Jane Austen and her Country-house Comedy

DOMINANT QUALITIES Jane Austen's abiding freshnessWhy she has not more readersCharacteristics of her workAbsence of passionBalzac, Jane Austen, and Charlotte BrontëJane in her home circleHer tranquil natureHer unselfishnessCompared with Dorothy OsbornePrudent heroinesThoughtless admiration EQUIPMENT AND METHOD Literary influencesJane Austen's defence of novelistsThe old essayistsHer favourite authorsSome novels of her timeCriticism of her niece's novelSense of her own limitationsHer methodHumourFamiliar namesSome characteristics of styleSuggested emendationsA new "problem" of authorshipA "forbidding" writer"Commonplace" and "superficial"Thomas Love PeacockSapient suggestions CONTACT WITH LIFE Origins of charactersMatchmakingSecond marriagesNegative qualities of the novelsClose knowledge of one classDislike of "lionizing"Madame de StaëlThe "lower orders"TradesmenSocial positionQuality of Jane's lettersBalls and parties ETHICS AND OPTIMISM Dr. Whately on Jane Austen"Moral lessons" of her novelsCharge of "Indelicacy"Marriage as a professionA "problem" novel"The Nostalgia of the Infinite"The "whitewashing" of WilloughbyLady Susan condemned by its authorThe WatsonsChange in mannersNo "heroes"Woman's loveThe Prince RegentThe Quarterly Review THE IMPARTIAL SATIRIST What has woman done?"Nature's Salic law"Women deficient in satireSome types in the novelsThe female snobThe valetudinarianThe fopThe too agreeable man"Personal size and mental sorrow"Knightley's opinion of EmmaAshamed of relationsMrs. BennetThe clergy and their opinionsWorldly lifeAbsence of dogmaAuthors confused with their creations PERSONAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL The novelist and her charactersHer sense of their realityAccessories rarely describedHer ideas on dressHer own millinery and gownsThin clothes and consumptionDomestic economyJane as housekeeper"A very clever essay"Mr.

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