Jane Austen

I recently read a Penguin edition of Sense and Sensibility with an introduction by Tony Tanner. It was my enjoyment of that piece that made me seek this book out. Each chapter analyzes one of Austen's books, the unfinished Sanditon included. The introduction, with the assertion that in writing about civility Austen was really writing about civilization, and situating her work in its social and political climate, was particularly challenging. This broader picture was most welcome. I also liked how Dr. Tanner quoted and refuted Austen's detractors, and how he compared her stylistically to other authors of the era.

Jane Austin was a Tory. She was born in 1775, the year of the American Revolution, lived through the French Revolution, the Jacobin 'Terror' and the Age of Napoleon, and died just after Waterloo. The quiet English countryside she knew and loved became imperiled by many factors during her lifetime. Tanner, a reader at Cambridge, has written an insightful literary criticism about the seven novels Austen wrote (Sandition was incomplete at the time of her death). His book is written for the 'close' reader of Austen's work. I was introduced to his text in one of my courses on Austen.For example, in his chapter on 'Mansfield Park' Tanner lays out the underpinnings of the story as one of conflict between the order of the rural countryside (Mansfield Park) versus the disorder of Portsmouth and the corrupting influence of London. Various characters stand for these places as well as the moral failings of society. The three sisters Mrs. Price (lust) represents Portsmouth, Mrs Norris (envy) and Mrs. Bertram (sloth) represent Mansfield Park on the verge of breakdown. The Crawfords (avarice) interlopers from London, reprent the alluring but treacherous ways of urban life. Fanny, Edmund, and Mr. Bertram represent the ordered rural life. When asked what "Mansfield Park' was about, Ms. Austen replied it was about "ordination." The word ordination comes from the Latin word--ordo. Tanner says Ms. Austen, concerned "with the problem of how a true social order could be maintained, particularly in a troubled period, clearly considered the role of the clergyman as being of special importance." Tanner says Mansfield Park is loaded with symbolism. For example, on a group walk Fanny stays on the straight and narrow path by remaining stationary on a bench, while Edmund and Mary Crawford walk the Serpintine path. Maria and Julia stray from the cultivated garden into the "wilderness" behind the iron gate with Henry Crawford. Fanny Price wears an amber cross, a gift from her beloved brother William. She hangs it on a gold chain given her by Edmund. Wearing these two gifts over her heart gives her "inner peace." Fanny is the center of the story. Although many readers may perceive her as a prig, she is a very complex character. She is Austen's source of Good Orderly Direction. At the end, Mr. Bertram the "lord" of Mansfield Park recognizes her as his "true" daughter.

This book is an interesting and insightful analysis on Jane Austen, her novels and her social and ideological milieu. After an introductory chapter on Jane Austen in relation with the Novel, Society, Education and Language, Tony Tanner dedicates the next chapters to a detailed study on Jane Austen's novels, including the incomplete Sandition. Tanner is highly effective in relating the historical, social and artistic circumnstances in Austen's time and how they influence the main themes and values present in her novels. As a result, the reader is able to have a clearer picture of Jane Austen and the evolution of both her writing style and her perspectives of society and the human person. Tanner has a clear style of writing, never losing the interest of the reader. A great work for the literary scholar and the general reader.