by Jane Austen
A drawing by William Gilpin, the leading exponent of the picturesque. The gnarled tree, the contrast of light and darkness, and the distant haziness are all central elements of his aesthetic; the object in the background is a castle, a favorite subject of his.
[From William Gilpin, Observations on the River Wye (London, 1800; 2005 reprint), frontispiece]
[List of Illustrations]
35. Some of the influential conduct, or etiquette, books of the day expressed advice along these lines. One widely read work, John Gregory’s A Father’s Legacy to his Daughters (1774), declares,
Be even cautious of displaying your good sense. It will be thought you assume a superiority over the rest of the company. But if you happen to have any learning, keep it a profound secret, especially from the men, who generally look with a jealous and malignant eye on a woman of great parts, and a cultivated understanding. A man of real genius and candour is far superior to this meanness; but such a one will seldom fall in your way; and if by accident he should, do not be anxious to shew the full extent of your knowledge. . . . The great art of pleasing in conversation consists in making the company pleased with themselves. You will more readily hear than talk yourselves into their good graces.
This view was not universal among such writers: there was a lively debate during this period over female education, and many people, from a variety of perspectives, argued for a more serious and demanding curriculum for girls.
36. Austen probably means Frances (or Fanny) Burney, specifically some episodes in Camilla involving the beautiful but stupid Indiana Lynmere. In one, a narrow-minded woman hired to be her tutor warns her guardian against giving her a serious education:
“Consider, Sir,” she cried, “what an obstacle it will prove to her making her way in the great world, when she comes to be of a proper age for thinking of an establishment [marriage]. What gentleman will you ever find that will bear with a learned wife? except some mere downright fogrum [fogey], that no young lady of fashion could endure.”
Later, Indiana’s foolish and timid reaction to danger proves completely captivating to a young man—though her ultimate romantic fate is not an ideal one.
37. In this statement Jane Austen may be reacting to men she has known as well as to writers such as John Gregory. In her own case, she was encouraged to read and learn by both parents, and her own literary productions were admired by her brothers, though like most girls of the day she received less formal education than did boys. In a letter later in life, in which she attempts to deflect as delicately as possible a suggestion from an assistant to the Prince Regent, the reigning monarch of Britain who was a great admirer of her novels, that she devote a future work to the complete portrait of a clergyman, she disqualifies herself by referring to her unfamiliarity with science, philosophy, and classics, all of which were almost exclusively the provinces of men, and concludes, “I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible Vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed Female who ever dared to be an Authoress” (Dec. 11, 1815).
Austen’s critical statement here about male contempt for female learning is a particularly sharp one, likely reflecting of her own feelings on the subject as well as the fact that this novel is an early work, one in which she is more overtly and bluntly polemical than in her later writings. The subject reappears in other Austen novels, but usually in a more nuanced way. In Persuasion a woman, in a debate with a man over male and female natures, says, “Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story,” but not before the man himself has anticipated that objection and has treated her opinions with respect. In Emma the heroine, in justifying her matchmaking schemes for a pretty but simpleminded friend, says the latter will easily attract men “till they do fall in love with well-informed minds instead of handsome faces.” The hero, however, replies, “Men of sense, whatever you may chuse to say, do not fall in love with silly wives.” His conduct, as well as that of other Austen heroes (though by no means all her male characters), bears out this last observation.
38. The picturesque was a highly influential concept of the day; it appears in various places in Austen’s novels, and is an object of discussion among several characters in Sense and Sensibility. The term developed originally to denote what would form an attractive picture, often using standards of beauty derived from landscapes of the Italian countryside by the seventeenth-century painters Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa, whose works (especially Lorrain’s) were widely collected in eighteenth-century England. People would often judge a natural scene by how well it conformed to the images these painters created. Toward the end of the century, some writers further refined the idea of the picturesque by identifying it as a particular kind of beauty, one characterized by irregularity, ruggedness, variation, and sharp contrasts. These ideas were popularized by William Gilpin, who wrote a series of books based on travels around Britain in which he chronicles, explains, and illustrates the various picturesque scenes he encountered.
39. These are terms and concepts used by Gilpin. He argues that scenery composed according to picturesque standards should consist of three distances: a foreground, a middle or second distance, and a background. He also recommends the use of objects on the side, called side-screens, to frame the picture and indicate the perspective. Finally, contrasts of light and shade were deemed essential, with the foreground ideally being darker than the rest of the picture. Jane Austen was a reader and admirer of Gilpin.
40. scholar: student. The term then did not necessarily imply someone engaged in advanced study.
41. This decision shows Catherine, even while receiving valuable instruction, overreacting. This is probably why Henry decides to let the subject drop. Bath itself was routinely praised at the time for its picturesque qualities; Jane Austen refers to it in this manner in a letter of May 17, 1799.
42. In his books on the picturesque Gilpin recommended altering the features of a scene, if necessary, in order to produce a more pleasing composition—advice he followed frequently in his own illustrations. This is what Henry has been doing with these items. Rocky fragments and withered or blasted trees were two favorite objects of Gilpin and other exponents of the picturesque for enhancing a scene, for both fulfill the ideals of irregularity and roughness.
43. Oaks have long been the principal component of British forests.
44. The enclosure movement, which had been occurring in parts of England for centuries, increased in pace and scope in the late eighteenth century. Enclosures often involved transfer of lands under common or mixed ownership to a single owner. Many of these lands were forests or wastelands, which would then be cleared to allow for more productive agricultural cultivation. Due to this process, England, while increasing its food production, lost much of its wastelands and woodlands.
45. Crown lands are the personal property of the monarch. In the Middle Ages they were central to generating royal revenue, but over the centuries the Crown had sold off most of these lands for the sake of immediate remuneration. On the accession of George III (the current monarch) to the throne in 1760, the income from crown lands was transferred to Parliament, which in turn granted regular payments to the king. Most of the crown lands consisted of forest and wasteland. During this period the crown lands became a subject of political debate, as worries were expressed over the poor condition of much of them and some argued that it would be better for the government and the nation to sell them to private owners.
46. Since women could not vote or participate in politics, it would be natural that Henry’s companions would have relatively little to say on the subject.
47. Catherine repeats the hyperbolic expressions characteristic of Isabella, the only friend she could be citing.
48. abilities: mental powers.
49. observation: the power of observing or noticing.
50. fire: warmth and liveliness of imagination; poetic inspiration.
51. Henry is expressing typical, though not universal, attitudes of the day on the
intellectual differences between men and women. His own sister’s corrective comment below, as well as his earlier comment to Catherine on the sexes’ equal excellence in taste (this page), suggest that he is speaking mostly, or completely, with irony here.
52. Books came in four basic sizes, depending on how many times the paper used for printing was folded to form the pages. If folded twice, the book was a folio; if four times, a quarto; if eight times, an octavo; and if twelve times, a duodecimo. Folios and quartos, the larger and more expensive formats, were favored for scholarly and reference works, which appealed to a small audience willing to pay a high price. Novels, more popular and disposable, generally appeared in octavo or duodecimo form, with the latter signaling a book that was regarded by the publisher as of especially limited literary value and thus to be sold as cheaply as possible. It was standard for novels to appear in multiple volumes, with three volumes being common. Most of Austen’s novels were published in three volumes, except for this novel and Persuasion, which came out in two volumes each.
53. Many books of the time, including some novels, had illustrations, whether in a frontispiece or in the body of the text. Tombstones and a lantern would be natural images to adorn a Gothic tale.
54. Henry shows here, as elsewhere, a keen ability to discern what is in Catherine’s mind.
55. stupid: slow-witted. The term did not have as harsh a connotation then.
56. expressions: declarations.
57. Henry’s lurid scenario is far from a flight of fancy. It represents a mild version of the Gordon Riots of 1780, which still ranks as the largest domestic disturbance in England since the seventeenth century. Its trigger was the Catholic Relief Act of 1778, which reduced some of the existing legal discrimination against Catholics. Lord George Gordon, appealing to longstanding popular hostility toward Catholicism, organized a campaign to repeal the measure, which culminated in a gathering of an estimated sixty thousand people in St. George’s Fields, a large open area in southern London, and their marching upon Parliament. This soon escalated into violent action by some members of the crowd, and over the next five days, thousands of people throughout London were drawn into riots, with attacks directed particularly at the property of wealthy Catholics and at symbols of government authority. The Bank of England, one prominent target, was defended successfully and not destroyed; the Tower of London, a centuries-old fortress and prison that has long been a symbol of London and the government, was never attacked, but many places in its vicinity were. The ultimate toll was approximately three hundred people dead, and some of the worst property damage in London’s history. The horrors of the riots, and the lesson of the dangers of mob violence, remained fresh in people’s minds at the time of this novel, only two decades later, and their fears were reinforced during the 1790s by the terrible violence of the French Revolution and by various smaller uprisings, some pro-revolutionary and some anti-revolutionary, in England.
58. Since no professional police force existed in England at this time, the army acted to protect the government whenever a serious riot occurred. A large body of troops was ultimately called to suppress the Gordon Riots, which they did by firing directly at the crowd, and smaller detachments were used for riots later in the century. The detachment mentioned by Henry is probably the actual one of his brother Frederick (who will shortly appear). Dragoons were a form of cavalry, which is why Frederick is described below as being knocked from his horse; Northampton, a town and county in central England, is where the unit is apparently stationed. Austen’s mention of this regiment is not meant to be strictly accurate; there was a regiment called the 12th Light Dragoons, but they were not necessarily present at a riot or stationed at Northampton. For a contemporary picture of a dragoon, see this illustration.
59. brickbat: piece or fragment of brick, especially one used as a missile. This would be a common weapon of people in an urban area fighting against troops.
The Gordon Riots, nighttime. A line of troops at right is firing on the crowd.
[From E. Beresford Chancellor, The XVIIIth Century in London (New York, 1921), p. 13]
[List of Illustrations]
60. Miss Tilney issues the invitation in her role as mistress of her household; she addresses Mrs. Allen as well as Catherine due to Mrs. Allen’s position as chaperone. Her doing so, and her courteous style, demonstrate the highly correct manners displayed by the Tilneys in general.
61. intelligence: news.
62. occasion: need.
63. Ribbons were frequently added to various parts of women’s attire.
64. Bond Street (today New Bond Street) was one of the major shopping streets in Bath, one not far from the Thorpes’ residence of Edgar’s Buildings; see this map.
The Bank of England.
[From E. Beresford Chancellor, The XVIIIth Century in London (New York, 1921), p. 179]
[List of Illustrations]
65. She is called “Miss Anne” because she is a younger sister. The eldest unmarried sister in a family was always known as “Miss + last name,” whereas younger sisters were designated by their first name (unless the eldest was sufficiently removed that no possibility of confusion would exist). Another means of avoiding confusion is used just above, when Anne is called “the second Miss Thorpe.”
66. Clifton’s prime season was the summer. This allowed it to complement Bath well, since the latter was at its emptiest then.
67. John Thorpe’s gig would only seat one additional person. Anne, passed up in favor of her younger sister, would have particular reason to be resentful.
A dragoon.
[From William Alexander, Picturesque Representations of the Dress & Manners of the English (1813), Plate 38]
[List of Illustrations]
VOLUME I, CHAPTER XV
1. A parlor was a modest sitting or living room, in contrast to the larger and more elegant drawing room, such as both the Allens and the Tilneys have in Bath. The Thorpes’ possession of a parlor indicates that their lodgings are not as expensive.
2. The York Hotel is noted as an important landmark in Clifton by books of the time. It would be the logical place to procure food.
3. bespoke: ordered.
4. Most spas had a pump room where their mineral waters could be drunk.
5. laid out: spent.
6. Purses then were small pouches used to carry money, or sometimes other small objects such as needles and thread; they were normally made of cloth and closed by a drawstring. They could be owned by men as well as women, and would fit into a pocket or larger bag. Purses could be highly decorative and came in a variety of styles; some had elaborate embroidered and beaded designs on the outside, while others consisted of ribbons or other fancy materials interlaced together. This could make them popular trinkets to purchase on expeditions like this one.
Spars were crystalline mineral formations that were valued for their attractive, lustrous qualities; in Pride and Prejudice the heroine thinks of procuring some on her trip to an area known for them. Such souvenirs were sold in many shops in spa towns or other places catering to visitors—that these spars are not expensive is indicated by the group spending only shillings rather than pounds (see note 22 for monetary values).
7. Ice was used to create a variety of sweet concoctions, especially ice cream (which is probably meant here). See this illustration.
8. During this era dinner was usually eaten around four o’clock, or a little later. Because it is winter, darkness descends early.
9. excluded: excluded from. There are other instances in Austen’s novels, and in other writings of the time, of a preposition being omitted after a verb where it would exist today.
10. Women’s dresses would cover their ankles while standing or walking, but not always when sitting. Thus the quality of a woman’s ankles could at times be noticed—including by those observing a carriage, which is presumably what worries Thorpe—though to speak of them openly would be a mark of crudity and impropriety; nobody else in Austen’s
novels ever does.
11. puts me out of temper: makes me angry or discomposes me.
12. penetration: sagacity, keenness of perception.
13. To declare one’s love in such a situation was to declare an intention to marry, for it was highly improper otherwise to speak in such terms to an unmarried person of the opposite sex.
14. afford a return: furnish a recurrence.
A pastry shop. The man in the center is eating an ice.
[From Works of James Gillray (London, 1849), Figure 434]
[List of Illustrations]
15. connexion: connection or link through marriage.
16. She is referring to when Morland visited her family during his Christmas holiday from Oxford.
17. Adult women always wore their hair up in public, and braids were one of the many styles in which it could be arranged.
18. Tea, a snack involving the titular beverage, breads, and cakes—and frequently coffee as well—was usually served in the early evening. People could be invited for tea as a more casual alternative to being invited for dinner.
19. Puce is a purplish-brown color; the word had only recently come into use in English. Sarsenet is a fine, light silk that had become popular in this period (the name refers to its origins among the Saracens). Isabella is describing a gown of that material.
20. As will soon be confirmed, James Morland is planning to be a clergyman, like his father; most of those attending Oxford or Cambridge did so to prepare themselves for the church.
A cottage (see note 24).
[From James Merigot, The Amateur’s Portfolio, or the New Drawing Magazine, Vol. I (London, 1815–1816), No. 5, Plate 4]