Of Dear Austen

notes on Jane Austen

Of Dear Austen

Recently, during a whatsApp chatting, one of my friends texted me that her parents suggested her considering a marriage proposal from Delhi and I humorously answered with my self made , frequently sent proverb drawn from Jane Austen's charaters Darcy and Bingley, " if Bingley is near to you, Darcy can't be far, so rather search for him". It is not uncommon Indian social panorama that girls search for Darcy while Bingley is at their eye sight and thus become the part of that popular janeite fan culture.Most of my students, at least girls , have read or prefer to read Jane Austen's novels and enjoy the magnificient portraits she had drawn in her novels.

Jane Austen's influence upon me was not trivial. Pride and Prejudice was one of the three books which made me consider literature and music as serious matters in life, other being Hamlet and Mother.These three books I carry wherever I go as inevitable companions, as Hamlet is a catalyst to thoughts, Mother to will power and Pride and Prejudice inspiration.Back to my adolescence, it was quite accidental that I encountered with the world of Jane Austen. I was searching for some other stuffs but all of a sudden found an abridged version of Pride and Prejudice(might be a guide) in our old book shelf ,like Pearl .S . Buck discovered Dickens. As a boy I was curious enough about the incidents happened in the history and the people who lived centuries ago.That might be the reason why I contemplated over Pride and Prejudice again and again even though the discussions in the novel were much beyond my age limit. I was too young to think on the hair splitting discussions on social judgements and class consciousness in the novel but still I read and enjoyed it.Eventually, those drawings of English country side became a constant part of my thoughts.The plots in her novels, characters and the life of Jane Austen itself got formed together and conceived to be a great image which continues to inspire me ever since.Most often, in loneliness I picture that image in my mind, an image of a spinster who lived 200 years ago in England, amazed her society with stories, drew beautiful pictures of social scenery, led a quiet life in Chawton and in a morning, left the world like a falling flower.

Austen's life was not an enigmatic one even if you say Sylvia Plath's was and even that of Virginia Wolf's too. Nevertheless, sometimes we get messed up with different images of Jane Austen- of real Austen , one in the correspondences between the family members and relatives , one drawn by the scholars comparing her with her characters ,one which got characterized by her biographers in last 200 years etc. But we can't deny a " quiet dear Jane aunt" drawn by Edward Austen Leigh.We mostly rely on his memoir of Jane Austen which remains to be the most authentic biography of the novelist as of now. The two main incidents in Jane Austen's life are "Jane - Lefroy romance" and "Acceptance and Rejection of Harris Bigg Wither's marriage proposal". John Spence's argument of possiblity of taking Tom Lefroy as a model for Darcy is logical but the paritial adaptation of his biography 'Becoming Jane' is felt to be deviated from the actual facts.Of course I enjoyed the movie with Annie Hathaway in leading role but the image of the author drawn in the movie is some what different from the actual one. The same feeling I had when watched the movie 'Sylvia' which told the life of Sylvia plath and would rather say some facts were lost in commercialization. It was true that such a relationship was found between the writer and Tom Lefroy, which himself would recall as boyish love after many years. It is clear from Jane Austen's letter,

"Friday - at length the day is come on which I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea"
( Le Faye Deidre. Jane Austen's Letters, 3rd ed. Oxford university Press, Oxford,1997.)

I think we dont need a serious thinking in to the eventual development of this relation as fabulously depicted in the movie. Jane Austen's life was uneventful but the turbulent writer in her would not be willing to get involved in such a relationship any more. Tom Lefroy, the Irish man, went to his native land and later became the chief justice there. He paid a visit to England in respect of Jane Austen at her sad demise.

once I told my student Ms S a story as she was very curious about Jane Austen and her novels. I was tricky enough to manipulate a fact from history to impress my student who was in her 17s and already had fallen in love with one of her classmates. I said,
' My dear student you should know that more than 200 years ago, at a gorgeous evening ball, Mr Harris Bigg Wither told our Jane Austen,
" Miss Ausren , would you mind marrying me?"
Mr Bigg Wither was fresh from Oxford and found our author pensive, creative, reserved , well mannered and beautiful with blushing cheeks hence he couldnt help loving her.
Jane Austen answered, "with pleasure Mr Harris" '
My student sighed and became eager to know more. I continued,
' In the night moon light peeped through the windows in her chamber. She went to the garden and walked in the moon light pondering over the things happened in the evening and later found herself very determined. In the very next morning she said to her sister Cassandra "I like him but it cant be possible. I pray for him. God bless him with a better relation" '
'Why?' I asked to my student.
'Why sir ?' She asked back.
' I don't know' I said. ' Actually nobody knows. The history tells like that. So I tell you. It may be that she couldn't compromise her creative life with odd responsibilities of a wife or she just thought the relationship to be simply inappropriate. But, years later she wrote to her niece not to commit to a realation unless she loved the person well. so my dear student don't proceed further if you dont love him because one's realation with another is always in suspicions of one's own conspiracy, understood? '
Both of us laughed.
' You are a gifted teacher' she said.
That is how I got the status of being an ' Accomplished teacher'.

And now, what is the real creative output of Jane Austen? The reputation they have been gainig since the date of publication refers to the depth and wideness of them. When the memoir was published in 1870, the popularity of the author started growing and now the world enjoy a wide janeite fan culture through studies , readings and adaptations. Austen's social portraits are vivid.She drew a picture of society as it really was with its flaws and straightforwardness altogether. Through the discussions on sense in Elinor, Pride in Darcy, Prejudice in Elizabeth , extravagant judgement in Emma, virtue and morals in Fanny Price etc. Jane Austen tried to define society which included herself rather than calling up arguments in to her novels.When Mary Wollstonecraft argued against the society and defended women rights, Austen made her characters admit the society and discussed the ultimate judgement in favour of morality and purity which a society ought to uplift. I think her works are more of aesthetics than of arguments. If she was argumentative her novels would fail and be neglected immediately after her era.The aesthetic value in her novels is the undercurrent of aforesaid janeite culture in our period. Her characters are drawn in a linear social scale but still' despite of being confined to such a restricted platform, they evoke the universality of human mind. Because of this universal appeal her novels are often read with great wirks like Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe , surpassing the limit of time.Her talent in plot construction and irony earned her a place near to Shakespeare.

One funny and interesting thing I like to share is that at times I ask myself,
what would I do if given a chance to fall in love with any one of her heroines? Whom i would go for? whom I think I am more close to?
I humorously confirm all the time that it must be Jane Fairfax.It is sure in my case that i will never succeed in winning the hearts of Jane Bennet and Elizabeth Bennet nor will I get over the sharp judgement and class consciousness of Emma. I like to picture Jane Fairfax as a quiet and reserved character having immense passion for music and teaching like me. Sometimes I feel like I am in search of a Jane Fairfax or at least I have found many such characters in my life. Apart from this, one question is also relevant. Had Austen any real paradigms or prototypes for her heroes? One real fact is apparent that her heroes such as Darcy, Knightly, Willoughby and Colonel Brandson were of great social demand as depicted in the novels and duly fulfil the requirements of society in which they live. They seem to be a platform for female characters to experiment with their sense and judgement.The heroes succeed in overcoming the ordeals such as pride and underestimation put forward by social circle. Equally depended each other, both male and female characters use opposite sex to rectify their shortcomings and ultimately find solace in reconcilation hence we hear series of wedding bells at the end of each novel.It must be a typical model in Jane Austen's mind that a gentleman is always thoughtful, firm and having a good deal with self esteem and at the same time they hold virtue, honesty and committment to a pure morally rich society.

Jane Austen died on 17th July 1817 early in the morning and was survived by mother, brothers and dearest sister Cassandra.She left the world leaving Cassandra in extreme grief as both sisters loved each other very much and througout the life remained to be sources for consolation one another. During the time of frustration Jane was a great comfort for Cassandra. She , like Jane remained unmarried and led a spinster life. I keep a portrait of Jane Austen drawn by Cassendra Austen in my study. At times I wish to go to Chawton , where my dear author spent her last years and wish to absorb inspiration from being in such a quiet and beautiful place with the reminiscence of her. Still those memories of my first encounter with Pride and prejudice echo in my mind.A deep inspirational force from those memories is kept inside me and I want it to be there forever.

Thanx & Regards.
harish babu.
9/12/2015
Mumbai