Posted by Sylvia on July 21, 1997 at 00:59:01:

In reply to Parallels between Jane Austen and Emma Woodhouse posted by Kathleen (Kaf) on July 20, 1997 at 11:24:43

In particular, Kathleen, I thought JA was describing herself during Emma's speech about marriage that she made after her visit to the poor:

• I have none of the usual inducements to marry...but I never have been in love; it is not my way or nature. And without love, I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine. Never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's. I don't think JA ever experienced such a love that would have induced her enough to change her situation to marry. The one marriage proposal that she accepted, she rescinded the next day. JA also was so beloved in her family much like Emma Woodhouse. So JA, having no inducements to marry, did not.
  
• I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to the general public. But a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable. Doesn't that describe JA to a T?
  
• Mine is an active, busy mind, with a great many independent resources. Woman's usual occupations of eye and hand and mind will be as open to me then as they are now. Certainly, JA knew herself well and was confident in her abilities. She would be cheerfully occupied as a writer.
  
• And as for objects of affection...I shall be very well off, with all the children of a sister I love so much, to care about. My nephews and nieces--I shall often have a niece with me. JA's niece, Fanny Knight and nephew, James Austen-Leigh were great favorites and were her proteges in later life.
  

Follow Ups: