Jane Austen: A Lady

Jane Austen Utterly timeless, unexpectedly modern, and delightfully witty. Being a child in a family who valued education and expression, Austen captured many themes such as love (and love lost), and the quiet struggle of navigating a world full of conventionalism. Through intellectual maturity and emotional intensity, Jane Austen brought a world of lLiterature still enjoyed, studied, and loved throughout the world today.

Jane Austen was born the second youngest to George and Cassandra Leigh Austen on December 16, 1775 in Steventon, United Kingdom. She was the only one of her siblings to be born without a middle name. Her father, George Austen, was born in 1731 and worked as rector or a member of the clergy who holds charge over a parish. Her father found great joy in learning and education; with his own personal joy, he encouraged his children in it as well, leading Jane to pursue writing at an early age. (Gibbs)

Her mother, Cassandra (Leigh) Austen was described as “clever and witty”; although similar to Jane, beginning to write at an early age, there is speculation that Jane and her mother had a complex and -very likely- a strained relationship; coming from Cassandra’s selfish lifestyle, hypochondria, and a lack of emotional connection. (Kennedy)

Someone Jane considered her closet companion was her older sister, Cassandra. Cassandra was born January 9, 1773, making her three years older than Jane. Throughout their lives they shared everything from a room, secrets, sisterly inside jokes, and their talents. Beginning around age 11 (1783), Jane started her Juvenilia, where she dedicated a section called History to Cassandra. (Edward) Cassandra illustrated characters within Jane’s book who were supposed to be a royal family, but ended up looking more like the Austens. Like Jane, Cassandra was never married; she had been engaged to marry (much like Jane) to a mMilitary cChaplain- Tom Fowle, however, he caught yellow fever and died 1797, thus ending the engagement. It was said that Jane looked up to Cassandra very much growing up and as an adult, calling her sister a "phoenix" and saying: “Your taste is refine, your sentiments are noble, & your Virtues innumerable…”. (Citation needed) Their mother stated stating that “If Cassandra was to have her head cut off, Jane would insist on sharing her same fate.” (Citation needed) and Anna (theirCassandra’s niece) declaring that their relationship had “passed the common love of sisters” (JaneAustenquickstepguide.com) (Cassandra Leigh Austen)

For a short time in 1783, Jane (along with Cassandra) attended schooling in Oxford and Southampton, which was run by a family friend, Mrs. Cawley. where a family friend, Mrs. Cawley, ran. This time was being cut short after both girls fell critically ill from typhus (Sutherland). From 1785 through 1786, Jane attended Reading Abbey Girl’s School located then in Berkshire. During her eighteen months attending this school, Jane learned a mix of writing, spelling, French, history, geography, needlework, drawing, music, and dancing. This time Cassandra and Jane had to leave school due to their being cut short by the family’s lack of finances. This moved the girls back home to finish being educated by their father and his vast library. (Southam) 

Though Jane never married, there is a knowledge understood by anyone who has read her work that she understood what it felt like to “love” someone. In December of 1775, Jane met Tom Lefroy, a twenty-one- year-old Irish Law student from Limerick, at a Christmas party. They met on several occasions at gatherings where they “profligate[ly] and shocking[ly]” danced, filtered, sat, and talked together. Although intense, their relationship was cut short in early 1796 after Tom returned to London to continue his studies; the two were discouraged in their being together because of the fact that neither of them were in an easy financial situation (Janeausten’shouse.com). Some believe that Jane was left utterly shattered by this ending, but evidence from Jane's life, such as the fact that she was a realist, and through careful reading of her letter to Cassandra, shows that she knew the situation was not ideal and was (most likely) not left in shambles at the split (Jones). From this, people believe, this is how we received Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Many small similarities including being Irishman, gentlemanly, intelligent, handsome, and pushback from family (though, in Mr. Darcy’s case was slight) are shared between the two men (Romney). Where the similarities end in a less notable area was financial standing. Where the big difference lies is Jane and Tom did not have the happy ending like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy; many speculate that this could be what Jane hoped would have happened or that the idea stayed with her. 

There are traces of evidence from her somewhat brief relationship with Harris Bigg-Wither: a twenty-one year old heir of a Hampshire family. The two lived next door to each other, but when the Austen’s moved away, Cassandra and Jane returned to visit in the fall of 1802. On the night of December 2, 1802, Biggs-Wither proposed to Jane. She had no source of income and relied heavily on her brothers and accepted this -seemingly- very appealing offer as he came from a very wealthy and grounded family. Very soon after her acceptance (the next morning) she “found she was miserable and that the place and the fortune which would certainly be his, could not alter the man”. (digitalausten.com). Realizing that she did not love him, she  and knew that she would be miserable, had she stayed with him. Though Biggs-Wither was not a terrible or evil man, Jane and he had about a five-year age gap and she could not commit to a loveless marriage (digitalausten.org). This could have been quite the inspiration to Jane; possibly inspiring characters in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. “But Jane Austen’s own novels provide indisputable evidence that their author understood the experience of love and of love disappointed.” (Jasna.org)

Jane Austen has nine works published. With four novels including Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansefield Park (1814), and Emma (1815) all published during her lifetime. The two novels taken by Cassandra and Henry to be published posthumously after Jane’s death include: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (both 1817). Works published long after her death include: Lady Susan, a novella Jane began writing in 1794, published in 1871 by her nephew; The Watsons, an unfinished novel she began around 1803, also published in 1871; and Sandioton, an unfinished novel Jane began in 1817 but never finished, most likely because of becoming sick with and later dying of Addison's disease. 

Many instances in Jane’s life appear throughout Persuasion, s. Such as a courtship ended because of financial strain (her own), a lover being shipped off for military purposes (Cassandra), and a secret engagement/marriage (her aunt’s). People echoing throughout the novel include Anne Elliot: the 27 year old protagonist inspired by Fanny Knight (Jane’s niece). Being unmarried at the age of 27 was not ideal in 1815. Frederick Wentworth could have been inspired by her brother, Charles Austen. Much of the setting in Persuasion was very similar to Jane’s own life; with the novel being set in the coastal town of Lyme Regis in Bath, England, a city Jane spent a couple years of her life in and visited frequently. (Britanica)

When reflecting on Jane Austen’s life it is evident that she not only had “the brains” to write engaging, thoughtful stories, but she understood how it was to live a life of her characters. Though she never married she knew what it was like to love and to love deeply; not only a man but in her relationships with her friends and her siblings. She did not take life itself too seriously, and it is evident that she characterized everything with love, humor and wit. “They [her books] also became timeless classics that remained critical and popular successes for over two centuries after her death. These works reflect her enduring legacy.” - Brian Southam

Works Cited

“A Sister’s Love: Cassandra Austen.” Jane Austen Quickstep Travel Guide, 9 Jan. 2024, janeaustenquickstepguide.com/a-sisters-love-cassandra-austen/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

I used this site to find out about Cassandra Austen.

Austen, Jane. “The Letters of Jane Austen Selected from the Compilation of Her Great Nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne.” Https://Www.gutenberg.org/Files/42078/42078-h/42078-H.htm, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42078/pg42078-images.html.

I used this source to quote Cassandra and Jane’s letters.

Everywriter , Richard, and Richard. “Twain’s Letter about Edgar Allan Poe and Jane Austen - EveryWriter.” EveryWriter - Empowering Writers since 1999, 30 Apr. 2019, www.everywritersresource.com/mark-twains-short-letter-about-edgar-allan-poe/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

I used this to explain Mark Twain's feelings toward Jane Austen’s work.

“Jane Austen | Jane Austen’s House.” Janeaustens.house, janeaustens.house/jane-austen/.

“Jane Austen Quotes (Author of Pride and Prejudice).” Goodreads.com, 2020, www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1265.Jane_Austen.

I use this site to find quotes by Jane Austen.

Jane Austen's House. “Jane Austen in Love.” Jane Austen’s House, janeaustens.house/online-exhibition/jane-austen-in-love/.

I used this source to find out about Jane’s relationship with Tom Lefroy.

Jones, Vivien. Jane Austen’s Domestic Realism. Oxford University Press EBooks, Oxford University Press, 21 June 2018, academic.oup.com/book/2429/chapter-abstract/142668698?redirectedFrom=fulltext. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.

I used this site to find out about Jane Austen being a realist.

Kennedy, Deborah. “The Tragic Real-Life Story of Jane Austen.” Grunge, 15 Nov. 2019, www.grunge.com/174474/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-jane-austen/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

I used this site to find out about Austen’s relationship with her mother.

“Marriage Proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither | Digital Austen.” Digitalausten.org, digitalausten.org/node/26.

This article looks a little off, but it matches up with other credible sources I’ve seen/read; there is also a work cited at the end of the writing that I find to be credible I used this source to find out about Austen’s love life here is more work sited from the article: Austen-Leigh, William and Austen-Leigh. “Prospects of Marriage,” Biography. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray, ed 3. New York: Norton, 2001. pp 262-264. Print.

Mayo Clinic . “Addison’s Disease - Symptoms and Causes.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic, 21 Dec. 2024, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/addisons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350293.

I used this to explain what Addison’s disease is and what it does.

Romney, Rebecca. “Who Were the Women Novelists Who Really Inspired Jane Austen?” Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2025, lithub.com/jane-austens-forgotten-contemporaries-unearthing-a-legacy-of-systematic-literary-erasure/.

I used this source to find out who inspired Austen’s characters.

Southam, Brian. “Jane Austen | Biography & Novels.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Austen.

I used this to find out more about Austen’s work and life.

Sutherland, Katheryn . “Female Education, Reading and Jane Austen | the British Library.” British Library, www.britishlibrary.cn/en/articles/female-education-reading-and-jane-austen/.

I used this source to find out what Jane learned at RAGS.

“Unexpectedly Austen» JASNA.” Jasna.org, 2025, jasna.org/austen/unexpectedlyausten/.