Mikayla David
ENG 544
Dr. Wooden
December 6, 2018
Word Count: 3103
The Relevance of Influencers Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Effect They Had on Jane Austen and Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen is one of the most widely and most popular female authors in the British Romantic period. Her earliest work, Northanger Abbey, displayed her stance on women in education through her character Catherine Morland. By exploring and comparing historical and relevant influencers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one can see that Jane Austen challenges societal perceptions by emphasizing and revealing the importance of self-awareness in which more formal schooling is involved and engages with the social constructs of women’s education.
In order for the discussion of Wollstonecraft and Rousseau to make an impact on Austen, it is important to first look at how Wollstonecraft and Rousseau interacted with each other. Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” was in essence, a response (or sort of conversation/ debate) to Rousseau’s views and beliefs. For example; Rousseau writes in Emile “… This habitual restraint produces a docility which woman requires all her life long, for she will always be in subjection to a man, or a man’ judgment, and she will never be free to set her own opinion above his. What is most wanted in a woman is gentleness… A man, unless he is a perfect monster, will sooner or later yield to his wife’s gentles and the victory will be hers” (Emile, 1762). Rousseau is stating that men and women are different creatures, with different wants, different needs, and different interests. Due to this, men and women will never be seen as equals and the woman will never be able to put her views and opinions over her husbands.
Wollstonecraft responds to Rousseau by writing; “What opinion are we to form of a system of education when the author (Rousseau in Emile) says…
‘Educate women like men, and the more they resemble our sex the less power will the have over us.’ This is the very point I am at. I do not wish them to have power over men, but over themselves. The most perfect education, in my opinion, is… to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. In fact, it is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason” (Vindication, 1792).
Though Rousseau and Wollstonecraft disagreed and had next to nothing in common, it is interesting that both writers should have such a large and widely impactful role in Northanger Abbey, and Jane Austen herself.
The idea of femininity in the eighteenth century was one that most people today view as “old school”. Mary Wollstonecraft was a very largely known advocate for women’s rights during this time period, and many of her writings showed it. For example; Mary Wollstonecraft discusses her views in her writings “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”- which was one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In this piece, Wollstonecraft explores ways in which women in her time are oppressed and denied their potential in society and how to overcome them.
In the thesis essay by Talia Rebecca Ogle titled “Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, and feminism”, Wollstonecraft’s Vindication was in response to Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his “assertion that men and women differ intrinsically with respect to virtue: a moral disjuncture resulting, according to Rousseau, from man’s natural possession and woman’s natural deficiency of reasons” (Ogle, 2). One connection that can be made can be between Austen’s “satiric” writings on love and marriage and Wollstonecraft’s view of it in Vindication. Though Austen is ironic and subtle, she describes situations that mock the limitations that are placed on women by society. Wollstonecraft, though she was a strong feminist figure, disproves the idea that all women at the time were opposed to marriage. Ogle cites in chapter 12 of Vindication “Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives: that is if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers (Vindication, 49)” (Ogle, 8).
Diane Long Hoeveler’s paper, Vindicating Northanger Abbey: Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, and Gothic Feminism, focuses on the thesis first stated in this paper and how Jane Austen drew from important influencers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a way to format and sway her writings. Hoeveler starts her paper with a quote from both Rousseau and Wollstonecraft. Rousseau’s being “The world is the book of women”. Wollstonecraft’s is “This desire of being always women, is the very consciousness that degrades the sex” (Hoeveler, 1). By doing so, Hoeveler is examining these two influencers views on education. That is, Rousseau believes that if you educate women like men, then the men will lose power over their women. Wollstonecraft’s point, however, is that she does not wish to have power over the men, rather power over themselves. Wollstonecraft desperately encourages readers that a perfect form of education is to enable individuals to learn habits that will eventually make them independent.
When comparing Jane Austen to famous authors and influencers around her, one must look at the impact that Rousseau had on Austen. In the article “Austen’s rejection of Rousseau: A novelist and feminist initiation” by Paula Marantz Cohen, Cohen looks at the stylistic and prevailing ideas of her time on sexual stereotyping and the emergence of a feminist perspective in her novels. Cohen looks at Northanger Abbey and states “But if Austen outgrew her dependence on the sentimental style by the time she wrote Northanger Abbey, she still relied, at this stage in her career, on Rousseau’s model for male-female role characteristics to facilitate her plot structure and character development” (Cohen, 277). Rousseau’s concept of womanly education in order to please a man is clearly accepted by Austen as she depicts the protagonist, Catherine, as being educated in a manner that would allow her to become a faithful servant to a man. This is not far from what Wollstonecraft urges her readers to be weary of. In her letter from The Dedication to M. Talleyrand-Perigord which prefaces Vindication, Wollstonecraft writes; “Contending for the rights of woman, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all…” (Norton Anthology, 211). Simply put, Wollstonecraft believes that a woman must be properly educated before she is socially mature and ready to become a wife. If a woman is not properly educated, then she is doing herself a disservice and is unable to continue growth of knowledge and virtue. Virtue in this sense, meaning to have behavior that which shows high moral standards. In Wollstonecraft’s views, education is the key to become a well-rounded and qualified woman.
Cohen further explores Catherine Morland’s upbringing. Catherine was raised in a way very close to Rousseau’s “state of nature”. Several examples of this are; Catherine
lives in the country, she was raised with a lot of children around her (1 of 10 to be exact), and she is left to pursue an occupation of which she feels that her spirit prompts her. The problem then becomes this, Catherine begins to read novels as her “training” into the female role. Cohen states; “She becomes interested in and begins to practice those skills of self-adornment and social grace which will be valuable to her if she is to perform properly in the female role as Rousseau defines it: ‘to please men, to be useful to them, etc.’” (Cohen, 221).
Another way that Rousseau finds his way into Northanger Abbey is through the character of Henry Tilney. Catherine is under two very negative influences of Mrs. Allen and Isabella Thorpe. To counteract these two negative characters, Austen provides us with a true Rousseauist teacher— Henry Tilney. Henry must teach Catherine how to be a woman by showing her and explaining to her how to perform the duties to which relate to him (i.e. his needs and pleasures) but must do so by maintaining his status as a desirable man. In order to do this, Henry speaks of female occupations with knowledge and authority, but not without irony and sarcasm. Henry uses distant and monotone language to make sure that Catherine understand that his lesson does in fact apply to her, but only to her and not himself.
Take into account the first time that Catherine and Henry Tilney meet. Henry says; “I have hitherto been very remiss, madam, in the proper attentions of a partner here; I have not yet asked you how long you have been in Bath; whether you were ever here before; whether you have been at the Upper Rooms, the theatre, and the concert; and how you like the place altogether. I have been very negligent— you are you now at leisure to satisfy me in these particulars? If you are I will begin directly.” he then adds at the end “Have you been long in Bath, madam?” (Austen,14). This scene is a satirical commentary on social conversation, but Henry is merely satirizing the idea of himself engaging in this kind of talk. The Rousseauist model that women facilitate the flow of social intercourse is their function is what is represented through this conversation. Austen is once again noting the importance of women and emphasizing the need for a social and moral education.
Another example of Henry teaching Catherine is through their dancing scene. Henry explains;
‘“And such is your definition of matrimony and dancing. Taken in that light certainly, their resemblance is not striking; but I think I could place them in such a view. — You will allow, that in both man has the advantage of choice, woman only the power of refusal; that in both, it is an engagement between man and woman, formed for the advantage of each; and that when once entered into, they belong exclusively to each other till the moment of its dissolution; that it is their duty, each to endeavor to give the other no cause for wishing that he or she bestowed themselves elsewhere, and their interest to keep their own imaginations from wandering towards the perfections of their neighbours, or fancying that they should have been better off with anyone else. Will you allow all this?”’ (Austen, 51-52).
Here, Henry is teaching and informing Catherine from a very early stage in the book of his wants and needs. That is, his need to marry and what he wants from a marriage. Catherine, being as naïve as she is, ends up agreeing with whatever Henry says.
Henry demonstrates the pedagogical role that he takes on in Northanger Abbey even more in this scene. Henry furthers; “In marriage, the man is supposed to provide for the support of the woman; the woman to make the home agreeable to the man; his is to purvey and she is to smile. But in dancing, their duties are exactly changed; the agreeableness, the compliance are expected from him, while she furnishes the fan and the lavender water.” (Austen, 52). Essentially, Henry is using this ritual of dancing as a way to explain what marriage is not to Catherine. Catherine goes on to argue that they are very different things. Henry reiterates; “Yes, to be sure, as you state it, all this sounds very well; but still they are so different— I cannot look upon them at all in the same light, nor think the same duties belong to them.” (Austen, 52). Following this quote, Cohen suggests that; “Her protest reflects a complementary if subordinate sense of priorities that conforms to Rousseau’s assertion that ‘women’s reason is practical and makes them very skillful at finding means for getting to a known end… woman learns from the man what must be seen and the man learns from the woman what must be done. If woman could ascend to general principles as well as man can, and if man had as good a mind for details as woman does, they would always be independent of one another…’ (Emile 377)” (Cohen, 225).
Furthering the exploration of Henry Tilney and his lessons to Catherine, Melissa Schaub states in her article on the Jane Austen Society of North America Persuasion Journal titled Irony and Political Education in Northanger Abbey, that Tilney teaches Catherine how to be ironic, or how to not see the world in any way other than straightforward (par. 5). Due to Catherine’s naivety and inexperience, she takes everything Tilney says or anything that she reads uncritically. Schaub goes on to state; “Jane Austen’s politics have formed one of the most persistent battlegrounds of modern criticism of her novels” (Schaub, par. 1).
One thing that Rousseau and Austen differ in is their fundamental roots when referring to nature. Rousseau viewed nature as a transcendent idea, which stands behind his social and political theories. Cohen references his work in The Social Contract in which Rousseau says; “These principles were not invented by Grotious, nor are they founded on the authority of the poets; they are derived from the nature of things; they are based on reason” (Cohen, 231). She goes on to state that; “However, if his principles ‘derive’ from nature, nature is conceived of as a first cause which lies outside his writing and is at once the source of his principles and that which his principles attempt to substitute for and remedy in its absence” (Cohen, 231-232). Rousseau believes that people in the state of nature are innocent and at their best. It isn’t until they are exposed to civilization that they are then corrupt.
Austen views nature as a product of an “inter-textual system” as Cohen calls it on page 232. Northanger Abbey provides a view of a constructed nature, one in which language, social conventions and books are meant to express what is natural by serving as the host and shaping the natural ideal. In order to do this, one must look at Catherine at the outset as a “real” heroine when being compared to other heroines from her novels. Catherine soon begins to develop female characteristics by reading novels, which is her “training” to be a heroine. Cohen states; “Now the heroines which earlier served as anti-models are used in an opposite sense— as models for imitation in the heroine’s ‘natural’ development to womanhood” (Cohen, 232). The heroines from the other novels will essentially serve as a bridge for Catherine to understand her situation.
One of the main points that Austen so desperately attempts to get across is the idea of self-thinking. By meditating on your own self and self-thoughts, this leads to new ideas and feelings. Elizabeth McElligot, author of; Jane Austen: Shaping the Standard of Women’s Education, discusses the topic of women improving their own minds. McElligot states; “Women were certainly not encouraged to improve their own minds, in fact, another moralist named John Gregory goes so far as to caution his daughters to hide their learning” (McElligot, 80). Austen goes on in her novel to counter this idea by utilizing Catherine as a way to fight this mindset. Catherine imagines herself in a murder mystery thriller as Henry Tilney tells ghost stories. Wandering around the house, Catherine imagines herself encountering a dead body. Losing sleep, she soon realizes that there is nothing of interest except for a pile of laundry. As a storm rages outside, she begins to imagine that the setting and environment around her is mysterious. This leads to her be convinced that Mr. Tinley had something to do with his late wife’s death. Austen is very aware of what she is doing. Catherine stands for the idea of self-thought as a way of over exaggeration and gullibility.
Catherine’s organic and authentic nature creates a way for Austen to portray the natural more natural aesthetic. The world around her has very formal and more structured views and expectations for women of her time period, expectations to which Catherine falls short of. Austen is portraying her disagreement towards Rousseau by creating Catherine as one who draws her “nature” through the novels and heroines to which she reads about. As mentioned earlier, Cohen discusses Catherine as growing up in a way that is closer to Rousseau’s “state of nature”. Cohen mentions how Catherine “…lives in the country, is one of ten children, and is left to pursue occupation as the spirit prompts her.” (Cohen, 221). Austen writes Catherine as both fitting with Rousseau’s exact ideals of nature, while managing to have Catherine’s education in a way that disagrees with what Rousseau says about nature.
By exploring and comparing historical and relevant influencers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one can see that Jane Austen challenges societal perceptions by emphasizing and revealing the importance of self-awareness in which more formal schooling is involved and engages with the social constructs of women’s education. Austen utilizes both Rousseau and Wollstonecraft’s views on education throughout Northanger Abbey. Catherine serves as Wollstonecraft’s ideas of women and education by experiencing and education herself through her reading of novels. Modeling herself after the heroines which she reads, Catherine stands for self-education and self-awareness. One can infer that Austen’s views on women and education is deeply influenced by Mary Wollstonecraft, until comparing Henry Tilney and Rousseau. Tilney serves as a model of Rousseau’s greatest urgency. In order to control women, a man must educate her in a way that she is only educated in what the man wants and needs.
Jane Austen explores all of these ideas and influences throughout Northanger Abbey. Through the use of nature, education, reason, and rhetoric, the characters throughout the novel serve as representations of both Wollstonecraft and Rousseau’s theories and ideals whilst still serving as their own characters.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Oxford University Press, 200.
Cohen, Paula Marantz. “Austen's Rejection of Rousseau: A Novelist and a Feminist.” EBSCOhost, 1 June 1994, web-b-ebscohost-com.proxy.missouristate.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=e7b8d773-6372-4f76-9908-d520f0346eae%40sessionmgr104.
Hoeveler, Diane. “Vindicating Northanger Abbey: Wollstonecraft, Austen, and Gothic Feminism”. Marquette University, 1 January 1995, https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1259&context=english_fac
McElligott, Elizabeth. Jane Austen: Shaping the Standards for Women. Wartburg College, ou.monmouthcollege.edu/_resources/pdf/academics/mjur/2014/Jane-Austen-Shaping-the- Standard-of-Womens-Education.pdf.
Ogle, Talia Rebecca. Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft and Feminism. University of North Carolina at Asheville, 2006, toto.lib.unca.edu/sr_papers/literature_sr/srliterature_2006/ogle_talia.pdf.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile, Ou De L’education. Ebookslib, 2005.
Schaub, Melissa. “Irony and Political Education in Northanger Abbey.” Jane Austen Society of North America, www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol21no1/schaub.html.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Women. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol d. Stephen Greenblatt, et. al. W. W. Norton and Company, 2012, 211-239.