind, creating a sense of wholeness and understanding.
- Affective Individualism: A social and cultural shift emphasizing the importance of personal feelings and affections as the primary basis for relationships and individual identity, rather than lineage or social status alone.
- Litotes: A figure of speech involving understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., “not bad” meaning “good”).
- Meta-ambiguity: A level of ambiguity that encompasses or arises from other ambiguities, in this case, the relationship between Emma and Knightley embodying a space where different ambiguous forms of friendship intersect.
- Romantic Poets (in this context): Primarily referring to William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott, influential figures in the Romantic literary movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known for their emphasis on emotion, nature, imagination, and individualism.
Briefing Document: Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets by William Deresiewicz
This briefing document summarizes the main themes and important ideas presented in William Deresiewicz’s “Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets.” The book explores the significant, yet often overlooked, influence of Romantic poets, particularly Wordsworth, Byron, and Coleridge, on Jane Austen’s novels. Deresiewicz argues that Austen engaged deeply with the aesthetic and philosophical concerns of the Romantic era, adapting and subverting them within her own unique novelistic framework.
Main Themes:
- Wordsworthian Influence: Deresiewicz posits a strong and pervasive influence of Wordsworth on Austen, particularly in her exploration of memory, the relationship between humanity and nature, and the development of character through inner feeling and reflection. He argues that even when Austen diverges from Wordsworth, her work often grows out of or reacts to his ideas.
- Memory and Inner Life: Austen, particularly in Sense and Sensibility, portrays recollection as a crucial element in moral development, echoing Wordsworth’s emphasis on “serious recollection.” Marianne Dashwood’s recovery involves a process of “recollection, judgment, mortification, a resolution to judge and act better.” However, Deresiewicz notes that in Austen’s early novels, memory is often confined to a specific moral function, unlike the more fluid and impactful sense of time found in Wordsworth.
- Nature and Perception: While Austen’s engagement with nature differs from the Romantic poets’ sublime appreciation, she does engage with contemporary aesthetic debates, particularly regarding the picturesque. Edward Ferrars’ preference for a “fine country” that “unites beauty with utility” contrasts with Marianne’s more passionate, Romantic sensibility, suggesting Austen’s own evolving perspective. In Pride and Prejudice, the planned visit to the Lake District highlights the Romantic appreciation of nature, even though it is ultimately deferred.
- Influence on Later Novels: Deresiewicz contends that the “unmistakable imprint of Wordsworthian ideas and concerns” can be seen throughout Austen’s work, with later novels developing these themes within a novelistic context that introduces its own aesthetic considerations.
- Byronic Influence: The study also highlights Byron’s impact on Austen, particularly on her understanding and portrayal of friendship, youth, and intense feeling.
- Revaluation of Friendship: Byron’s Romantic idealization of youthful friendship as a “dear peculiar bond of youth” influenced Austen’s exploration of this relationship, particularly in Emma. The novel grapples with different conceptions of friendship, contrasting the older sense of “friends” as important associates with the emerging modern sense of friendship based on affection and shared intimacy.
- Emotional Intensity: Characters like Marianne Dashwood exhibit “effusions derived from Thomson, Cowper, and Scott,” aligning with the Romantic emphasis on passionate feeling. However, Austen often critiques the unrestrained expression of sensibility.
- Ambiguity in Relationships: Austen’s development of ambiguous relationships, particularly the central friendship between Emma and Knightley, can be seen in the context of the Romantic interest in complex emotional connections.
- Evolution of Austen’s Novelistic Form: Deresiewicz argues that Austen’s work shows a clear development from her early to her major phase, marked by a deeper engagement with inner experience, a more nuanced portrayal of character, and a greater complexity in her exploration of social and personal relationships.
- Shift in Focus: The early novels, like Sense and Sensibility, often focus on categorizing characters based on qualities like “amiable” and “gentlemanliness.” The later novels, however, delve into more profound ambiguities and complexities of character and relationship.
- Narrative Voice and Interiority: The later novels exhibit a greater access to the characters’ inner thoughts and feelings, moving beyond simple categorization to explore the dynamics of their minds. The letters in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park (Darcy’s and Edmund’s) serve as examples of how Austen uses writing to reveal the complexities of thought and feeling, though in contrasting ways. Darcy’s letter is “forensic” and controlled, while Edmund’s is driven by “intense feeling.”
- The Significance of Language: Austen’s careful use of language, particularly words like “friend” and “perfect,” reveals her engagement with the evolving meanings of social and emotional terms in the Romantic era. The ironic undermining of “perfect” in Emma and the nuanced exploration of “friendship” demonstrate this.
- Friendship as a Central Theme: The concept of friendship undergoes a significant transformation in Austen’s novels, reflecting the changing social and cultural landscape of the time and the influence of Romantic ideals.
- From Social Utility to Affective Bond: Austen navigates the shift from “friend” as a term denoting important social connections and familial allies (as seen in John Dashwood’s usage in Sense and Sensibility) to “friend” as someone connected by affection and shared values (as emphasized by Mrs. Dashwood and the novel’s overall trajectory).
- Ambiguity and Fluidity: In Emma, friendship becomes the “characteristically modern form of relationship,” marked by ambiguity and flexibility, transcending traditional social roles like neighbor, teacher, or family member. Knightley’s role in Emma’s life exemplifies this multifaceted nature of modern friendship.
- Friendship and Marriage: Austen explores the potential for friendship within marriage, culminating in the relationship between Emma and Knightley, which Deresiewicz sees as a “meta-ambiguity” where different forms of friendship merge into a sexual union.
- The Fetish in Austen: Deresiewicz introduces the concept of the “fetish,” drawing on both economic and Freudian interpretations, to analyze the significance of material objects and idealized images in Austen’s novels.
- Social Fetishism: Austen critiques the tendency to venerate “trinkets and luxuries” as symbols of wealth and status, aligning with contemporary social critiques of consumerism.
- Psychological Fetishism: Drawing on Wordsworth’s concern with the mind’s tendency to believe in its own figurative creations, Deresiewicz suggests that characters can become attached to idealized images or substitutes, sometimes at the expense of genuine connection. Fanny Price’s attachment to her East Room in Mansfield Park is analyzed through this lens, suggesting it becomes a “substitute for the body.”
- Persuasion: Widowhood and Waterloo: The analysis of Persuasion connects the novel to specific historical and Romantic contexts, particularly the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and the influence of Byron and Scott.
- National and Personal Loss: The novel is situated in a post-war England, grappling with themes of loss, change, and national identity. The sea becomes a powerful symbol, representing both the dangers of war and the connection to England’s maritime history.
- Influence of Byron’s “Turkish Tales”: Deresiewicz argues that Persuasion engages with the themes of memory, loss, and hidden secrets found in Byron’s popular “Turkish Tales,” particularly The Giaour.
- Scott’s Historical Romances: The novel’s temporal setting and its engagement with national concerns also place it in dialogue with the historical romances of Walter Scott, though Austen ultimately focuses more on the personal and domestic sphere.
Important Ideas and Facts:
- The three transparencies in Sense and Sensibility depicting Tintern Abbey and the Lake District explicitly point to Wordsworth’s influence on Austen’s early engagement with landscape.
- Edward Ferrars’ pragmatic view of nature in Sense and Sensibility represents Austen’s early critique of unrestrained Romantic sensibility.
- Sir Thomas Bertram’s rigid patriarchal authority in Mansfield Park ultimately “shatters” due to his inability to adapt to the changing desires and independent spirits of his children.
- The forensic language and structure of Darcy’s letter in Pride and Prejudice contrast sharply with the emotionally driven nature of Edmund’s letter in Mansfield Park, highlighting different approaches to expressing inner feeling through writing.
- The repeated use of the word “kind” in Emma signifies the novel’s emphasis on a common human community and horizontal social connections.
- Knightley’s role in Emma evolves beyond traditional social categories, ultimately solidifying as “friend,” representing a modern ideal of ambiguous and multifaceted relationships.
- The obsolete meaning of “friend” as a kinsman or important associate is still present in Austen’s novels, particularly in the speech of characters like John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility.
- Byron’s poetry, particularly his early works focusing on youthful friendship, provides a key context for understanding Austen’s exploration of this theme in Emma.
- The handshake between Emma and Frank Churchill, and its near transformation into a kiss, serves as a physical manifestation of the ambiguities inherent in their evolving relationship.
- Emma and Knightley’s final reconciliation hinges on their redefinition and embrace of “friendship” as a foundation for their romantic relationship.
- The imagery of the sea in Persuasion connects to themes of loss, memory, and England’s national identity in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, echoing Byronic and Scottian concerns.
Quotes:
- On Wordsworth’s influence: “as we make our way through this system of changes, we will find that attribute after attribute bears the unmistakable imprint of Wordsworthian ideas and concerns.”
- Edward Ferrars’ view of nature: “[M]y idea of a fine country,” he says, is one that “unites beauty with utility . . . I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight, and flourishing . . . I have more pleasure in a snug farm-house than a watch-tower—and a troop of tidy, happy villagers please me better than the finest banditti in the world.”
- On Darcy’s letter: “Two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude, you last night laid to my charge.”
- On the undermining of “perfect” in Emma: “Of the dozens of times it or its derivatives appear, almost none is without qualification or irony…”
- On the modern form of friendship: “Friendship has become the relationship in terms of which all others are understood, against which they are all measured, into which they have all dissolved. It has become, in other words, the characteristically modern form of relationship.”
- Emma’s internal recognition of her flawed friendship with Harriet: “I have been but half a friend to her.”
- Knightley’s initial recoil from “brother and sister”: “Brother and sister! no, indeed,” he exclaims.
- Knightley’s initial recoil from “friend”: “ ‘As a friend!’—repeated Mr. Knightley.—‘Emma, that I fear is a word—No, I have no wish—’.”
- Byron on youthful friendship: “Friendship, the dear peculiar bond of youth.”
- The narrator on the symbolic importance of the descent to Lyme in Persuasion: “descending the long hill into Lyme . . . entering upon the still steeper street of the town itself . . . passing down . . . and still descending—to the sea.”
- The Giaour on memory: “My memory now is but the tomb / Of joys long dead.”
Deresiewicz’s work provides a compelling argument for understanding Jane Austen within the intellectual and aesthetic context of Romanticism, revealing a deeper layer of engagement with the major literary and philosophical currents of her time. His analysis of themes like memory, nature, friendship, and the evolving self offers fresh perspectives on Austen’s enduring literary significance.
Austen and the Romantic Poets: Influences and Engagements
Frequently Asked Questions: Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets
1. How does the book define the relationship between Jane Austen and the Romantic poets? The book argues that Jane Austen engaged deeply with the ideas and concerns of the Romantic poets, particularly Wordsworth, Byron, and Coleridge, although her engagement was often subtle and transformative rather than a direct imitation. She absorbed fundamental orientations and aesthetics from them, adapting and integrating these influences within her own novelistic framework, which necessarily involved different artistic and social considerations.
2. In what specific ways did Wordsworth influence Jane Austen’s work, according to the text? Wordsworth’s influence is seen in several aspects of Austen’s novels. This includes the exploration of memory and recollection, particularly the idea of past feelings shaping present experience, as seen in Sense and Sensibility. Austen also engages with Wordsworthian ideas of nature and its moral significance, although sometimes to critique or present alternative perspectives, such as Edward Ferrars’s view of landscape prioritizing utility over the purely picturesque. Furthermore, the development of ambiguous relationships, particularly friendship, in Austen’s later novels like Emma, is linked to Wordsworth’s exploration of complex bonds in poems like the Matthew poems.
3. How did Byron’s Romanticism manifest in Austen’s novels, as discussed in the source? Byron’s influence is particularly evident in the exploration of friendship in Austen’s work. Austen engages with the Byronic concept of friendship as the “dear peculiar bond of youth,” reflecting a shift from the classical ideal of friendship as a mature, virtuous connection. This is seen in the emphasis on youthful friendships and the anxieties surrounding their potential loss or change. Additionally, the Romantic fascination with intense feeling and memory, themes prevalent in Byron’s work, find echoes in Austen’s exploration of characters’ emotional lives, particularly in Persuasion.
4. The text highlights the evolving concept of “friendship” in Austen’s novels. How does it change, and what influences this shift? The concept of friendship evolves from an older sense, where “friend” could denote a kinsman or important associate, particularly in the context of marriage, to a more modern understanding of friendship based on affection, shared values, and mutual support. This shift is influenced by broader cultural changes and the Romantic emphasis on individual feeling and intimacy. In Emma, friendship becomes a central theme, explored in its various forms and ambiguities, ultimately emerging as a new relational ideal.
5. What is the significance of the relationship between Emma and Knightley in the context of friendship, according to the book? The relationship between Emma and Knightley is presented as the apotheosis of the evolving concept of friendship in Austen’s work. It moves beyond fixed social roles and traditional expectations, becoming an ambiguous relationship characterized by intellectual equality, mutual respect, and the possibility of growth. Their journey culminates in a marriage that incorporates this deep and complex friendship, suggesting a modern ideal where romantic partnership is founded on a strong and evolving friendship.
6. How does the theme of memory function in Austen’s novels, and how does it relate to the Romantic poets’ treatment of memory? Memory in Austen’s novels is not merely a passive recollection of events but actively shapes characters’ understanding of themselves and their relationships. In early novels like Sense and Sensibility, memory serves a more schematic, almost curative role. However, in later works like Emma and Persuasion, memory becomes more nuanced, influencing the sense of time and allowing for the harmonization of past experiences into present understanding, echoing Wordsworth’s exploration of memory’s power in poems like “Tintern Abbey.”
7. What is the role of nature and the picturesque in Austen’s novels, particularly in relation to Romantic ideals? Austen engages with the Romantic appreciation for nature and the picturesque, but often with a critical or nuanced perspective. While characters like Marianne Dashwood express sensibility through effusions aligned with picturesque conventions and poets like Thomson and Cowper, Austen also presents alternative views, such as Edward Ferrars’s preference for a landscape combining beauty with utility. In Pride and Prejudice, the planned visit to the Lake District is almost an afterthought, suggesting a deliberate swerve away from a central engagement with sublime nature, unlike the intense focus found in some Romantic poetry.
8. How does the book connect the historical context of the Napoleonic Wars and a sense of national identity to Austen’s novel Persuasion? Persuasion is analyzed as a novel deeply engaged with its historical context, particularly the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of naval power. The sea, a significant setting, is not just a backdrop but symbolizes England’s history and identity as an island nation. The novel contrasts the landed gentry with the emergent professional class represented by naval officers, suggesting a shift in social values and the potential for national renewal after the wars. The themes of loss, memory, and the intertwining of personal and national life are also connected to the historical period.
Jane Austen’s Novels: Early and Major Phases
Jane Austen’s novels can be broadly categorized into two phases: the early phase, comprising Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice; and the major phase, consisting of Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.
Early Phase Novels:
- These novels are characterized as brilliant, cutting, and breathtakingly assured, but essentially straightforward marriage plots.
- While intricately designed, they are considered morally and emotionally unambiguous.
- The younger Austen was fond of narrative set-pieces which were markedly performative. Examples include conversations during dances or sparring matches between characters.
- In these early works, emotions and motives are less complex, and relationships are similarly unambiguous, shifting in a step-wise fashion.
- Memory plays a crucial role in the heroine’s transformation but exhibits a narrower conception compared to the later novels. For instance, Elizabeth Bennet’s self-recognition in Pride and Prejudice is strikingly swift, triggered by Darcy’s letter.
- The conceptual landscape of the early novels is dominated by an abstract moral vocabulary, focusing on terms like “amiable,” “agreeable,” “gentlemanliness,” and “elegance”. Austen employs a powerful categorizing intelligence in these works.
- Austen, in her early phase, can be seen as an “artist of being,” focusing on static characters and abstract qualities.
- The ethical doctrine at the center of these novels is that feeling can and ought to be shaped, controlled, and educated by thought. The plots, irony, and narrators’ self-assurance reinforce this idea. The errors of the early heroines are often errors of reason.
- Austen satirizes the way the works of authors like Cowper, Gilpin, Radcliffe, and Burney were read or misread, rather than the works themselves, in novels like Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey.
Major Phase Novels:
- These novels are described as deeper, denser, more complex, and more confounding than the earlier ones.
- In this phase, Austen discards her allegiance to reason and resolution to explore uncharted and disturbingly equivocal regions of selfhood and relatedness. She transitions from a “maker of marriages” to an investigator into “the delicate anatomy of the human heart”.
- The novels of the major phase show a new receptivity to nature and attitude toward natural connection.
- The nature of time is different in the later novels, with a greater emphasis on the past shaping the present. The inner realm of feeling, reflection, recollection, relatedness, and personal transformation becomes more significant.
- Austen becomes an “artist of becoming,” focusing on the evolving nature of characters.
- The language of the late novels exhibits greater “subtlety and flexibility”. Austen’s notation of mental life becomes more prominent.
- The mature Austen is no longer primarily concerned with what ought to be but with what is, becoming an explorer of emotions, an observer of relational possibilities, and a connoisseur of process.
- The center of Austen’s attention shifts away from the courtship plot, which functions more as a framework for deeper explorations of emotional structures and modes of relatedness.
Influence of Romantic Poets:
- The shift between Austen’s early and major phases is attributed, in part, to her encounter with the Romantic poets: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, and Byron.
- Their new poetry, focusing on the growth of the mind through feeling, memory, loss, interiority, solitude, ambivalence, and openness, influenced Austen’s later works.
- Austen absorbed fundamental orientations from these poets, reflected in the form, language, and themes of her major phase novels.
- While direct allusions are not always obvious, Persuasion is the sole novel with clear Romantic allusions. However, more subtle allusions to Wordsworth are found in Mansfield Park and Emma.
- Austen’s later novels display concerns drawn from the poets, such as “substitution” in Mansfield Park, “ambiguous relationships” in Emma, and “widowhood” in Persuasion.
Specific Novel Insights:
- Mansfield Park: Explores the concern of “substitution,” deeply informed by Wordsworthian themes of loss and compensation. The novel delves into the complexities of social relations and obligations.
- Emma: Investigates “ambiguous relationships,” drawing ideas about new possibilities for intimate connections from Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Byron, emphasizing complexity, depth, and freedom from conventional social roles. The novel also explores the concept of friendship in a complex historical context.
- Persuasion: Centers on “widowhood” as a process of bereavement and overcoming loss. It also functions as a meditation on historical transitions, reflecting the shift from an old order to a new one led by professions rather than nobility. The novel displays a new emphasis on nature and its connection to feeling.
In summary, Jane Austen’s artistic development shows a significant shift from the more straightforward and morally clear marriage plots of her early phase to the deeper, more psychologically complex explorations of her major phase, influenced by the changing literary landscape and her engagement with the works of the Romantic poets.
Austen’s Major Novels: Romantic Poet Influence
The provided source, “Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets,” argues for a significant influence of the Romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, and Byron) on Jane Austen’s novels, particularly those of her major phase (Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion).
The source posits that while Austen’s early novels (Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice) are brilliant and assured, they are essentially straightforward marriage plots with morally unambiguous characters and relationships. The encounter with the Romantic poets, whose careers began to gain significant attention in the early 19th century (Byron bursting onto the scene in 1812), deepened Austen’s art, making it more intuitive, ambiguous, and unsettled, as well as more bold and mature. This influence pushed her towards new recognitions that her longer experience of life had prepared her for.
The shift between Austen’s early and major phases is characterized by several key changes attributed to the Romantics’ influence:
- A new receptivity to nature and a different attitude toward natural connection.
- A changed nature of time, with a greater emphasis on the past shaping the present and the significance of inner feeling, reflection, and recollection.
- Austen transitions from an “artist of being,” focused on static characters and abstract qualities, to an “artist of becoming,” exploring the evolving nature of characters.
- Her language gains greater “subtlety and flexibility,” with a more prominent notation of mental life.
- The focus shifts from what ought to be to what is, making Austen an explorer of emotions and relational possibilities.
- The courtship plot becomes more of a framework for deeper explorations of emotional structures.
The source argues that Austen absorbed fundamental orientations from the Romantic poets, reflected in the form, language, and themes of her later novels. While direct allusions are not always obvious (except in Persuasion), the influence is seen in her exploration of specific concerns drawn from these poets:
- Mansfield Park: Explores “substitution,” a set of psychic processes of adjusting to loss, which is deeply informed by Wordsworthian themes of loss and compensation. The novel subtly alludes to Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey,” playing a “double game” by also alluding to other authors.
- Emma: Investigates “ambiguous relationships,” drawing ideas about complex and deep intimate connections, free from conventional social roles, from Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Byron. The novel also delves into the concept of friendship within a complex historical context, engaging with the classical-romantic tradition and Byron’s impassioned engagement with the theme. Again, subtle allusions to “Tintern Abbey” are noted.
- Persuasion: Centers on “widowhood” as a process of bereavement and overcoming loss. It also functions as a meditation on historical transitions, particularly in the context of the Napoleonic Wars, influenced by Scott and Byron, who are explicitly mentioned and alluded to in the novel. The novel displays a new emphasis on nature, a theme prominent in Romantic poetry.
The author clarifies that this argument is not about definitively labeling Austen as a “Romantic” or applying a checklist of Romantic attributes to her work. Instead, it focuses on the specific impact the works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, and Byron available to her had on her writing after she encountered them. The ideas and impulses of the Romantic era were, according to the source, in the air because these poets put them there.
While the standard view once held that Austen probably did not read or think much of Wordsworth and Coleridge, the source argues for her familiarity with their work through subtle allusions and references, particularly to Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” in Mansfield Park and Emma. Scott and Byron are more explicitly mentioned in her letters and novels, especially in Persuasion.
In conclusion, the source contends that Austen’s engagement with the Romantic poets led to a significant transformation in her writing, moving her beyond the conventions of her earlier works into a deeper exploration of human psychology, relationships, and the impact of time and feeling, marking a key development in her artistic career.
Austen’s Evolving Theme of Home: Early to Late Novels
The theme of home undergoes a significant evolution in Jane Austen’s novels, particularly when comparing her early phase (Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice) to her major phase (Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion). According to the source, the idea of place as the shaper of self is intimately connected with the idea of home in Austen’s late novels, mirroring a similar concept found in the works of the Romantic poets.
In the early novels, home is not depicted as a psychic necessity or a place that profoundly shapes the self. While these novels focus intensely on finding heroines suitable husbands, this quest does not necessarily involve finding them a suitable home, nor does it console them for the loss of an existing one.
- Catherine Morland’s home in Northanger Abbey is practically non-existent.
- Elizabeth Bennet’s home, Longbourn in Pride and Prejudice, is portrayed as something she is eager to leave. Pemberley, while described in detail for its beauties and comforts, functions more as a socioeconomic unit reflecting its master’s character rather than a place that formed him; for Elizabeth, it is a place to be “mistress of,” not inherently to dwell in.
- The Dashwoods’ loss of Norland in Sense and Sensibility is a significant event, but Barton Cottage, while a decent house, develops little resonance as a home. Its proximity to Barton Park even makes it almost as inhospitable as Longbourn is to Elizabeth. The places where the early heroines eventually settle, like Henry’s parsonage or the implied residences of Elinor and Marianne, are only briefly touched upon. Even though Sense and Sensibility comes closest to preserving the home of their youth for Elinor and Marianne, their relationship remains uneasy, suggesting their common “home” can only hope for an absence of tension.
By contrast, in the late novels, the idea of home as a psychic necessity and the loss of home as an irreparable psychic wound become central. For the mature Austen, as for the Romantic poets, home is a singular place that has made you who you are.
- For Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, home is vital to her emotional health. Her misery at leaving Portsmouth for Mansfield and then leaving Mansfield to revisit Portsmouth confirms this. Ironically, while the Crawfords’ instability and everything else about them are a product of their London upbringing, it highlights the novel’s investment in the idea of place as the shaper of self.
- Emma Woodhouse’s rootedness to place, though not explicitly emphasized, is fundamental to the very form of her novel. She never has to leave her home. The importance of home in Emma is such that it even overshadows the romance plot.
- Anne Elliot in Persuasion experiences homelessness and the effort to create a home away from home. The novel explores the nature and meaning of home, comparing different domestic settings like the jovial Uppercross, the cold Elliot lodgings in Bath, and the Harville lodgings in Lyme, which are described as a “picture of repose and domestic happiness”. The ability to make a home away from home becomes a key characteristic. Even the nation’s naval officers after the peace are described as “wanting a home”. While Anne and Wentworth find a metaphorical home in each other, the novel strikingly never specifies where they will finally live, suggesting their home will remain “unsettled”.
The source argues that the absence of the strong theme of home in the early novels is related to the portrayal of the self. In these early works, the self is not depicted as being “shaped” by place; instead, characters undergo abrupt changes of consciousness. Missing is the Wordsworthian theme of childhood as a formative influence, which is closely linked to the idea of home. For instance, Elizabeth Bennet’s past is largely absent from the narrative.
In the late novels, however, Austen’s focus shifts to the continuous modification of personality influenced by factors like place and memory, aligning with Romantic themes. The idea of home as a place deeply intertwined with personal history and memory, as seen in Fanny Price’s East room, mirrors Wordsworth’s depiction of the Wye valley in “Tintern Abbey,” where the space becomes a physical projection of the inner self, uniquely nourishing and making it whole. The East room transforms into a “palimpsest of personal history,” grounding the self in time through memory, much like the Wye valley functions for Wordsworth.
Therefore, the theme of home evolves from a relatively 배경 element in Austen’s early novels, primarily related to social standing and marriage prospects, to a profound exploration of its psychic significance in her later works, where it becomes intertwined with the formation of self, memory, and the experience of loss, reflecting a notable Romantic literary influence.
Austen’s Friendship: Evolution in Emma
The concept of friendship is a central and complex theme explored throughout Jane Austen’s works, and the provided source delves deeply into its various facets, particularly as it is presented and reimagined in her novel Emma. The source argues that the meaning and significance of friendship were undergoing a period of rapid change during Austen’s time, influenced by historical shifts, social ideals, and the writings of the British Romantic poets, especially Wordsworth and Byron.
Here’s a discussion of the key concepts of friendship highlighted in the source:
- Historical Evolution of “Friend”: The term “friend” carried different connotations in Austen’s England. One sense, which was fading but still present, denoted important associates and even elder kin or benefactors, particularly in the context of marriage decisions [46-47, 85, 172n15]. Another common meaning equated “friends” with neighbors, implying goodwill and mutual responsibility, though often lacking deep intimacy [61, 86, 93-94, 182n34]. The more modern understanding of a “friend” as a familiar companion for whom one feels affection and shares intimacies was also current [48, 86, 174n19]. Austen’s novels, especially Sense and Sensibility, reflect this semantic range.
- Friendship and Marriage: Austen consistently valued friendship as the highest social ideal and the desired foundation for marriage [87, 89, 171n12]. The concept of companionate marriage, where husband and wife are “companions and equals,” gained ideological importance in the 18th century, with figures like Mary Wollstonecraft arguing for marriage based on the lasting ties of friendship rather than mere erotic attraction [52-53, 86, 99, 180n24]. Austen is seen as revolutionizing this idea, depicting lovers becoming friends before marriage, emphasizing mutual knowledge and responsiveness.
- Classical-Romantic Tradition of Friendship: This tradition, rooted in figures like Aristotle, Cicero, and Montaigne, viewed friendship as a rare and exalted bond based on virtue and the pursuit of goodness, typically between men of equal standing and mature wisdom [61-63, 86, 101-102, 182n34]. It often paralleled the rhetoric of erotic love, suggesting friendship as a higher alternative. However, this tradition often excluded women. The Romantic era saw a revival and transformation of this ideal.
- Romantic Poets’ Influence on Friendship:
- Byron emphasized friendship as “the dear peculiar bond of youth,” associating it with innocence, candor, and spontaneity, contrasting it with the corruptions of the adult world. His view highlights the transience of such youthful bonds. Austen’s Emma reflects an awareness of this Byronic ideal, though Emma’s early pursuit of friendship seems to miss the mark of genuine youthful intimacy.
- Wordsworth attempted to carry the energies and feelings of youth into adulthood through friendship, exemplified by his relationship with his sister in “Tintern Abbey” and his connection with his older schoolteacher in the Matthew poems. He also imbued “friend” with a sense of democratic equality and social sympathy, as seen in Lyrical Ballads, where the term is applied to both kin and strangers, suggesting a basis for a revivified human collectivity. Austen’s Emma similarly explores friendship as a potentially democratizing and leveling force, where horizontal ties can supersede vertical ones.
- Friendship in Austen’s Early Novels: Austen’s early works contrast “good” forms of friendship (like Catherine and Eleanor Tilney) with “bad” forms (faux-sentimental friendships like Catherine and Isabella Thorpe, or mercenary “friends” in Sense and Sensibility). They also present friendship as a foundation for a profound conjugal relationship [89, 193n60].
- Friendship and “Ambiguous Relationships” in Emma: The source argues that Emma deeply explores the complexity and ambiguity of relationships, with friendship emerging as the “ambiguous relationship par excellence”. Austen tests and stretches the possibilities of friendship through various characters and their interactions.
- Mr. Woodhouse and Miss Bates represent friendship as generalized neighborliness, a more traditional, less intimate form.
- Mrs. Elton embodies a vulgar, overly familiar, and hierarchical notion of friendship, contrasting with the ideals of social sympathy.
- Emma’s pursuit of friendship with Harriet is flawed by inequality and Emma’s desire to act as a patron, misconstruing the meaning of true friendship.
- The potential friendship between Emma and Jane Fairfax is hindered by Emma’s vanity and the threat of an equal intimacy.
- Emma’s friendship with Frank Churchill, a male-female connection outside of marriage expectations, is presented as a significant and revolutionary exploration of amicable feelings, dissolving potential romantic love into “true disinterested friendship”. The ambiguity of “friendship” at the time allowed for such transitions.
- The relationship between Emma and Knightley ultimately defines the novel’s ideal of friendship, where their deep understanding, mutual respect, and willingness to offer counsel form the bedrock of their love and future marriage. Their journey shows friendship becoming the path to its own transfiguration into love, blurring the lines between different forms of affection and even transgressing conventional social boundaries like age and gender hierarchies.
- The Modernity of Friendship in Emma: By the end of Emma, friendship, particularly as exemplified by the bond between Emma and Knightley, emerges as a supremely flexible and inclusive form of relationship, anticipating the modern understanding where friendship can encompass various degrees of intimacy and serve as a basis for or coexist with other types of connections. The novel suggests a move towards a society where “we are friends with everyone,” reflecting a shift towards horizontal, egalitarian ties characteristic of modernity.
In essence, the source argues that Austen, influenced by the evolving social landscape and the intellectual currents of her time, particularly the Romantic re-evaluation of feeling and relationship, uses Emma to conduct a profound investigation into the meaning of friendship. She moves beyond simplistic notions of friendly connections to explore its complexities, ambiguities, and its potential to form the foundation for deep personal bonds, including love and marriage, ultimately contributing to our modern understanding of this essential human experience.
Widowhood and Loss in Austen’s Persuasion
The themes of widowhood and loss are significantly explored in the provided source, particularly in the context of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion and its relationship to the works of Romantic poets.
In Austen’s early novels, the concept of widowhood is treated differently than in her later works. For characters like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mrs. Jennings, and Mrs. Norris, widowhood is associated with power, independence, and stature rather than bereavement. Mrs. Norris even consoles herself for her husband’s death by thinking she is better off without him. Similarly, Mr. Woodhouse and General Tilney do not appear to be affected by the loss of their wives.
However, in Persuasion, widowhood becomes a central fact in the lives of many characters, representing grief, memory, wrenching adjustments, and the painful attempt to move forward. The novel can be seen as a meditation on the dimensions and implications of widowhood and loss.
The source identifies numerous characters in Persuasion who are literally or figuratively widowed:
- Literally widowed: Sir Walter Elliot, Lady Russell, William Walter Elliot, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Clay, and the Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple. Captain Benwick is also included by extension.
- Figuratively widowed: Anne Elliot (bereaved of Wentworth) and Wentworth himself are clearly marked as such. Charles Hayter experiences a brief figurative bereavement.
- Widowed through other losses: The three Elliot sisters (loss of their mother), Captain Harville (loss of the sister Captain Benwick was to marry), and Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove (loss of their son Richard) are also considered widows in a broader sense of the term.
The novel delves into how these characters cope with their losses:
- Anne’s grief for Wentworth is described as a state of “wan hopelessness and perpetual regret,” akin to the self-imposed isolation of Byron’s Giaour. Her memories are closely allied with her grief. However, she believes that “time had softened down much” of her attachment.
- Sir Walter’s widowhood is portrayed as a “psychic stasis” of “stunned numbness” rather than intense passion. He resists the natural aging process after his wife’s death.
- Lady Russell, also a widow, remains a paired remnant with Sir Walter, both unable to move forward from Lady Elliot’s demise.
- Mrs. Musgrove’s demonstrative grief for her son Richard is initially presented satirically, but the source suggests there is something powerful about her grief, highlighting how grief can grow over time and be startled back into consciousness. This resonates with Wordsworth’s insight in “Two April Mornings” about the persistence of grief.
- Captain Benwick’s indulgence in grief after the death of Fanny Harville is also examined. While some might see it as foretelling inconstancy, Austen uses a “vegetative metaphor” to suggest that mourning is a natural process with a cycle of growth and renewal.
The source emphasizes that for Austen, mourning is a natural process with its own cycle. The mourning that violates nature, according to the text, is Anne’s prolonged and suppressed grief. A proper change of scenery might have allowed her to form a “second attachment,” which is seen as “thoroughly natural”.
Persuasion is also linked to the works of Byron and Scott, where the theme of survival after loss is central. The novel’s synchronization of the personal drama of Anne and Wentworth with the national drama of war and peace (related to the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo) mirrors Byron’s juxtaposition of personal and national bereavement in his Turkish Tales and Childe Harold. The source suggests that the novel, with its focus on widows, might have been Austen’s way of addressing England’s own “widowed” state after years of war.
Furthermore, the loss and recovery of home is presented as a significant parallel process in Persuasion, linked to the theme of widowhood. Anne’s search for a home after the loss of Kellynch mirrors the desire of naval officers for a home after the peace. Ultimately, Anne and Wentworth find a metaphorical home in each other.
In conclusion, the source argues that widowhood in Persuasion becomes a central metaphor for a great array of losses, and bereavement and mourning serve as the template for the process of loss and recovery as such, understood as an essentially natural process. While Austen’s early novels treat widowhood with a different emphasis, Persuasion delves deeply into its emotional and psychological impact, drawing connections with Romantic literary themes of loss, memory, and the possibility of renewal. The novel ultimately explores how individuals and even a nation can navigate the aftermath of significant loss and attempt to “live again”. However, the source also subtly hints at the enduring nature of loss, noting that even Anne and Wentworth’s reunion is temporary, as one will inevitably be widowed again.
By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog
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