Jane Austen and the Feminist Tradition

Author(s): Lloyd W. Brown

Source: Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Dec., 1973), pp. 321-338
Published by: University of California Press
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 Jane Austen and the
Feminist Tradition
LLOYD W. BROWN

IT HAS BEEN CUSTOMARY IN THE PAST to approachJaneAusten,not

onlyas a greatnovelist,but also as a representative
of what critics
have called the "feministtradition"in the Englishnovel. At first
glance thisseemsappropriateenough.Afterall it has alwaysbeen
one of those"universallyacknowledged"truthsthatJaneAusten's
narrativescenteron love and marriage.But what,precisely,is the
"feminist"tradition?Are thereanysignificant connectionsbetween
the "feminist"themesattributedto Jane Austen by a criticlike
Frank W. Bradbrook,Jr. and the "feminist"viewpointsof con-
temporarywomen'sliberationmovements?It is fairlyclear that
when Bradbrookspeaks of the feministtraditionin the English
novelhe is notconcernedwithfeminism-as-liberation in therevolu-
tionistsense.He means,quite simply,thatEnglishlettershave in-
cluded a numberof novelists(Burney,Edgeworth,Radcliffe,and
Austen,forexample)whohappenedto be femaleand whosethemes
(whatevertheirnature)happenedto be similar.'In otherwords,this
definitionof the "feminist"traditionis the customaryanalogical
thesiswhichis based,noton someconceptofthenovelistas a search-
ing analystofwomen'sroles,but on whatInga-StinaEwbank con-
temptuouslydismissesas "a collectiveclassificationas a 'female
novelist.' I' 2

On the otherhand, more recentdevelopmentsin Jane Austen

critticism
seemto assumethatfeminismin the novel should be ex-

1 Jane Austen and her Predecessors(Cambridge,Eng.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1966),

p. 90.
2 Their Proper Sphere: A Study of the Bronte Sistersas Early Victorian Novelists
(Cambridge,Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1966), pp. xvi-xvii.

[321]

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322 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

aminednot merelyas a "collectiveclassification,"but as a coherent

body of opinionsheld by the noveliston the identityand social
functionsof women.And insofaras thisapproachis based on the
novelist's(assumed)analysisof femaleidentity,it seemsto respond
to contemporary pressures,
generatedby theliberationmovement,
forthoughtful evaluationof femaleimagesin societyand in liter-
ature.But even ifwe assumethattheliberationmovementhas had
this indirectinfluence,it does not follow that these recent ap-
proachesto "feminism"coincidewiththe liberationistphilosophy
itself,or thattheyeven departfromthoseconventionalnotionsof
"womanhood"whichare anathemato thewomen'sliberationmove-
ment.
SylviaH. Myers'studyof "womanhood"in JaneAusten'snovels
is illustrative.3
The startingpoint of her paper is an objectionto
Ian Watts'sview that in Jane Austen "feminineand adolescent
values are painfullyeducatedin thenormsof themature,rational
and educated male world."4But althoughMyersrejectsWatts's
thesisas a "bald dichotomy"thatis unfairto women,her own sub-
sequentanalysisof "womanhood"in JaneAusten'snovelsis based
on whatsheherselfdescribesas a "post-Freudian"schema:"in terms
of somaticexistenceeach sex existswithinits own bodily plan,
womanis endowedwithand aware of her innerstructureand ca-
pacityto produce and nurturea child," and, accordingto this
somaticschemeofwomanhood,thematurationofan EmmaWood-
houseis definedbyEmma'sdiscovery ofherownneed "forlove,for
physicalfulfillment, forchildren."5Curiouslyenough,Myershas
attemptedtorebutthepejorativeimplicationsof Ian Watts's"bald
dichotomy"by appealing to those biologicallybased conceptsof
womanhoodwhichhave now come into disreputeas limitingand
patronizingdefinitions For it is importantto
of femaleidentity.6

3 "Womanhood in Jane Austen's Novels," Novel, 3 (1970), 225-32.

4 "Serious Reflectionson The Rise of the Novel," Novel, 1 (1968), 218.
5 Myers,pp. 227, 230.
6 Erik Erikson,who is Myers' post-Freudianauthority,is attacked by Naomi Weis-
stein in "PsychologyConstructsthe Female, or The Fantasy Life of the Male Psychol-
ogist,"in Liberation Now: Writingsfrom the Women's Liberation Movement,comp.
Deborah Babcox and Madeline Belkin, Laurel ed. (New York: Dell, 1971), p. 268. See
Erikson's "Inner and Outer Space: Reflectionson Womanhood," Daedalus, 93 (1964),
582-606. Weisstein'sviews are comparable to those of BettyFriedan in The Feminine
Mystique (New York: Dell, 1970),pp. 95-141.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 323

note thatMyersis not merelyattributinga certain (somatic)con-

ceptofwomanhoodtoJaneAusten,but has actuallypostulatedthis
"post-Freudian" thesisas thedefinitive standardbywhichfeminism
in Jane Austenshould be judged. Similarly,an avowedlypsycho-
analyticalstudyby Helen StormCorsa sumsup the significance of
EmmaWoodhouse'shumangrowthbyappealingto theconvention-
al imageof thewomanas a beingwith"instinctual"needs formar-
riageand motherhood:"Her [Emma's]womanlyinstinctualneeds,
herdesireforlove,formarriage,formotherhoodare all obviousin
her role as matchmaker;her insis,tent playingo-utthatrole, leads
her out of the game intoreality." 7 Anotherpsychoanalytical study
byE. MargaretMoorediffers fromMyers'and Corsa'sin thatMoore
perceivesJaneAustenherselfas a kind of unreformed Emma. But
the underlyingassumptionabout "ideal" womanhoodis the same:
womanhoodmeans emotionalfulfillment through(a) sexual "de-
pendency"and (b) motherhood.Moore therefore seesJaneAusten
as a "cynical"misogamistwho hatesbeing dependen-t in love and
sex (due to an allegedly poor relationship with the novelist's
mother)and who dislikeschildren(because "envyof the maternal
role is to be expectedin a childlesswoman").8
These earlierstudiesarerelevantherebecausetheyillustratevery
well someoftheproblemswhichnow arisewheneverwe attemptto
describe"feminism"or "womanhood"in JaneAusten'swritingor
thatofanyotherwriter.And amongtheseproiblems, twoofthemost
pressingare terminology and criticalapproaches.First,the con-,
temporary socialmovements now seekto revolutionizethewoman's
role by restructuring old imagesand descriptionsof women,and,
consequently, we need to be precisein our use offamiliartermslike
"feminism"and "womanhood."As I have alreadysuggested,the
"collectiveclassification" of the old literaryphrase,"feministtra-
dition,"is notrelatedto thespecific, humanisticcriteria(liberation
and full equality,forexample) which femalerevolutionists(i.e.,
"feminists")have applied to the-term"feminism."Moreover,not-
wi,thstanding her apparatusof concernon behalfof women,and

7 "A Fair But Frozen Maid: A Study of Jane Austen's Emma," Literature and Psy-
chology, 19 (1969), 104.
8 "Emma and Miss Bates: Early Experience of Separation and the Theme of De-
pendencyin Jane Austen's Novels," SEL, 9 (1969), 573-85.

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324 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

versusmale condescension,a criticlike SylviaMyersis using the

words"feminine"and "womanhood"withina frameof reference
whichhas been repeatedlyattackedby the liberationists as restric-
tiveand demeaning.And this,in turn,leads to thesecondproblem
-the issueof criticalapproaches.For once we recognizethatthere
has been a long-lived"feministtradition"in theliberationist sense,
once we accept,as we must,thattherevolutionist's feminismwas a
significant factoflifeevenbeforeJaneAusten'sworkwas firstpub-
lished,thenit followsthatthecollectiveclassification oftheliterary
historianand the post-Freudianspeculationsof the psychoanalyst
are not necessarilythe only feasibleapproachesto "feminism"in
JaneAusten'sfiction.
In other words,we need to examine female images in Jane
Austen'swork in relation to the liberationistphilosophyof that
"feministtradition"whichprecededJaneAustenin thewritingsof
MaryWollstonecraft, and which,of course,has blossomedinto the
feministrevoltof our time.And, in the process,we shouldbe able
to answersomeof the questionswhichhave been raisedabout her
femaleroles.Does the focuson marriageas a narrativegoal in the
novelsmean thatJane Austenacceptsthe conventionalnotion of
woman's "instinctual"needs forsexual "dependency"and child-
bearing?Is marriagepresentedas a sacrosanct,self-justifying goal,
or does it symbolizethe fruition,or failure,of certainhumanrela-
tionships?Conversely, is hersatirictreatmentof love and marriage
in someworksdue to a pathologicalfearofsexualityor to spinsterly
envy,as some criticswould have us believe?Or does it arise from
the feminist'sskepticism,not about sex and marriageper se, but
about thewayin whichbothhave functionedin thewoman'siden-
tity?Finally,in linkingJaneAustenwiththe feministtraditionof
revoltin theeighteenth century we need notbeginwiththeassump-
tion thatwe mustestablishcompleteparallelswithall facetsof the
twentieth-century feminists'revolt.ObviouslyJane Austenis not
involvedwithquestionsofandrogynous marriages, so-called"new"
moralitiesin sex,orwiththesocioeconomics ofequal opportunities.
But, nonetheless,her themesare comparablewiththe eighteenth-
centuryfeminism ofa MaryWollstonecraft insofaras suchfeminism
questionedcertainmasculineassumptionsin society.
In PersuasionAnne Elliot makesthiskind of questioningfairly
explicitwhensheremarkson themaledominationofeducationand

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Jane Austen and Feminism 325

literature:"Men have had everyadvantageof us in tellingtheir

own story.Educationhas been theirsin so much highera degree;
thepen has been in theirhands" (234).9Moreover,Anne is equally
frankon thesubjectof femaledependency,especiallyin sexual re-
lationships:"All the privilegeI claim formyown sex (it is not a
veryenviable one, you [men] need not covet it) is that of loving
longest,when existenceor when hope is gone" (Persuasion,235).
Anne Elliot's remarksseem to be more than a pratestagainstthe
male's abuse of his socioliteraryprerogatives.10She seems,in her
own quiet way,to be questioningthe assumptionthatinequalities
and differences in societyand educationare beyondreproach,re-
gret,and redress.Her pointedemphasison thewoman'sunenviable
capacityfortenderand long-livedemotionsis suggestive becauseits
tone contradictsthe main thesisof those male "experts"on the
eighteenth-century woman who were familiar to Jane Austen.
Thomas Gisborne'sEnquiryin theDuties of theFemale Sex (1797)
definesthe "gloryof the femalesex" withsuch termsas "amiable
tenderness,""modesty,""delicacy,""warmthand tenderness." And
JamesFordyce'sSermonsto Young Women(1766) linksthisprinci-
ple of tendernesswith the familiarbiological thesis.Nature had
formedwomen'sfaculties"withlessvigourthanthoseof ours; ob-
servingthesamedistinctions here,as in themoredelicateframeof
yourbodies." Thus the woman'snaturalarea of influence"has its
heartforitsobject,and is securedbymeeknessand modesty, bysoft
attractionand virtuouslove.... It is not theargumentative but the
sentimentaltalents,whichgiveyou thatinsightand thoseopenings
intothehumanheart,thatlead to yourprincipalends,as women."1''
Obviouslythereis a worldof difference betweenGisborne'sen-
thuseddescriptionofthe"gloryofthefemalesex" and theskeptical
reserveof Anne Elliot's understatements. And, at the same time,

9 Referencesin the text to Jane Austen's writingsare from The Novels of Jane
Austen, ed. R. W. Chapman, 3rd ed., 5 vols. (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1932-34);
Minor Works,ed. R. W. Chapman (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1954); and Jane
Austen's Letters to her Sister Cassandra and Others, ed. R. W. Chapman, 2nd ed.
(London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1952).
10 Bradbrook,p. 26, thinksthat Anne's remarksare no more than a rejoinder to the
patronizing treatmentof women in The Tatler and The Spectator.
11 Thomas Gisborne,An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex, American ed.
(Philadelphia: J. Humphreys,1798),p. 16; James Fordyce,Sermons to Young Women,
American ed. (Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1787), pp. 161-62. Jane Austen refers
to Gisborne in her Letters (p. 169) and to Fordycein Pride and Prejudice (p. 68).

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326 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

thosedistinctionswhichFordyceadducesare ofspecialinteresthere
because theyare identicalto thatbiological analogywhichAnne
Elliot hearsfromCaptain Harville: "I believein a trueanalogybe-
tweenour bodilyframesand our mental;and thatas our bodies are
thestrongest,so are our feelings"(Persuasion,233). Now Anne does
seize upon this"spiritof analogy,"as she calls it, in orderto claim
that,by thesame token,a woman'sfeelingsare "mosttender."But
she does not appear to accept the biological analogyexceptas an
ironicmeansof turningCaptain Harville'sargumentagainsthim-
self.For when Anne does expand upon what she regardsas the
sourcesoffemale"feelings"and attitudes, shetalksin termsofsocio-
centricinfluencesratherthan in termsof inherentlyfemaletraits
predetermined by biologicaldestiny.In otherwords,those"unen-
viable" qualitieswhichare supposedto be the "gloryof thefemale
sex" reallyresultfromthewoman'sconditioningin a male-oriented
world. And when she outlines this sociocentricinterpretation
of long-livedfemaleemotionsher language is anythingbut self-
congratulatory: "It is, perhaps,our fateratherthanour merit.We
cannothelp ourselves.We live at home,quiet, confined,and our
feelingspreyupon us." As formen,theirbusyroundson behalfof
"home,country, friends"sparethemthedubiousgloryofbeingthe
"prey"ofconstantfeelings(Persuasion,232, 233).
Moreover,whenwe link Anne's remarkswitha major thematic
argumentin Persuasionas a whole,it is clear thatJane Austenis
rejectinga biologicallyinspiredconceptof human perceptionand
feeling.Thus Anne's own maturationinvolvesa progressionfrom
thevulnerable"tenderness"of an overlypersuadableyouthto the
firm,but humane,feelingsof her adulthood.And, of course,this
synthesis ofstrength in theself-reliant
and feelingis intensified Mrs.
Smith,whosurvivesbecausesheis morethana merely"submissive"
or "resigned"woman:"thiswasnota case offortitude or ofresigna-
tion only.-A submissivespiritmightbe patient,a strongunder-
standingwould supplyresolution,but here was somethingmore;
here was thatelasticityof mind,thatdispositionto be comforted,
that power of turningreadilyfromevil to good, and of finding
employmentwhich carried her out of herself,which was from
Nature alone. It was the choicestgift of Heaven" (Persuasion,
154). Conversely,Captain Wentworth, who embodiesthatkind of
"strength" bywhichCaptain Harvilledefinesthe"male character,"

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Jane Austen and Feminism 327

matureson thebasisofacquiringthe "elasticity"and "tenderness"

which the Gisbornesand the Fordycesof the eighteenthcentury
restrictto thewoman's"sentimentaltalents."
In effect,
JaneAustenperceives"special"femaleemotions,not as
a natural"talent,"butas theunenviableresultsofsocialroles.Thus
women like Anne Elliot mature by breakingaway fromrigidly
dichotomousconceptsof male and female emotions.And when
Jane Austen challengessuch conceptsher positionis comparable
withthatof MaryWollstonecraft in A Vindicationof theRightsof
Woman (1792). Consequently,Anne Elliot's skepticismabout the
so-calledgloryof femaletendernessis anticipatedby MaryWoll-
stonecraft'sinsistencethatthistendernessis merelya damagingre-
sultofsocialconditioning:

Women are told fromtheirinfancy,and taughtby the example of their

mothers,thata littleknowledgeof human weakness,justlytermedcun-
ning,softnessof temper,outwardobedience,and a scrupulousattention
to a puerile kind of propriety,will obtain for them the protectionof
man.... How grosslydo theyinsultus who advise us only to renderour-
selvesgentle,domesticbrutes!12

As forlong-lastingor long-livedaffections,
MaryWollstonecraft is
more scornfully directthan Anne Elliot, but her argumentis es-
sentiallythe same.Female constancyis a resultof social condition-
ing,ratherthaninherent"sentimental talents":"A mistakeneduca-
ti,on,a narrow,uncultivatedmind, and many sexual prejudices,
tendtomakewomenmoreconstantthanmen."13 And,lookingeven
furtherahead to the twentiethcentury,we findthat Mary Woll-
stonecraft's
attackon conventionalnotionsof tenderne,ss and con-
stancyanticipatesthemodernliberationist'srejectionofpassivity as
the "feminine" ideal.14
To sumup, the textualparallelsbeitween
Persuasionand Rights
of Woman suggestthat thereis a significant
connectionbetween
JaneAustenand writerslike MaryWollstonecrafton thesubjectof

12 A Vindicationof the Rights of Woman, ed. Charles W. Hagelman, Jr.(New York:

Norton, 1967),pp. 49-50.
13 Ibid., p. 64.
14 Cf. Friedan, p. 37. AvromFleishman in A Reading of "MansfieldPark": An Essay
in CriticalSynthesis(Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1967),p. 58, suggeststhat
Jane Austen questions the life-styleof female passivityin what he sees as a satiric
portrayalof Fanny Price.

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328 Nineteenth-Century
Fiction
female"feelings,"or to borrowa currentlabel, on the"psychology
ofwomen."Moreover,JaneAusten'sprofeminism on thissubjectis
comparablewithhertreatment ofanotherfemale"question"-the
educationof women-especiallyin Pride and Prejudice in which
the subject is more extensivelydebated than in any of the other
novels.Of coursetheintroduction ofCatherineMorland'scharacter
in NorthangerAbbey does make it clear thatJane Austenis con-
sciousoffemaleeducationin thatnovel; and thesameis impliedby
theeducationthemesin MansfieldPark or by the directreferences
to schoolsand the teachingprofessionin Emma. But it is in Pride
and Prejudicethatwe are mostawareofa conscious,and extended,
preoccupationwithconflicting conceptsof educationforwomen-
and the relattionship betweenthat educationand marriage.The
conflictsare explicitin thedifferencesbetweentheBennetsisters,in
the parents' incompatibleattitudestowardstheir own roles as
motherand father,and in the spiriteddebate on "femaleaccom-
plishment"at Netherfield. And in thisdiscussionof femaleeduca-
tionJaneAusten'sskepticismplacesher closerto MaryWollstone-
craftand more at odds with male "experts" like Fordyceand
Gisborne than has usually been assumed. Frank Bradbrook,for
example,claims,ratherarbitrarily, that(a) Wollstonecraft'sfemin-
ismis "extreme"and (b) thatJaneAusten"despised"it accordingly.
At the samettime,the criticsees the ridicule of JamesFordyce's
Sermonsin Pride and Prejudice as merelyan emphasisthatfiction
(whichthe Bennetsisterspreferto the Sermons)is entertainment
not to be confusedwith a sermon.And Jane Austen'sexpressed
pleasurewiithGisborne'sEnquiry (Letters,169) is assumed,again
arbitrarily,to mean thatsheapprovesofhis philosophy.'5 But there
is no documentaryevidence that Jane Austen "despised" Mary
Wollstonecraft; and in view of the similaritiesbetweenPersuasion
and Rightsof Womanit seemsperverseto assumethatJaneAusten
dislikedMaryWollstonecraft merelybecause she did not referto
herbyname.The attackon biologicallybased definitions offemale
"feelings"in Persuasionalso suggeststhatthe ridiculeof the Ser-
monsin Pride and Prejudice is morethanan absurdlyobviousdis-
tinctionbetweenthenovelist'sart and Fordyce'sdogmatism.And,
by a similartoken,Jane Austen'sskepticismin Persuasionabout
15 Bradbrook, pp. 5, 26, 33-34.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 329

Gisborne'sview of feminine"tenderness"maybe extendedto his

conceptof female"accomplishments."
As faras those"accomplishments" are concerned,Fordyceand
Gisbome are agreedthatwomenshouldavoid what are definedas
masculineareas.Accordingto Fordyce,"argumentative" talentsare
onlysoughtbythose"masculinewomen"whoseektosharethemale
"province" of education;"' and Gisborne defines "accomplish-
ments" as "ornamentalacquisitions" (dancing, French, Italian,
music)whichare "designed"to supply"innocentand amusingoc-
cupations"and to keep themind"in a stateofplacid cheerfulness."
Now thisornamentaldesignon behalfof femaleplacidityis hardly
the"middleway"betweenwhatBradbrookcalls"reactionary" male
views and "revolutionary'.. . new women." It is clearlya frank
attemptto definewomen(througheducation)in termsof intellec-
tual as well as social dependency.And as such,Gisborne'sEnquiry
represents thoseviewsofwomen'seducationwhichMaryWollstone-
craftattackswhen she refersto "those books,which tend,in my
opinion,to degradeone halfof the humanspecies,and renderwo-
men pleasingat theexpenseof everysolid virtue."Her idea of the
"perfecteducation"is "such an exerciseof the understanding as is
bestcalculatedto strengthen thebodyand formtheheart."But, in
her view, the prevailingsitandards of education encourage"con-
temptof the understandingin early life among women."17 And
whenWollstonecraft elaborateson theeffectsof thisinferioreduca-
tion her conclusionsanticipateBettyFriedan's twen(tieth-century
complaintsabout the manner in which sex-orientedmedia and
popularmalenotionsof"femininity" havecreatedthe"sex-seeker,"
the woman who "bases her whole identityon her sexual role."18
Accordingto Wollstonecraft, "in the educationof women,thecul-
tivationof theunderstanding is alwayssubordinateto the acquire-
mentof some corporealaccomplishments." Indeed, thisneglectof
the understanding places women'seducationon the same level as
military,training-with significantresults:womennaturallyhave
"a passion" forthe scarletcoat because "education placed them
moreon a level withsoldiersthananyotherclassof men"; and for

16 Fordyce,pp. 161-62.
17 Wollstonecraft,pp. 52, 53.
18 Friedan, p. 254.

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330 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

both soldiersand womengallantryis the "business"of life.'9

When thesetwocontrasting viewsof women'seducationare ap-
plied to the charactersand themesof Pride and Prejudice it is not
difficultto determinewhereJane Austen'sreal sympathieslie. At
firstglance,MaryBennet'seruditeabsurditiesseem to implythat
Jane Austen acceptsJames Fordyce'sattack on those masculine
women who seek argumentativeratherthan sentimentaltalents.
But MaryBennet'sintellectualpretensionsare absurdpreciselybe-
cause she lacksthatstrongunderstanding whichWollstonecraft at-
tributesto a soundeducation.In theabsenceof thatkind of educa-
tion Mary collectstriteaphorismsand pompous cliches fromall
thoselimitedhandbookson mloralphilosophy,history, and biogra-
phywhichFordycewould allow to womenfortheshapingof their
"principalends as women."20And like Gisborne'sideal woman
Mary Bennetdisplaystheselimitedintellectualpickingsas "orna-
mentalacquisitions"whichcompensateforher lack of "corporeal"
accomplishments. She wears her "little learning"like Lydia and
Kittydisplayingtheirnewestribbons,or like Miss Bingleyparad-
ing her figurethroughthe Netherfielddrawingroom for Mr.
Darcy'sbenefit.Mary'sintellectualabsurditiesare therefore a form
of vanity(or improperpride),like her sisters'and Miss Bingley's:
",though vanityhad given[Mary]application,it had givenherlike-
wise a pedanticair and conceitedmanner"(Pride and Prejudice,
25). Their self-centered are all based on a superficial,
aggressions or
largelyphysical,estimateof theirown worth.We thereforehave
iron,iclinks,not only betweenMary'sintellectualdisplayand Ly-
dia's "animal spirits,"but also betweenthe snobbishMiss Bingley
and theBenneitsisterswhomMiss Bingleyso heartilydespises.Miss
Bingley,Lydia, and Kittyare all sex-seekers, determinedto com-
pletetheir,identity withina narrowconceptof sexualroles-a con-
ceptthatis embodied,on theparentallevel,by Mrs. Bennet,whose
"business"in lifeis gettingher daughtersmarried(Pride and Pre-
judice, 5). And it is significant
that,like MaryWollstonecraft, Jane
Austenreinforcesthissex-seekerimage of the miseducatedfemale
bybringingup themilitaryanalogyin Lydia's"passionfora scarlet
coat."Indeed,froma certainpointofview,theeven,tual marriageof
19Wollstonecraft,pp. 54, 56.
20Fordyce,p. 162.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 331

Lydia and Wickhamis a ritualisticconfirmation of the parallels

which Mary Wollstonecraftunderscoresbetween the biological
normsof "corporeal"accomplishments forwomen,and the anti-
intellectualtrainingof thesensualred-coat.
By comparison,the accomplishments of the Bertramsistersin
MansfieldPark are clearlymodeled on the ideals of Gisborne's
"placid cheerfulness" and Fordyce's"sentimentaltalents"-as we
maygatherfromthenarrator'scomment:"withall theirpromising
talentsand earlyinformation they[were]entirelydeficientin the
less commonacquirementsof self-knowledge, generosity,and hu-
mility.In everythingbut disposition,theywereadmirablytaught"
(MansfieldPark,19).As theiradultescapadeswithHenryCrawford
demonstrate, theyare beingeducatedto becomesex-seekers. Or, to
borrowMaryWollstonecraft's remarkabout this"ornamental"ap-
proachto education,theBertramsistershave been rendered"pleas-
ing at the expenseof everysolid virtue."Finally,Emma's match-
makingschemesare a vicariousformof sex-seeking whichmaybe
linked withthe deficienteducationthat Mr. Knightleydeplores:
"I have done withexpectinganycourseof steadyreadingfromEm-
ma. She will neversubmitto any thingrequiringindustryand pa-
tience,and a subjectionof thefancyto theunderstanding" (Emma,
37).
When we turnfromJaneAusten'sexpos6e of defectiveeducation
to her presentationof less "ornamental"accomplishments, her
affinitieswithMaryWollstonecraft's feminism are equallyclear.To
returnto Pride and Prejudice, the discussionof "accomplished"
women,at Netherfield, centerson a contrastbetween the orna-
mentalideal and themoraland intellectualexcellencedemandedby
Mary Wollstonecraft. As a spokesmanfor the latter viewpoint,
Darcyis satisfiedneitherby CharlesBingley'snaive conceptof ac-
complishedwomen ("theyall paint tables,cover skreensand net
purses"),nor by Miss Bingley'ssnobbery(a "thoroughknowledge"
of music,singing,drawing,dancing,and the modem languages,
togetherwith"a certainsomething"in appearance).Darcy'sretort
emphasizesstandardswhichplace him closerto theWollstonecraft
traditionof feminism, and in the processhe displaysa sensitivity
thatbelies his forbiddingmanners:"All thisshe mustpossess. . .
and to all thisshe mustyetadd somethingmoresubstanrtial, in the

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332 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

improvementof her mind by extensivereading." Elizabeth'sre-

joinder is skeptical:"I neversaw such capacity,and taste,and ap-
plication,and elegance... united" (Pride and Prejudice,39-40).
However,her skepticismis not reallya rejectionof Darcy's stan-
dards as such, but an ironic confirmation of the dominance of
ornaamental and snobbishlysuperficialaccomplishmentsin the
worldas it is. For ifthemarriageof Lydia and Wickhamcombines
the ornamentaltalentsof the mere sex-seekers, then the eventual
union of Darcy and Elizabeth emphasizesthe superiorityof the
trulyaccomplishedmind as it is definedby Darcy. Elizabethher-
selfis obviouslyintendedtoapproximatetheDarcy(and Wollstone-
craft)ideal. The "quickness" which her fatheradmiresand the
"livelinessof . . . mind" which attractsDarcy are similarto that
superiorunderstandingwhich Mary Wollstonecraft attributesto
sound accomplishments. And it is noteworthy thatwhenMrs. Ben-
net refersscornfullyto Elizabeth'sintellectuality, at Netherfield,
her language is a strikingindicationof the similaritiesbetween
Jane Austen's heroine and Mary Wollstonecraft's ideal woman.
Thus Mrs.Bennetadmonishesher daughternot to "run on in the
wild mannerthatyouare suffered 'todo at home" (Pride and Preju-
dice, 42). But in MaryWollstonecraft's view this is preciselythe
kind of "wildness"thatindicatesa healthyand independentmind:
"mostofthewomen,in thecircleofmyobservation, whohaveacted
like rationalcreatures,or shownanyvigourof intellect,have acci-
dentallybeen allowed to run wild-as someof the elegantformers
of the fairsex would insinuate."2'
To sum up, the experiencesand statementsof Jane Austen's
heroines,especiallyin Persuasionand Pride and Prejudice,suggest
thatJaneAustenis sympathetic to the eighteenth-century feminist
revoltagainstnarrowmale definitionsof femalepersonalityand
women'seducation.In turn,thisclearinterestin "femalefeelings"
and in thelimitations ofsex-oriented educationbringsup thevexed
issue ofJaneAusten'sattitudetowardsexuality,especiallyin rela-
tion to the identityand conductof womenin her fiction.It is still
fashionableto portrayJaneAustenas thefrustrated spinsterwho is
afraidof dealingwithsexual passion(withwhatSylviaMyersdeli-
catelycalls the "senses")or, accordingto MargaretMoore's sensa-

21 Wollstonecraft,p. 81.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 333

tionalistrhetoric,thatJaneAustenis in "flightfromheterosexual
passion."22But themythof the asexual JaneAustennovel is more
revealingof our surfeitedtwentieth-century "senses"than it is of
Jane Austen'swork. The implicationsof Lydia Bennet's "high
animalspirits"and her"elopement"withWickhamshouldbe clear
enough.So shouldbe Maria Bertram'sindiscretions, or MissSteele's
obsessiveinterestin "beaux." Marvin Mudrickat least recognizes
thatshedoesnotavoid thesubjectofsexualpassion,but he deduces
herstandardsfroma discreditedviewofJaneAusten'ssocialmoral-
ity:sheattacks"sensibility" and passionatelovein Love and Freind-
ship because she "prefersa world in which the ego, disciplined
againstexpression, maybe safelytreatedas a constantof inadequacy
... incapable of fulfillingits social requirements."23 But what is
reallybeing attacked in Love and Freindshipis thehypocrisy which
enables Laura and herkindto pretendthattheir"sensibility"is an
emotionaland moralideal whichisopposedtoa selfishand material-
istic world. Laura's so-calledsensibilityis really a narrow self-
interestin mattersof money(she and her friendsstealor refuseto
repay debts), familyties (contrivedrebellions against obviously
reasonableparents),and, of course,sex (casual, instantaneousaf-
fairsdisguisedas idealisticlove). Indeed, termslike "love," "friend-
ship," and "sensibility"are ironic partlybecause theirnormally
idealisticconnotations are undercutbytheselfishsexualityofLaura
and herfriends.
Once again thewritingsof MaryWollstonecraft shed some light
on Jane Austen'sthemes,forthe use of "sensibility"as an ironic
euphemismin Love and Freindshipmaybe comparedwithWoll-
stonecraft'scriticismof the sexual obsessionsof superficially edu-
catedwomen:

In fact,fromtheeducation,which[women]receivefromsociety,the
loveofpleasuremaybe saidtogovernthemall.... In short, women,in
general,as wellas therichofbothsexes,haveacquiredall thefolliesand

22 Myers,p. 231; also, see Moore, pp. 574, 575.

23 Jane Austen: Irony as Defense and Discovery (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press,
1952), pp. 16-18. Donald Greene, among others, has discredited Mudrick's view of
Jane Austen's morality as a defensive withdrawal from social "requirements"; see
"Jane Austen and the Peerage," in Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed.
Ian Watt, Twentieth Century Views (Englewood Cliffs,N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963),
p. 164.

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334 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

and missedtheusefulfruit.... Their sensesare

vicesof civilization,
inflamed, and theirunderstandings consequently
neglected, theybe-
comethepreyoftheirsenses, termed
delicately sensibility,
andareblown
aboutbyeverymomentary gustof feeling.24

In other words,quite apart fromall the well-knownburlesque

themesin Love and Freindship,JaneAusten'ssatireon sensibility
is explained by her affinities with the feministtraditionof the
eighteenthcenturyratherthan by neo-Freudianurges to "flee"
from"heterosexualpassion" as such.And the severetreatment of
Lydia Bennet'ssexual escapadesin Pride and Prejudice shouldbe
perceivedin thelightof theseaffinities ratherthanon the basis of
whatMarvinMudrickdescribesas JaneAusten's"fogbankofbour-
geoismorality."25
Indeed, farfrombeing a prisonerof the bourgeois"fogbank,"
Jane Austen attacksthe male's self-serving definitionof sexual
morality, especiallySamuel Richardson'snotoriousviewson female
modesty.Accordingto Richardson,it is "an heterodoxy"that a
womanshouldbe in love witha man beforehe declareshis love.26
Jane Austen firsttakesissue with thisassumptionin Lady Susan
whenLady Susan herselfridiculesherdaughter'slove forReginald
De Courcyby echoing Richardson'smasculinemorality:"I shall
everdespisetheMan who can be gratified by thePassion,whichhe
neverwishedto inspire,norsolicitedtheavowalof" (Minor Works,
282). This kind of illogic is uncharacteristicof the usually cold-
blooded Lady Susan,and thisincongruity pointsup JaneAusten's
satireon Richardson'sdogma. Lady Susan's outburstalso reveals
that,despiteall the trappingsof the libertine,Lady Susan is still
dominatedby male notionsof moralityand femalesexuality.Or,
more precisely,Jane Austen impliesthat Lady Susan's aggressive
and domineeringlibertinismis nota rejectionbut actuallyan ac-
ceptanceof thestatusquo in whichthewoman'sconduct,and even
assumptions abouthersexualresponses,are predetermined bymale
prejudicesand phobiasdisguisedas "morality."For as Lady Susan
herselfis at pains to emphasize,she is the accomplishedcoquette,

24 Wollstonecraft,pp. 104-5.
25 Mudrick,p. 120.
26 The Rambler, No. 97, 19 February 1751. See also The British Essayists,ed. Alex-
ander Chalmers,45 vols. (London: J. Johnson,1803), XX, 236.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 335

one who hungersforsexual and social power: "There is exquisite

pleasurein subduingan,insolentspirit,in makinga personpre-
determinedto dislike,acknowledgeone's superiority." And when
she does "subdue" Reginald, "my desire of dominion was never
moredecided"(Minor Works,254,258). But Reginald'ssubsequent
desertionto her daughterFredericaand the masculinemorality
withwhichLady Susan reactsto it suggestthatJaneAustenis un-
derscoringthe falsityof the coquette'sethos of power-that this
"power" is short-livedat best and generallyillusoryin that the
coquette'sgroundrules accept the male's restrictive
definitions
of
the woman'srole and responses.Or, 'toreturnto MaryWollstone-
craft:

Women... sometimes boastof theirweakness,cunningly obtaining

powerbyplayingon theweakness of men;and theymaywellgloryin
theirillicitsway,for,likeTurkishbashaws,theyhavemorereal power
thantheirmasters;but virtueis sacrificed to temporarygratifications,
and therespectability oflifeto thetriPimph
ofan hour.
Women,as wellas despots, havenow,perhaps,morepowerthanthey
wouldhave if theworld,dividedand subdividedinto kingdomsand
families,weregoverned bylawsdeducedfromtheexercise ofreason;but
in obtainingit,to carryon thecomparison, theircharacter
is degraded,
and licentiousnessspread throughthe whole aggregateof society.27

JaneAustenreturnsto theattackin NorthangerA bbeywhenshe

concentrateson ,thepsychologicalunrealitiesof Richardson'sview
of women'ssexual experiences.CatherineMorland has obviously
been guiltyofa Richardsonianheterodloxyforshehas fallenin love
withHenryTilneybeforehe has declaredhis passion:

Theydancedagain,and,whentheassembly closed,parted,on thelady's

sideat least,witha stronginclinationforcontinuing theacquaintance.
Whethershethought ofhimso much,whileshedrankherwarmwine
andwater;andpreparedherself forbed,as todreamofhimwhenthere,
cannotbe ascertained; butI hopeit wasno morethanin a slightslum-
ber,or a morning dozeat most;forifit be true,as a celebrated writer
has maintained, thatno youngladycan be justified in fallingin love
beforethegentleman's loveis declared,it mustbe veryimproper thata
youngladyshoulddreamof a gentleman beforethegentleman is first
knowntohavedreamtofher. (Northanger Abbey,29-30).
27 Wollstonecraft,p. 77.

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336 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

Or, as the narratorobservessarcastically,"I mustconfessthathis

affectionoriginatedin nothingbe,tterthan gratitude,or, in other
words,thata persuasionofherpartiality forhimhad been theonly
cause of givingher a seriousthought"(NorthangerAbbey,243).
Conversely, JaneBennet'sinscrutability and the "modest"conceal-
mentofherregardforBingleyare perfectly in accordwithRichard-
son'sprescription,but theysimplyconvinceBingley,and thewatch-
ful Darcy,of her indifference(Pride and Prejudice, 197).
In effect,
JaneAusten'ssatireon Richardson'sillogicalnotionof
modestyraisesquestionsabout the male's attitudetowardfemale
sexuality-especiallythe man's assumptionthatsexual instinctsin
womenare,or shouldbe,suppressedtoa purelyresponsivelevel.In
theirown different waysboth Lady Susan and Jane Bennet are
prisonersof thisrepressiveimageof womanhood.And in "liberat-
ing" CatherineMorlandfromthisimage,JaneAustenanticipated
themodernfeminists whoattackPuritanand Freudianconventions
whichhaverestricted thewoman'sidentitybydenyinghertheright
(even thenaturalability)to expressher sexual desireson termsof
equalitywithmen.28
Finally,JaneAusten'streatment of marriagein her workis best
understoodin relationto her skepticismabout male definitions of
femaleemotions,sexuality,education, and modesty.The similar-
itieswithMaryWollstonecraft's ideas and the feministtraditionas
a wholesuggestthatsuchskepticism questionsconventionalassump-
tionsabout marriage,insofaras thoseassumptionsare rootedin a
restrictiveviewof thewoman'sidentity.On thewholeJaneAusten
seemsto be littleconcernedwithmarriageas a sociallysanctified
goal. And thisapparentindifference
and self-justifying to marriage
in such termscomplementsher consistentreserveabout male defi-
nitionsof womenas maritalpartnerswhose "business,"according
to JamesFordyce,"chieflyis to read Men, in orderto make [them-
selves]agreeable and useful."29Consequently,we need to distin-
guish betweenthe importanceof marr,iage as a symboliceventin
thedenouementof each novel and therelativelack ofemphasison
the maritalexperienceas such. When Jane Austen does examine

28 See Friedan, p. 117. Cf. Clara Thompson, "Some Effectsof the DerogatoryAtti-
tude toward Female Sexuality,"Psychiatry,13 (1950), 349-54.
29 Fordyce,p. 162.

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Jane Austen and Feminism 337
marriageas an institution she concentrates on thefailures,and most
ofherparentsare unsuccessful in theirroles.30
Moreover,thefemin-
istcriteriabywhichparentalfailuresare judged are ratherexplicit
in theportrayals ofMrs.Bennetand Lady Bertram.
As I havealreadysuggested, Mrs.Bennetis theconventionally ed-
ucatedwomanwhosesex-oriented viewof women'sroleslimitsher
ambitionsin her own marriage,and, eventually,in the marriages
ofherdaughters. And hernarrowlyfemaleexpectations ofmarriage
as a self-justifying
end are matchedby and implicitlyattributedto
the male's proprietaryviewof womenas possessions:"It is a truth
universallyacknowledgedthata singleman in possessionof a good
fortune, mustbe in wantofa wife"(Prideand Prejudice,3). Similar-
ly,theopeningparagraphofMansfieldPark is not onlya satireon
excessivelymaterialisticstandardsin marriage,but also an expos6
of the assumptionthat marriageis a totallyfulfillinggoal-for
women:"Aboutthirty yearsago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon,
withonly seven thousandpounds,had the good luck to captivate
Sir Thomas Bertram,of MansfieldPark.... She had twosistersto
be benefitedby her elevation; and such of theiracquaintance as
thoughtMiss Ward and Miss Francesquite as handsomeas Miss
Maria, did not scrupleto predicttheirmarrying withalmostequal
advan-tage" (MansfieldPark,3). As forLady Bertram,the"easyand
indolent"temperwhichmakesher such an ineffective motherre-
callsthosewomenwhomMaryWollstonecraft despisesbecausetheir
education(especiallyin sexual and intellectualpassivi.ty) has "des-
tined" themto be wives: "They weremade to be loved,and must
not aim at respect,lest theyshould be hunted out of societyas
masculine."And her contempt,iseven moredirectin the seriesof
rhetoricalquestionsthatfollow:"Do passiveindolentwomenmake
the bestwives?... And have women,who have earlyimbibedno-
tionsofpassiveobedience,sufficient characterto managea familyor
educatechildren?"'31
In theabsenceofanyenthusiastic endorsement ofmarriageas the
woman'ssacrosanctdestiny,it appears thatmarriagein Jane Aus-
ten'sfictionis primarilya literaryconventionwhichsymbolizesthe

30 See Alistair M. Duckworth, The Improvement of the Estate: A Study of Jane

Austen's Novels (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 5.
31 Wollstonecraft,p. 69.

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338 Nineteenth-CenturyFiction

successfulmaturationof human relationshipswithineach novel.

Hence EmmaWoodhouse'smisogamyis satirized,notbecauseJane
Austen has anticipatedthe post-Freudian's"somatic" conceptof
womanhood,but becausethenovelist,quite simply,is dramatizing
one of severalwaysin which Emma's foiblesblind her to truths
about herselfand about herrelationshipswithothers(in thiscase,
her love for Mr. Knightley).Moreover,the role of marriagein
Emma's experienceis typicalof its positivefunctionin Jane Aus-
ten's fictionas a whole. It is not merelysome predefinedgoal for
whicheducationand the individualwill mustbe molded. Instead
it celebratesthe union or eventualcompatibilityof personalities
thathave been freedfrom(a) the perceptualand moral failingsof
theirindividualselves(CatherineMorland'sGothicnaivete,Mari-
anne Dashwood'semotionalism,ElizabethBennet'spride and pre-
judice, and so forth)and (b) conventional,restrictingnotionsof
"femalefeelings,"education,and sexual passion.And such a liber-
ationistprincipleis the essenceof the eighteenth-centuryfeminist
traditionwiithin whichJaneAustenwrites.

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