Jane Austen

Jane Austen One of England 's Foremost Novelists Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics today (Merriam). The inspiration for Jane Austen’s writing comes from her education, speculation of her sexuality, and future hopes. Her earliest known writing dates are recorded in 1787 (Merriam). They included plays, verses, and short novels. During her writing career, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she then abandoned (Merriam). Austen wrote six major novels and began a seventh. Austen was never publicly acknowledged as a writer during her lifetime. Her work, though popular now, were first published anonymously by the name “A Lady” and brought her little personal fame and only a few positive reviews during her lifetime.
Austen’s education as a female inspired her writing a great deal. Austen was born into a time period when women were not usually given the educational opportunities offered to men. Marriage was the only possible option for economic security. In the eighteenth century English society in which Austen lived, the male members of a family were given far more educational opportunities that were not always given to the females of the household. Luckily Austen was born into a family that valued an equal education for both their sons and daughters; Austen was encouraged by her family to write literature. The support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer.
She was the daughter of Reverend George and Cassandra Leigh Austen. She was the sixth child in a family of five boys and two girls (Bois). Reverend Austen was a well know and successful priest who thought education in his household was important. Austen and her siblings received most of their schooling at home from their father. Reading and acting out plays were Austen’s favorite past time as a children. Austen began her writings at an early age, and at times used them for family entertainment (Bois). Some of her earliest writings were Eleanor and Marianne and Lady Susan both written in 1795, when Austen was only twenty years old. In 1796 she wrote First Impressions. From 1797 to 1798 Austen wrote three novels; Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey (Bois). Igniting the fire to most of Austen’s creativity and work was the business of providing husbands for daughters; she never married leading to speculation on her sexuality and social graces. On the second of December in 1802, when Austen and her sister were visiting Hampshire, Harris Bigg-Wither, a twenty-one year old younger brother of Austen’s friend, proposed marriage to her (Harman). Austen accepted this proposal. Austen was six years older than him. There were some speculations that Bigg-Wither must have had some encouragement from Austen’s family in the months before the marriage proposal, or he wouldn’t have asked her. Austen said yes, but after what must have been a heartbreaking night of second thoughts, Austen left Hampshire abruptly in confusion, breaking off her very short engagement. Part of her decision not to get married must have been the lack of a real emotional connection, the desire to marry, and love for Bigg-Wither.
Although the possibility of marriage was far from over for Austen, the companionship of her sister Cassandra had many attractions. She was relieved later life to have avoided the setbacks of married life, the huge risks of childbirth, and worst of all, being tied to an unpleasant husband for the rest of her life. As Austen wrote feelingly to her acquaintance Fanny Knight, who was thinking of making a match of convenience, “Nothing can be compared to the misery of being bound without Love.” And Lizzie Bennet surely echoes Austen’s own opinion when she deplores Charlotte Lucas’s acceptance of Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, feeling that it was “humiliating,” “disgracing,” and a recipe for disaster (Harman). Living quietly with her mother and sister Cassandra, however low in material and social rewards, gave her the freedom she needed to write. And what she went on to invent was a set of heroes and romances unrivalled in their appeal, humor, and knockdown fantasy-power (Harman).
Though concerns from her past and present upset her, Austen had faith for the future, which reflected in her novels. By the 1940s she had become widely accepted in academia as a great English writer (Merriam). Austen was driven by her burning desire to change the nature of eighteenth century fiction; she wrote what people seemed to believe as unrealistic depictions of human interactions. Austen wanted to write stories that were as true to life as possible (Jones). Austen wrote to her niece in a letter stating, "Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor, which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony.’’ Austen’s role in life was determined by her status as an unmarried woman (Jones).
In 1809 Jane Austen, her widowed mother, her older sister Cassandra, and her childhood friend Martha Lloyd moved to Chawton, where her older brother Edward provided a small house on one of his many estates. All four women were dependent on the charity of her brother for support (Persuasions). Despite Austen’s unlimited intelligence, she was mostly home-schooled and had no career opportunities. Because her novels were published anonymously she never earned enough money from her writing to support herself. She wrote letters to her niece proclaiming that one day her literature would be sent worldwide, making her famous. Austen had great hopes for her future with dreams of wealth and fame. Though sadly Austen never came to realize her dreams, she died in the same social class that she was born into.
Jane Austen is one of the few novelists in world literature who is regarded as a "classic" and yet is widely read. As the contemporary novelist Fay Weldon States in an article, “For generations of students and the educated reading public in many countries, Austen 's novels represent literature with a capital "L." On the other hand, Austen is the only novelist before Charles Dickens who still has a significant popular readership, and her fictional world--seen as an idyllic bygone time and place unlike, and preferable to, the present--has entered into popular literary culture” (Persuasions). Austen is a great writer. She is a gifted stylist, a realist, ironic, funny, and wise. Her novels were not popular in her lifetime. But she had a devoted following among contemporary and later writers, such as Sir Walter Scott, William Dean Howells, and Katherine Mansfield, and was comparatively popular by the end of the 19th century.
Nevertheless Austen’s popularity can’t be defined to style alone. There are other writers who are just as gifted as Austen but nowhere near as popular. Jane Austen was driven by her inspiration. She was drawn to writing literature when she was read stories as a small child in her family’s home. Also the business of providing husbands for daughters; she never married leading to speculation on her sexuality and social graces. In addition she was driven by her burning desire to change the nature of eighteenth century, with the overwhelming desire to changer her social status. Austen is a world renowned English author, despite living centuries ago; her work is timeless, having only finished six complete novels. These six novels have gone on to become the model formula for the romance stories of today.

Work Cited
“Austen, Jane.” Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield; IL Caitlin Elizabeth, 1996. From Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Bois, Danuta. "Jane Austen." Kings Education. MMI Prof Pavli’s Women 's History, 7 Feb 2007. From Literature Resource Center.
Harman, Claire. "Did Jane Austen Marry." Hero’s and Heartbreakers. Macmillan, 9 May 2012. From Literature Resource Center.
Jones, Chris. "A Look into the Life of Jane Austen: Her Passions and Inspiration." Novel Voices. 19 Dec 2011. From Literature Resource Center.
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA Merriam-Webster, 1995. From Literature Resource Center.
Nineteenth-Century Literature Critisims. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1891. From Literature Research Center.
Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal. 30 (Annual 2008): p8. From Literature Resource Center.

Cited: “Austen, Jane.” Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield; IL Caitlin Elizabeth, 1996. From Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. Bois, Danuta. "Jane Austen." Kings Education. MMI Prof Pavli’s Women 's History, 7 Feb 2007. From Literature Resource Center. Harman, Claire. "Did Jane Austen Marry." Hero’s and Heartbreakers. Macmillan, 9 May 2012. From Literature Resource Center. Jones, Chris. "A Look into the Life of Jane Austen: Her Passions and Inspiration." Novel Voices. 19 Dec 2011. From Literature Resource Center. Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA Merriam-Webster, 1995. From Literature Resource Center. Nineteenth-Century Literature Critisims. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1891. From Literature Research Center. Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal. 30 (Annual 2008): p8. From Literature Resource Center.