Exhibit:

The Regency Handwritten Letter--Recreations from Austen's Novels and Her Life

Preview of images

Mr. Darcy walking in the field (2005 Pride and Prejudice)
The process of me finishing my Regency Letter Regency Letter Seal A picture of me finishing my regency letter in class. I have included Edmund Blair Leighton’s “The Marriage of the Reverend Robert Lowry”, an illustration which features a bride signing the marriage register which symbolizes the social “contract” of marriage. The reason why I chose this image is because I believe that this gives perspective to the harsh reality of the marital decision for women. In reality, marriage was negotiated through a dowry which is to be paid by the father of the bride. Relating this to Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s uncle comments th I have included a copy of Mr. Collin’s letter to Elizabeth where he praises the family’s ability to keep Lydia’s situation “hushed”, that is to say: to avoid public scrutiny. In the letter, Mr. Collins expresses concern for the knowledge of their union prior to their marriage becoming public information. This demonstrates the extent to which Regency society cares about public opinion.

 

Austen's niece writing

"Fanny Austen Knight" by Cassandra Austen, from Jane Austen's World

Today we communicate through texting, email, FaceTime, What's App, and telephones. Writing a letter may seem quaint to us, but in the nineteenth century, letters were the chief form of communication. Unsurprisingly, letters play a key role in all of Austen’s Regency novels, but most memorably in Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (1818). Using antique and reproduction writing implements from my personal collection and materials from the IdeaLab, students will practice writing with dip pens and ink, cross-writing (a cost saving measure where one turns a letter 90 degrees and writes over it), folding a letter (rather than use an envelope), and affixing a wax seal. To transform this token of affection into a lasting memento of our study of Jane Austen, we will display our letters in a virtual "case" to showcase critical crafting and make connections to Austen’s oeuvre, illuminating her literary legacy and Regency times.  Recreated letters may come from Austen's novels or her life. 

Images in this Exhibit

"What could or ought to be revealed": The Importance of Mr. Darcy's Words and Actions
Mr. Darcy walking in the field (2005 Pride and Prejudice)

 Before there were text messages, before there were phone calls and emails, people communicated via letters. However, not everyone had the privilege to freely write to whomever they pleased. During the Regency era, there were social norms surrounding letters. It was unpopular, if not scandalous, for an unmarried man to write a letter to an unmarried woman and even more so if the couple was not known publicly to be engaged. Letters play an important role in many of Jane Austen’s Regency novels as they reveal character motives and desires and act as a way to spread information. One of the...
"I am the happiest creature in the world": The Happy and Joyful Ending of Pride and Prejudice - Kara Duffy

 Elizabeth Bennet's letter to her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner, in Pride and Prejudice (1813) reflects the role that letter writing played in the Regency era by being the main form of communicating news. Additionally, Elizabeth's letter emphasizes how letters were used to express affections during the Regency era. Despite the rough beginning of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s relationship, they find a happy and joyful ending together. This letter successfully highlights Elizabeth’s happiness and success in marrying for love. This joy is clearly depicted as Elizabeth proclaims to...
How Jane Bennet's Hurried Letter to Elizabeth Reveals the Importance of Marriage and Reputation in Regency Times
The process of me finishing my Regency Letter Regency Letter Seal A picture of me finishing my regency letter in class. I have included Edmund Blair Leighton’s “The Marriage of the Reverend Robert Lowry”, an illustration which features a bride signing the marriage register which symbolizes the social “contract” of marriage. The reason why I chose this image is because I believe that this gives perspective to the harsh reality of the marital decision for women. In reality, marriage was negotiated through a dowry which is to be paid by the father of the bride. Relating this to Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s uncle comments th I have included a copy of Mr. Collin’s letter to Elizabeth where he praises the family’s ability to keep Lydia’s situation “hushed”, that is to say: to avoid public scrutiny. In the letter, Mr. Collins expresses concern for the knowledge of their union prior to their marriage becoming public information. This demonstrates the extent to which Regency society cares about public opinion.

 Phillipa Levine opens her essay "So Few Prizes and So Many Blanks" with the statement that “Marriage, for the nineteenth-century woman, was perhaps the single most profound and far-reaching institution that would affect the course of her life” (Levine 1). That is to say, women’s future is resolved by the prospect of their marriage. This concept brings in the question of what happens to women who have made a misguided decision, or have decided not to marry at all? Levine answers this by saying, “Women who did not marry--those whom the Victorians, with characteristic linguistic inelegance,...
"A Novel of Second Chances": Persuasion, Frederick Wentworth's Letter, and Austen's Love

I chose to recreate the letter that Captain Wentworth gives to Anne Elliot in Persuasion (1818). The text was handwritten with a dip pen and black ink on weathered paper. I decided to recreate this letter because of the high importance it holds to the narrative arc of Persuasion as the act that finally brings Wentworth and Anne together, as well as just how beautiful and romantic it is. Love confessions in Austen's work are more times than not quite beautiful-- Knightley's "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more" immediately comes to mind-- but hardly...
"I Have Lost a Treasure": Cassandra Austen's Devotion to Her Beloved Sister, Jane

Cassandra Elizabeth Austen was devoted to her sister, Jane. The words she penned in this letter to her dear niece, Fanny Austen Knight (daughter of her brother Edward), convey the depth of the sisters' attachment and the devastating loss Cassandra experienced with the death of her beloved Jane. She told Fanny in her letter dated July 18, 1817--the very day Jane Austen passed away--that "I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend that can never have been surpassed." The handwritten letter reveals the talents of Cassandra, who excelled as a water colorist and knew how to write an...