Jane Austen’s Emotional Intelligence

Jane Austen’s innate understanding of human nature is an indicator of her extraordinary emotional intelligence which she infused into many of her beloved characters. Elinor Dashwood and Anne Elliot come to mind as admirable heroines whose empathy, perseverance, discipline, and discretion guides their behavior and leads them to happy outcomes.   We can assume Jane shared these characteristics and certainly admired them in others such as her beloved sister, Cassandra, even though examples from her letters reveal that she often playfully teased and sometimes made cruel yet witty observations.  She did the same in her novels; take for example Anne’s rather unsympathetic observation in Persuasion when Captain Wentworth attempted to console Mrs. Musgrove over the loss of her son who had served under him. “He attended to her large fat sighings over the destiny of a son, whom alive nobody had cared for.” 

Emotional Intelligence is defined as the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990).

Emotional intelligence is a combination of self-awareness, emotional regulation, and capacity to motivate oneself and others.  It combines empathy with social awareness and the ability to communicate effectively to help manage the vicissitudes of life.  It requires a mix of compassion with the ability to comprehend the deeper reasons behind other people’s actions.

Let’s examine how emotional intelligence reveals itself in the Austen canon.

Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet is socially adept and supremely confident in her powers of observation. Despite her quick wit and canny understanding of human nature, she makes false assumptions about the characters of two recent gentleman acquaintances that she is later forced to amend.

Mr. Darcy, a classic example of someone who lacks emotional intelligence, earns Lizzy’s displeasure after he manages to offend her on their first meeting. His focus on his own status and distain for local society led to grievances that would later be difficult to overcome.  As his feelings for Lizzy develop and she confronts him on his behavior, he readily admits, “I certainly have not talent which some people possess of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”  Clearly, empathy and social awareness are not his strong suit.

Meanwhile, Lizzy is taken in by the duplicitous Mr. Wickham, an insinuating man with enough emotional intelligence to ingratiate himself through subterfuge.  When she later realizes she was taken in by his artifice and is quick to change her view of him, she remains slow to recognize the more admirable qualities of Mr. Darcy.  Still, her ability to recognize and comprehend her own emotions, understand those of others, and to alter her opinions is an example of her emotional intelligence.

Sense and Sensibility

Elinor Dashwood is one of the most emotionally intelligent women in the canon and exemplifies all the traits that define the state.  She is socially aware and able to perceive the emotions of those around her, both spoken and unspoken.  She makes it her business to not just understand, but to problem-solve on behalf of her family.  She makes allowances for the deficits of others while managing her own emotional state and regulating herself when dealing with disappointment and insensitive behavior by others.  She reads the nuances in mood and behavior and helps reduce stress and diffuse conflict within the family through her leadership and is far more empathetic than those around her. Despite the burdens thrust upon her, she focuses on the welfare of others, setting aside her own disappointment, even showing concern for the happiness of the man she loves who is engaged to an undeserving, scheming woman.  Her exemplary behavior earns our respect and admiration as readers.

Emma

Emma is a well-meaning and empathetic woman when it suits her but is far too focused on her own social standing, opinions, and improvement plans for others to be considered emotionally intelligent.  She is fortunate to have the guidance and win the affection of a man who is.  Mr. Knightly exhibits empathy for a cross section of acquaintances, not just those in his own social sphere.  He advises his tenant-farmer, Robert Martin, on the prudence of an engagement to Harriet Smith and is greatly disappointed when, thanks to Emma’s interference, the proposal is rejected. 

He demonstrates concern for others in more difficult financial conditions such as Mrs. and Miss Bates and exhorts Emma to show greater kindness to Jane Fairfax whose challenges in life are far greater than any Emma will ever face.  His observances of Mr. Elton’s marriage intentions proved him to be a good judge of character, while the wife Mr. Elton chooses causes endless vexation to Emma.  His mistrust and dislike of Frank Churchill is justifiable although some of it may have been driven by jealousy for Emma’s affections.  While it may have taken him some time to realize his true feelings, Mr. Knightly’s emotional intelligence makes him an admirable match for Emma who needs someone in her life to reign in her excesses. 

Mansfield Park

Fanny Price faces numerous challenges in her life.  She is sent away by her family at the age of nine to live with wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park where she is taken for granted by the Bertram family and treated like a servant by her aunt, Mrs. Norris who delights in abusing her and reminding her of her inferior status.  Despite these challenges, Fanny is the clear-eyed observer in the family and recognizes the foibles of her wealthy relatives and their friends.  She is true to her own moral compass and steadfast in standing up for her convictions. 

Although she is the least empowered, she demonstrates leadership and emotional awareness while bearing witness to the missteps of her adopted family and the facades of their new acquaintances.  When she refuses the proposal of Henry Crawford, a man whose character she mistrusts, she is banished to her impoverished family home.  Later she withstands the pressure of his sister, Mary Crawford, to accept her philandering brother’s proposal.  Surrounded by people who wish to use her for their own benefit, Fanny has the emotional intelligence to stand her ground and eventually wins the respect of Sir Thomas Bertram and the heart of the man she loves, Edmund.  She may have been young, sheltered, and inexperienced, but her emotional intelligence served her well.

Northanger Abbey

Henry Tilney’s rakish charm and dashing self-confidence captured the heart of ingenue Catherine Morland when she attended her first ball in Bath.  He recognized her innocence, inexperience, and eagerness to dance and obliged her by arranging for a proper introduction so that he could ask her to join him.  He later revealed his close relationship with his sister, and we observe his social awareness in the light-hearted teasing that occurs with both young women regarding their interest in novels, an interest which he shares.  He makes shrewd observations about the character and behaviors her friends and his own brother, that Catherine, in her innocence, does not comprehend at all. 

Pressed by his father, General Tilney, who has the mistaken impression that Catherine is to inherit wealth, she is invited to their home, where Henry builds on the relationship he established with her but continues to amuse himself by teasing gothic images that excite her vivid imagination.  We are never uneasy about his intentions however, even though we question those of his domineering father and devious brother.  Henry Tilney has a clear-eyed view of society and his own place within it.  We appreciate his integrity in pursuing Catherine when she is dismissed from Northanger Abbey in the middle of the night and sent home.  Whether Catherine matures into an emotionally intelligent woman remains to be seen but she managed to marry a man who was and can help guide her.

Persuasion

Anne Elliot wins our admiration from the start for her perseverance and patience living in a narcissistic household that overlooks her abilities and demeans her value.  Forced to abandon an engagement to the man she loves at the age of 19 because he lacked status and fortune, she is neglected and dismissed by all but a family friend and neighbor, Lady Russell. Despite this, Anne remains self-aware of her situation and an astute observer of the predilections of her egotistical father and two sisters.  She does not personalize their bad behavior and instead regulates her emotions to manage the situation she finds herself in, as the practical planner to whom everyone turns to get problems sorted out.  She adapts and moves forward even when confronted by the reappearance of her former fiancé which causes her extreme emotional distress.  Anne uses her highly developed emotional intelligence to perceive, understand, manage, and regulate emotions in herself while guiding the thinking and behavior of others and finally wins back the heart of the man she loves. 

Jane Austen

The ability to recognize emotional intelligence begs the question, is one born with it or is it learned?  Does empathy for others give one the ability to regulate and guide one’s own emotions? Does it instill resiliency in the face of unexpected change?  Does it build stronger relationships or help fulfill one’s goals? Does it make one more conscious of the effects of our actions on others?  We may never decipher the answer to those questions, but we may be able to answer this one. Was Jane Austen emotionally intelligent or did she just recognize those traits in others like her beloved sister Cassandra and write about them in her novels?

We have evidence in one of the most crucial decisions she made in her lifetime, when she broke off an engagement to a wealthy man she did not love, which would have ensured the security of her family for life.  It must have been a brutal decision to make. Her own self-awareness demanded that she remain true to herself, and she had to harness her own emotions and brave the disappointment of others, especially her mother, and the expectations of society.  It was complicated, especially for a woman in that era.  She made a momentous decision not to sacrifice her own happiness and peace of mind for the sake of others.  Without that brave decision, Jane Austen might never have completed her six novels so full of emotionally intelligent characters, or shared her literary children with the world, had she not been so herself.