Austen letters 154-56, to Caroline & Fanny Austen Knight, 14, 23-26 March 1817

8 Collier Street, Winchester, where Austen was soon to be taken and died

Dear friends and readers,

Three letters written around the time Austen found she could no longer write. The first before she put down Sanditon; the second referring to Persuasion and perhaps Northanger Abbey. They write to support and divert her (insofar as they can); she puts a brave face on her agon before her youngest niece and is also supporting her own spirits through hope too. We see her more of a realist than usual about the illnesses and weaknesses of those around her. The first intimations that Uncle James Leigh-Perrot is not going to leave a legacy to the Austens are recorded (see How Aunt Jane Stole that Lace … ).

This is again a composite portrait of several people reading Austen’s letters together; I again have guest contributors to whom I am grateful.

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From Miss Austen Regrets (2008): Olivia Williams as Jane Austen waking in the morning realizing just how ill she is

154. To Caroline Austen, Fri 14 March 1817, Chawton to Steventon

Diane Reynolds began it:

JA writes a cheerful letter to Caroline, with no sign of illness, remarkable given she has only four months to live, but she surely doesn’t want to burden young Caroline with worries. This letter is reminiscent to me of some of her younger letters in the tendency to personify inanimate objects: she opens with the Message (presumably the one she is sending) feeling like a fool for arriving after a parcel and ends with the pianoforte being glad to see Caroline
whenever she comes. I sense JA glad to be surrounded by her familiar objects in Chawton, as she once was in the security of Steventon.
    As seems usual, JA is spending her time reading and commenting on her nieces’ and nephews’ juvenilia, no doubt the continuing unexpected consequence of being a published author, and one she bears with remarkable good grace, especially given how little energy she must have. I feel a little less gracious: I’d like to be seeing more of finished Sanditon and less commentary on lost scribblings by other people. (Though I understand she might have been more capable of reading easy pieces and writing quick letters than a sustained literary effort.)
    Austen, in her role as editor, gives some quick praise to Caroline’s MS, Gentleman Quack, no doubt knowing how much a child needs encouragement: “There was a great deal of Spirit in the first part.” Austen commends Caroline for taking “our objection to it”–not articulated as Caroline already knows it — withequanimity. Jane says very cheerfully and grandly, as if bowing down to her niece humorously: “I give yourAuthorship credit for bearing Criticism so well.” JA then moves on to JEAL, noting he tried for a scholarship (presumably to one of the colleges) in Oxford. The scholarship was called the Craven Exhibition–JA makes light of that (perhaps to alleviate any disappointment should he not succeed) and says he must go on writing, joking that in his novel “he will find his true fame and his true wealth.” This must be a joke, as Austen mentions she has recently received almost 20 pounds in royalties from the second edition of S&S, a tidy sum to her, given that she has, Ellen has informed us, an allowance of 25 pounds a year, but what she must know is not income sufficient for a young gentleman thinking of supporting a family and a place in society. However, she is playing with pov again — she herself ispleased to see the money coming in, and perhaps, if she is still hoping to recover, imagines a time when she has a string of novels in reprint, all bringing 20 pounds a year. JA is delighted enough to joke that the money gives her “this fine flow of Literary Ardor.”
    She then moves on to thanking Caroline’s mother, through Caroline, for a ham and the Seacale. Seascale, according to the internet, is a medicinal herb that grows in spring and has spinachlike (?) leaves with a nutty flavor. Perhaps the family was thinking of Jane’s health, but the website I visited didn’t list any known ailment it treated. What I wonder, though, is if Jane sent her thanks only through Caroline or if she wrote a direct note to Mary as well? We do get the information, no doubt important, that the bounty will be shared with the wider family, meaning Henry and Frank, when they come to dine.
    Following the thank you, we get a quick and charming picture of 10 year old cousin Mary Jane spending a day in London with 9 year-old cousin Cassy–and apparently both fathers, Frank and Charles. Cassy is said to have walked 8 or 9 miles one morning with her father, which seems a good deal to us for a young child, but we routinely read of people in those days walking distances we would find daunting–I think of Charles and Mary Lamb walking 12 miles to the theatre.
    As mentioned above, Austen mentions to end her letter that the pianoforte would always be glad for a visit from Caroline. From this letter, we would have no idea Austen is ill.

Diana Birchall:

The day after writing to Fanny, she writes to young Caroline. As usual she “lowers” her style to the level of a wordplay joke an 11 or 12 year old would like: “…today you will receive the parcel itself; therefore I should not like to be in that Message’s shoes, it will look so much like a fool.” She jollies Caroline about her writing, in auntly tenderness: “I am glad to hear of your proceedings and improvements in the Gentleman Quack. There was a great deal of Spirit in the first part [Spirit is what she accords to JEAL’s writing too]. Our objection to it you have heard, & I give your Authorship credit for bearing Criticism so well.” Despite a bit of mock solemnity (“your Authorship”) she is serious about the professional importance of being able to take criticism properly.
    She flatters Caroline’s brother JEAL too (would he see the letter?), praising his writing as more important than his Oxford scholarship (“No matter what becomes of the Craven Exhibition, provided he goes on with his Novel. In that he will find his true fame & his true wealth.”) Not serious – JEAL is to be a clergyman and needs his scholarship – but at the same time she is palpably cheered by her having received “nearly twenty pounds myself on the 2nd Edit: of S & S- which gives me this fine flow of Literary Ardour.” Her spirits have nearly reached Mrs. Elton level at this: “I am in a fine flow of spirits, an’t I?” as Mrs. Elton said. This is all the more remarkable in Jane Austen, with her death only four months off, but she may not yet feel so ill as to be completely devoid of hope.
    She is grateful to Caroline’s stepmother Mary, “Tell your Mama, I am very much obliged to her for the Ham she intends sending me, & that the Seacale will be extremely acceptable – is I should say as we have got it already; – the future, relates only to our time of dressing it, which will not be till Uncles Henry & Frank can dine here together.”
    People are sending Jane Austen tempting foods in her illness, ham is sustaining, but what is seacale? It is a medicinal herb, crambe maritima, a perennial kale compared to broccoli and spinach. JA’s entire family may be feeling her decline, to be sending her medicinal herbs, and yet perhaps not – I can’t find any medicinal use for it mentioned, but it is a springtime delicacy, like rhubarb. Well, rhubarb was considered medicinal too. In any case it is something of a treat, and will be saved for the family dinner, probably along with the ham. “I am glad you have any thing so good in the house,” the brothers may say, as Dr. Grant did about the turkey.
    The letter now devolves into childish talk, about Caroline’s young cousins, how Mary Jane (Frank’s daughter) went to town with her Papa, and spent a day with Charles’s daughter Cassy in Keppel St. “Her Papa is sure she must have walked 8 or 9 miles in a morning with him.” A bit of child-friendly absurdity: “Your Aunt F. spent a week with us, & one Child with her – changed every day.”
    I am afraid, now seeing Diane’s post, that I have added nothing to it; but at least this is short, and I do agree with her that from this letter, you would not know JA was ill – and that she would not want to distress the child.

I have little to add. Like Fanny Austen Knight and James-Edward Austen-Leigh,. Caroline continues to write to cheer the aunt, sending more regularly than the others, all sending what they thought would most please, flatter (they might not use that word), interest her. On the slightly different reading of the walk, if it was not 8 or 9 miles (remember Mary Crawford’s sense of length and time when she jokes and complains to Edmund), it must’ve felt like it. There were no buses and once you got out of whatever carriage you paid for (if you were lucky enough to have used one), the walk was usually long. Among the well-known of the countless long walkers of the 19th century, Trollope took some mighty long walks to go to dances, each day to his school, and Darwin’s great achievements are partly dependent on his long walks in Chile (and I mean long and high too — up high mountains with his poor servant probably carrying stuff — there’s a novel recording the servant’s name).

It is sweet to consider this loving effort — but then it’s easier to be cheerful and kind when you are writing a letter to a beloved niece as Austen is than when time wears on and Jane is in bad pain and trouble as she is still writing the first draft of Sanditon, revising Northanger Abbey, and putting away Persuasion for now – -and all around her, especially Cassandra, are sharing trouble pain and grief with you.

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Godmersham today (modern photo)

155. To Fanny Knight. Sun-Tues 23-25 March 1817, Chawton to Godmersham

Austen’s last letter to Fanny Knight. Johnson’s final Rambler is called “the horror of the last and we are now upon temporal grounds where what Austen is looking forward to she will not live to see.

Seven days ago she laid down her pen on a work she mentioned nowhere and never named: Sanditon (perhaps called by her The brothers). In this letter there are at least three passages which show how ill she is become — more than these 2 if you add to them the several others about illness and dying, funerals.

Many thanks for your kind care for my health; I certainly have not been well for many weeks, &: about a week ago I was very poorly, I have had a good deal of fever at times &: indifferent nights, but am considerably better now, slowly recovering my Looks a little, which have been bad enough, black &: white &: every wrong colour. I must not depend upon being ever very blooming again. Sickness is a dangerous Indulgence at my time of Life. — Thank you for everything you tell me; — I do not feel worthy of it by anything I can say in return, but I assure You my pleasure in your Letters is quite as great as ever, & I am interested & amused just as you could wish me. If there is a Miss Marsden I perceive whom she will marry. Evening.-I was languid& dull & very bad company when I wrote the above; I am better now — to my own feelings at least — & wish I may be more agreable. –We are going to have Rain, & after that, very pleasant genial weather, which will exactly do for me, as my Saddle will then be completed — and air & exercise is what I want.

This physical description has been studied again and again to try to ascertain what was her illness (Addison’s was the first diagnosis). I want to call attention to the latter part of the paragraph: Fanny has been praising her aunt’s writing strongly, which JA deprecates and replies that her pleasure in Fanny’s letters is as great as ever. Fanny does discern a lack of sincerity (maybe in the extravagant praise) and puts it down to her aunt’s illness, but Austen says no she is as “interested and amused just as you could wish me” and asks “if there is a Miss Marsden”. How we all distrust one another is curiously brought in various ways — maybe Fanny’s stories are fictions. She was languid and dull sorry and will do better, hopes to be more agreeable. An odd way to put it — she reads Fanny’s words as showing boredom, irritation. she will do better. I feel for Jane Austen here if this is how she took FK and if this is how she responds. She also wants to believe she’ll get better – we see that in the last lines.

She does not venture to church she tells us at the close:

I took my 1st ride yesterday & liked it very much. I went up Mounters Lane, & round by where the new Cottages are to be, & found the exercise & everything very pleasant, & I had the advantage of agreable companions, as Aunt Cass & Edward walked by my side. — Aunt Cass is such an excellent Nurse, so assiduous & unwearied!-But you know all that already. —

I am impressed in these last letters how much and how often JEAL is there — in beginnings are our ends. It was in him to write the first biography; we may try to imagine how he felt about JA — and his stepsister, he is also very kind to Anna.

The other passages on illness are as characteristic. Mrs Jane Leigh-Perrot was ill (unexpectedly soon to die):

— Indeed I shall be very glad when the Event at Scarlets is over, the expectation of it keeps us in a worry, your Grandmama especially; She sits brooding over Evils which cannot be remedied & Conduct impossible to be understood. –Now, the reports from Keppel Street are rather better; Little Harriet’s headaches are abated, & Sir Evd is satisfied with the effect of the Mercury, & does not despair of a Cure. The Complaint I find is not considered Incurable nowadays, provided the Patient be young enough not to have the Head hardened. The Water in that case may be drawn off by Mercury. — But though this is a new idea to us, perhaps it may have been long familiar to you, through your friend Mr Scudamore I hope his high renown is maintained by driving away William’s cough.

The family may have had hints that the uncle is going to leave all his estate to the misery corrosive-tongued aunt. It’s sometimes presented as a total shock to the family; here we see they did have some warnings before the old man died. He did betray them because there are indications in these letters he explicitly gave the impression to many of the more needy Austen relatives that he would leave them money directly; that made the Austen behave much better to him while alive; for many years afterward Mrs Leigh-Perrot made JEAL’s life miserable once his father died, always threatening to disinherit him. After all Harriet will not be an idiot but the remedy they are attributing to this shows how little they understood what they were seeing. Austen does show some scepticism in the last line about William’s cough so maybe she is sceptical about the high renown.

Anna has not a chance of escape; her husband called here the other day, &: said she was well but not equal to so longa walk; she must come in her Donkey Carriage. — Poor Animal, she will be worn out before she is thirty. — I am very sorry for her. Mrs Clement too is in that way again. I am quite tired of so many Children. — Mrs Benn has a 13th —

A servant’s funeral:

Old Philmore was buried yesterday, & I, by way of saying something to Triggs, observed that it had been a very handsome Funeral, but his manner of reply made me suppose that it was not generally esteemed spo I can only be sure of one part being very handsome, Triggs himself, walking behind in his Green Coat. Mrs Philmore attended as cheif Mourner, in Bombasin, made very short, and flounced with Crape.

She does not make overt fun of them but she has a way of saying the funeral was not generally estteemed by those who came which looks askance on the servants’s views as not sensible and then (as usual) she goes on about what they wore. She does make fun of the servants by continually telling of their finery — a matter of pride in this hierarchical world (not that ours is all that much different today when it comes to clothes of late). Triggs is the gamekeeper at Godmersham and there is a good feeling passage showing Austen’s being friendly with him and yet she is taking them down gently too (who is he to condescend — probably again he was trying to act out pride as he saw his employers do this

Tell William that Triggs is as beautiful &: condescending as ever, & was so good as to dine with us today, & tell him that I often play at Nines & think of him.

This is a passage about her illness to. William went home but Triggs has been put in his place. The austen women need a strong man about to help carry Jane. Jane used to play at Nines (card game?) with William.

For once she takes what Henry says about his feelings seriously: I expect because she is now (having forgotten her good time) back to doubting London as a place moral people want to live in

Tuesday. I have had various plans as to this Letter, but at last I have determined that Uncle Henry shall forward it from London. I want to see how Canterbury looks in the direction. When once Uncle Henry has left us I shall wish him with you. London is become a hateful place to him, & he is always depressed by the idea of it. — I hope he will be in time for your sick. I am sure he must do that part of his Duty as excellently as all the rest.

Austen’s dithering over her letter, her desire to add, to send it herself another sign of debilitation. I don’t doubt London began to hold very bad memories for him — when he tried to cope with his bankruptcy he probably had some very hard experiences with people supposed his friends or associates. Eliza died there. perhaps the parties look like ashes to him now too.

Threaded in are remarks about her writing and gossip. As the letter begins Austen is referring to what Fanny’s Mr Wildman said about one of her novels. From the reference to the goodness of the heroine, it has been assumed it’s Persuasion and Anne Elliot she is referring to. This is interesting for several reasons: did Austen send her one precious copy of Persuasion to Godmersham? or were there two copies? If so, I lament it was all destroyed.

I am very much obliged to you my dearest Fanny for sending me Mr Wildman’s conversation,’ I had great amusement in reading it, & I hope I am not affronted & do not think the worse of him for having a Brain so very different from mine, but my strongest sensation of all is astonishmentat your being able to press him on the subject so perseveringly-and I agree with your Papa, that it was not fair. When he knows the truth he will be uncomfortable. — You are the oddest Creature! — Nervous enough in some respects, but in others perfectly without nerves! — Quite unrepulsible, hardened & impudent. Do not oblige him to read any more.-Have mercy on him, tell him the truth & make him an apology. — He & I should not in the least agree of course, in our ideas of Novels & Heroines; — pictures of perfection as you know make me sick & wicked — but there is some very good sense in what he says, & I particularly respect him for wishing to think well of all young Ladies; it shews an amiable & a delicate Mind. — And he deserves better treatment than to be obliged to read any more of my Works.

Well Mr wildman is the kind of person who doesn’t like novels, doesn’t read them is what has happened. Maybe he didn’t like to read, and Fanny has been forcing him. So I take it when she writes “that pictures of perfection make me sick & wicked” she is actually referring to something he said (“I just can’t stand these heroines) and maybe ought not to be taken so seriously, or are we to think that when she socializing, concedes Wildman has good points, she means it. What she can say truly is she hopes he does want to respect women — all the rest is a kind of cant that goes for compliment: “it shows an amiable and delicate mind.” I hpoe would have recognized her aunt”s discomfort. Hard to say. At any rate Austen begs her to leave the guy alone and don’t make him read what he dislikes.

In her illness this cannot have made her feel any better.

Characteristically again she has hidden this novel from Henry. Maybe she feared censure too — the way her mother had censured the text — Frank monitored her comments on his ships.

Do not be surprised at finding Uncle Henry acquainted with my having another ready for publication. I could not say No when he asked me, but he knows nothing’ more of it. — You will not like it, so you need not be impatient. You may perhaps like the Heroine, as she is almost too good for me. –

I assume Austen assumed Fanny liked comedy and laughter better and Persuasion is not a light or shallow comedy — it begins very much in deep melancholy and hard satire.

Then a reference to the continual rain and yet some indication of how she writes to look on the better side — what she thinks in her heart maybe different — what she thinks of Persuasion is different from what she has said to tell Mr Wildman and to Fanny herself:

We are going to have Rain, & after that, very pleasant genial weather, which will exactly do for me, as my Saddle will then be completed — and air & exercise is what I want.-

A family get together near the close of the letter. Austen is back to asserting how cheerful everyone will be. Fanny’s brother will soon get over whatever he is feeling about France (not enjoying himself). Frank and his wife came again and she is as ever very pregnant

He returned yesterday from Steventon, & was with us by breakfast, bringing Edward with him, only that Edward staid to breakfast at Wyards. — We had a pleasant family-day, for the Altons dined with us; the last visit of the kind probably, which she will be able to pay us for many a month; Very well, to be able to do it so long, for she expects much about this day three weeks, & is generally very exact. — I hope your own Henry is in France & that you have heard from him. The Passage once over, he will feel all Happiness. —

Life is certainly more to be endured than enjoyed.

See Diana Birchall on letter 155.

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Bedroom at Chawton Cottage today: said to have been Jane Austen’s (modern photo)

156. To Caroline Austen, Wednesday 25 March, 1817, Chawton to Steventon

Diane Reynolds started us off again:

This is a cheerful but sad letter to Caroline. JA is always glad to hear from her, and, as always, is kind to her: her writing has improved and her handwriting is also more polished: “a very pretty hand.” Thinking of Caroline’s hand leads JA to her niece’s piano playing, which JA encourages: “I wish you could practise your fingering oftener.” She praises Caroline’s playing, saying that were she to go live with Mr. Digweed, and presumably have access to a superior instrument, he would be amply repaid by “the pleasure of hearing you practise.” (Out of the blue, I think of Beth and Mr. Lawrence in Little Women.) Music continues to be important. JA continues to show affection to this niece.
    I’m not sure who Fredrick and Caroline are–character’s in Caroline’s fiction?–whoever they are, JA prefers them to Edgar & Julia–also characters? JA likes Julia for being “warm hearted, ingenuous, natural,” then cryptically writes “I know the word Natural is no recommendation to you.” Have they been discussing literature? Does Caroline prefer idealized characters?
    We have more on little Harriet’s water on the brain, apparently much on Austen’s mind. Austen speaks of family, and then comes the sad moment at the end, as JA mentions her one ride on the donkey–is it the one with her going at a glacial pace with a sibling on either side of her? She hopes for good weather so she can get out more often. Even wind bothers her, because of her “tendency to Rheumatism.” She sums up her state: “in short, I am a poor Honey at present.” I imagine her weak, thin, in pain, unable to go out for walk–but with still some glimmers of hope, still thinking this is a “present” that will pass. She then rouses herself to be cheerful in the last line, stating, as I understand it, that it will make her feel better when Caroline comes to visit. ( Austen could be alluding to the afterlife as the time when she will no longer be a “poor Honey,” but I think for Caroline’s sake, she is not doing that.)
    In the notes, LaFaye, borrowing from Chamber’s again, says Austen’s use of will and shall, presumably proper use of the two words, “is strict.” We don’t worry much these days about the distinction between the two, and in the US almost never use shall to begin with, anymore than we do “fortnight,” but in saying she “will” feel better when Caroline comes, Austen is expressing a wish rather than a duty or imperative, which “shall” would imply. LeFaye calls this use of “will” a “promise.” I would say a hope or wish, strongly asserted.

Jane writes but four more. I agree with all Diane’s assessments and am simply adding a few thoughts.

The opening line suggests Caroline feels awkward at writing so much when there is not the same amount of kind of replies she had before. Austen puts it down to the absence of the family courrier, Henry, but in the next letter to Charles (her brother) she openly attributes her not writing to her sick state. Of course Caroline will recognize her aunt is not writing because so sick; that is why Caroline is over-writing — to cheer the aunt up. A self-conscious nature in the girl is also felt here — James and Mary had three very intelligent children (Anna, JEAL and Caroline — the trio responsible for the memoir though it was the male with his self-respect that wrote it).

She is very kind to this niece. The half-joke that she should go live at the Digweeds in order to play is a broad compliment — preceding the idea her playing would be remuneration enough. This leads me to think there was a payment. Beth did not pay Mr Lawrence to go play the piano. So this is not simple neighborly good-nature or (as in P&P and Emma) showing off by lending the good piano. Little bits of money in this era mattered.

Frederick and Caroline and Edgar and Julia are the names of Caroline’s characters. Austen’s comment that ‘natural” is no recommendation to Caroline I suggest comes out of her strict adherence to verisimilutude and probabilty which is part of what makes her texts so able to stand up to scrutiny. So much of what criticism we see her make in these letters is about the unnaturalness of the characters in this or that book,what they do, the improbability of some aspect of an incident. It really is easy to write fiction that is not quite realistic; most fiction probably is, and often the most favored and popular kind are the wish-fulfillment types (science fiction, fantasy, action adventure movies). This is not to say Austen doesn’t soften her world a lot — by leaving out say the typical abrasive encounters many of us encounter as a matter of course, and part of male-female heterosexuality in Burney. And provide fairy tale happy endings where suddenly the heroine gets all she desires and is left as safe as one could hope in this probably-framed world.

She does go on about the child Harriet. Perhaps she felt mental disability was the worst thing one could have — what real joy she got out of existence seems to have been from her writing and reading (which does engage her so intensely — maybe she objects to fundamental unrealities because she wanted to live through these books. She read a lot of history, of travel books (air chair traveller there), memoirs. and letters. Not just novels where she is defensive even if fiercely

I presume Mr Portal was handsome. JEAL looks handsome from the pictures we have of him.

Then the sad truthful close. I take “at present’ not to refer to an afterlife but a sign that she is writing as if she still hopes to get better and live. The next sentence says: “I will be better when you come and see us.” It could mean she’s promising to be better; hard to say: I don’t think the distinction LeFaye makes is so firm in the century or Austen. But one ride on a donkey knocks her out — I imagine with Cassandra on one side and Henry on the other as she described in a previous letter. They don’t have a carriage, only a donkey cart. They must hire a hackney carriage in the next letter. No wind, utterly still calm, warmth. She calls herself “a poor Honey.” Sad as that is a phrase she liked to dismiss others illnesses with — there is no sign she now thinks or feels her dismissals were wrong and unkind or supercilious — we could say she also didn’t want to recognize illness and indeed some people do fake — she felt her mother did. But maybe she did see back to others and think to herself they were realer than I thought ,,,

The next letter — next week, to Charles has the news of the uncle’s unexpected death and his leaving everything to the aunt which biographers have often commented brought another blow in when Jane didn’t need another blow. Remember the bankruptcies, litigation, now Charles’s troubles and the fact that she knows she made a lot less on Emma and MP than she would have had she taken up Murray’s offer. NA and Persuasion would make far more for the brother and sister than all 4 novels made Austen (520 pounds); at long last Henry had learned his lesson and took Murray’s offer.

See Diana Birchall on letter 156.

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Again Olivia Williams as the older Jane Austen

The ending of most lives is sad, but we do feel it strongest when the person is relatively young and has so much to contribute that she longs to do, so much life ahead as she has just achieved recognition, success, her books (so to speak) just getting underway. I feel she would have developed the first third of The Watsons and the fragment Sanditon she left unfinished. She had so much she could have learned about and experienced. Would she not have traveled? north, perhaps to Europe? if she had had the time.

Ellen