When it comes to a woman holding the centre and shattering the patriarchal economic status quo, one remembers Jane Austen and the likes of her from English history.
She began to make money through her books when to earn money from writing and that too a woman choosing this was both unimaginable and ridiculous. Her first book, when received by a publisher, earned her £10, which is approximately equal to £1,000 of today. The Bank of England recently featured Jane Austen on a £10 note in commemoration of her 200th death anniversary. This symbolic enterprise of Brits revives the collective national memory of their beloved writer and acknowledges her contributions to the literary history of the country and of all the worlds where English is being spoken or understood. It is reported that the featured note will enter circulation on September 14 this year. Austen, the first female writer, has won the honour of being featured on the national currency. Before her, some great men were honoured including William Shakespeare and Charles Darwin.
Who has not heard about this celebrated literary icon? Born in the English setting of 18th century, Austen is known for challenging the traditional values of marriage, money and family life of her society, not only in fiction but also in her life. With the beginning of Industrial Revolution in Britain during Georgian period, one can see in Austen’s novels the obsession with money and the increasing class division. Her Pride & Prejudice reveals all the potential suitors with a price tag attached to them: Mr Darcy £10,000 annually; Mr Bingley £5,000 annually; Mr Bennet £2,000 annually. One can clearly recognise the preoccupation with cash and financial status while choosing a life partner. A man with a large fortune was deemed to be a fitting proposal for a girl of reasonable background. Even a big age difference or the suspicious character of a man would not raise eyebrows among parents and family. Austen was uneasy with prevalent social norms. The support of her father injected more fuel to her already defiant self. By deciding not to marry her wealthy neighbour Harris Bigg-Wither, Austen chose for herself another life where economic security was not a by-product of marriage, but a basic condition of life one could independently strive for, irrespective of his/her gender.
Aged 41 at her death, she had six major novels to her credit. Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma are the bedtime must-reads of one’s childhood memory. Her vivid creation stays in our memory like a beautiful ride to a more-than-real fantastical life. One feels to have met these characters in person and known each of them as perfectly as one may claim to know his family: feisty and stubborn Elizabeth, handsome and hard-to-please Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh – an outrageous caricature of aristocracy, a hopeless self-indulgent romantic Marianne Dashwood, a shy poor and steadfastly virtuous Fanny Price, and a charmingly naïve and enthusiastic Emma. How can we imagine our lives without these characters? We owe Austen a lot for the feast she has offered us with her memorable stories written in perfectly beautiful English. Biting irony, realism and social critique are what her writings are famous for.
Who has not heard about this celebrated literary icon? Born in the English setting of 18th century, Austen is known for challenging the traditional values of marriage, money and family life of her society, not only in fiction but also in her life
The writer is a lecturer at Government College, Lahore and can be reached at [email protected]