The Life of Jane Austen in Relation to Her Works

There are many biographical links from Jane Austen's life that seemed to have influenced her literary works, specifically in her novel Persuasion

The first obvious link was that Austen's family was of the lower side of the landed gentry class, loosely meaning the English social class that owned land. Her father, George Austen, had risen his way through his family's profession as Wool manufacturers into the landed gentry class, while her mother Cassandra was of a prominent family. This relationship mimics the protagonist of Persuasion, Anne Elliot, who is of a noble family, and Captain Wentworth, who had risen his way up in the ranks of the British Navy. Austen's parents relationship could be seen as part of the beginning of the changing times of England becoming a working middle class country, and its entanglement of relationships between its former elite and aristocracy which the novel expounds.

Another strong connection between the fictitious relationship between Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot and Austen herself is that, when Austen was 21 around 1795/6, she fell in love with her neighbor's nephew Tom Lefroy. They apparently both had strong feelings for each other visible by all and letters later obtained between Austen and her eldest sister Cassandra, talk about spending a lot of time together. Sadly, the possible marriage was "impractical" because neither had the money and Lefroy's tentative legal career was being supported by a great uncle, and the Lefroy family intervened and sent Tom Lefroy away from Jane, never to be seen by her again. This unfortuante incident echoes the first encounter between Captain W and Anne, which begins and ends in a very similar way, yet only in the novel does he return and he and Anne get back together.

A third connection is that in 1800 Austen's father moved the family to Bath. Bath is one of the central settings of the later period of Persuasion, and it was said that Jane Austen was very upset about leaving the only home she had ever known for Bath. This would be very similar to Anne Elliot having to leave Kellynch Hall, which was Anne Elliot's only home. Here in Bath as well, Austen was proposed to by a man Harris Bigg-Wither, whom was said to be ugly, aggressive, and tactless. Austen accepted the proposal originally however because they both had known each other for a long time, and he was rich, which would help her provide for her family comfortably. Austen's rationale for accepting the marriage based on financial comfort is a major theme in Persuasion and many of her other novels, and this connection shows that it was still prevelant at this time and specifically for Austen. Austen ended the engangement shortly after the proposal however.

There are many other themes that pertain to Austen's work, but it seems important to understand a few to truly get a real understanding of Austen's motivation for her character's, settings, plot, and dynamic.