Jane Austen’s Moral Compass

I had an epiphany today after reading one of Caroline Jane Knight’s delightful newsletters on her family’s oral history regarding the inspiration for Emma and geographical location of the fictional village of Highbury.  In it she described Mr. Knightly as the “moral compass” of the novel, and it struck me that is exactly what makes the novel so unique.  I realized that in most of the other novels women play that role, which led me to contemplate, who are the moral compasses in each book?  Hint:  it’s often but not always the heroine.  See if you agree.

Mansfield Park

I can easily make the case that Fanny lays claim to that role in this novel since she is surrounded by self-involved, self-satisfied characters, all of whom look down on her, save Edmund.  He however was easy prey for the lively wiles of the beauteous Mary Crawford, who wished to redirect his career choice away from the living of a clergyman which was his inheritance from his father, Sir Thomas Bertram.  Mary was a worldly creature with little patience or respect for the life of a clergyman, and it took time before Edmund realized his infatuation was misguided.  Throughout the novel, Fanny was its conscience as she observed the wrong behavior of her “betters” but still maintained her integrity, and despite pressure from others, she stayed true to her own values.  She may not be everyone’s favorite heroine, but she is most definitely the moral compass of the novel. 

Northanger Abbey

Catherine Moreland, despite her inexperience and naivete, has basic common sense and moral values established by a good upbringing and sensible parents.   Eager to embrace new friendships when she first visited Bath, she was torn by the demands of her brother, James, his friend, John Thorpe, and his paramour, Isabella Thorpe.  They pressured her to join them on excursions so that James and Isabella could spend time together which led to the two becoming engaged, and presumptuous John Thorpe determined the same was true of him and Catherine.  However, Catherine came to realize she was being deceived and distracted from developing a friendship with Henry Tilney and his sister, Eleanor, that she was eager to pursue.  She was finally removed from the distraction when she was invited to General Tilney’s home at Northanger Abbey, but the visit was cut short by the general when he learned Catherine was not an heiress. Dismissed as a guest in the middle of the night, our resourceful heroine managed to make her way home to her loving family.  While she was young and inexperienced, she knew the difference between right and wrong, truth and deception, and won the heart of Henry Tilney.  Her moral compass served her well.

Sense and Sensibility

Elinor Dashwood is the moral compass of this novel.  Steady, patient, insightful, she managed to guide her family as they transitioned from a life of comfort on a grand estate to one of impoverishment in a small cottage offered to them by a relative after her father died.  She had to deal her mother and younger sister, Marianne, who immersed themselves in demonstrative mourning over their loss and were dismissive of their benefactors who provided them a home.  When Marianne was rescued by the charming Mr. Willoughby, she threw caution and propriety to the wind in pursuit of what she thought would be an engagement and received little guidance from her mother.  It was up to Elenor to caution her sister about her behavior and the gossip that ensued, while she endured her own heartbreak silently after learning about the secret engagement of Edward Ferrars to Lucy Steele.   

Colonel Brandon, like Mr. Knightly, served a similar role in the novel.  He became infatuated with Marianne when he observed similarities between her and the lost love of his youth, a young woman who was forced to marry his older brother but ran away and fell into ruin.  After a long search, he located her just as she succumbed to death in a poor house and he became the guardian of her young daughter.  His concern for Marianne was increased as he observed her suffering at the hands of Willougby who not only betrayed her, but also seduced and abandoned Colonel Brandon’s young ward as well.  His efforts to relieve Marianne’s suffering by sharing the story of his ward with Elinor revealed Willoughby’s true character, and his efforts to aid Edward Ferrar when he was disinherited by his mother are both examples of the strong moral compass guiding his behavior.

Persuasion

Anne Elliot was the beneficiary of a sensible, loving mother who had the misfortune of marrying an exceedingly vain and profligate man, Sir Walter Elliot.  Whatever common sense Anne had was inherited from her mother and grounded her as she endured the travails of being a middle child ignored by her narcissistic father and equally vain older sister, Elizabeth, and hypochondriac younger sister, Mary.  The entire family depended on Anne as she guided her them during their transition from Kellynch Hall to Bath, an effort to pay down debt after renting out their family estate.   She was the anchor of the family, overlooked and taken for granted.  Her resiliency, patience, and humility allowed her to maintain her integrity even while being dismissed and ignored by her former fiancé after she broke off an engagement with him nine year earlier.  She remained steadfast in her devotion to a former schoolmate and resisted the attentions of her cousin who was to inherit the family estate but whose character she did not trust.  Captain Wentworth’s arrival caused her great heartache but her strong moral compass allowed her to demonstrate her personal values through exemplary behavior and win back the heart of the only man she ever loved.

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Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of the novel but was she the moral compass?  She was self-assured, outspoken, an astute observer of social dynamics and the realities of her family’s position.  She was intelligent but also judgmental; so enamored with her own pert opinions that she sometimes rushed to judgement without discernment.  In the end, she was true to her values, learned from her mistakes, maintained her integrity, and found true love. 

Perhaps it is lesser characters in the book that act as moral compasses; consider Jane and Mrs. Gardiner.  Jane, though rather passive and accommodating, was inclined to give others the benefit of a doubt and not rush to judgement.  Perhaps she was naïve in wanting to see the best in everyone including Caroline Bingley and Wickham, but she was open-hearted and determined to do the right thing for her family.  She shows patience and forbearance even when disappointed and it is her goodness that Lizzy most admires. 

Mrs. Gardiner provided cautionary guidance to Lizzy about her overt attentions to Mr. Wickham and the potential risk to her family’s reputation.  She was very good at reading between the lines and recognized the growing attraction between Mr. Darcy and Lizzy.    In comparison to the marriage of detached Mr. Bennet and his overbearing wife, the Gardiners are an example of a sensible, prudent couple able to provide judicious advice to the entire Bennet family.  No wonder Mr. Darcy turned to them when he was in London sorting out the elopement of Lydia and Wickham, and they became frequent guests at Pemberley. 

Emma

When Jane Austen wrote Emma, she said that she was going to “take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”  This turned out to be true as there are many who either love or hate the character of Emma.  Rather than being the moral compass in the story, she was misguided most of the time.  The person who was steady and true in trying to guide her development was Mr. Knightly, a man she had known all her life.  He was watchful and concerned about her deportment and her over-active imagination that she had a gift for matchmaking.  He cautioned her about the relationship with Harriet Smith, about her treatment of Jane Fairfax, about her unintentional encouragement of Mr. Elton’s attentions, mistreatment of a family friend, and concerns about the character of Frank Churchill.  He was her truth teller throughout even though neither he nor Emma fully understood their emotional attachment until the end.  I agree with Caroline Jane Knight that Mr. Knightly was the moral compass of the story, making him unique as the only man to fully serve that role in the canon.

Who was the moral compass in Jane Austen’s life?  A case could be made for her beloved sister, Cassandra, who encouraged and supported the creative genius of her younger sister, as the steady companion of a lifetime, but  I believe that Jane Austen was her own moral compass.  She rejected the constraints thrust on her by society to become a self-made published author.  Her creativity was unleashed at an early age and continued despite interruptions when the family moved to Bath.  She had the courage to break off an engagement to a man she did not love even though it would have guaranteed the security of her family.  After her father’s death, the family dealt with bouts of housing insecurity until they finally moved to the cottage in Chawton and she was able to dedicate herself to her writing.  She even negotiated contracts with her publisher in her later years.  She lived life on her own terms and despite societal pressures and illness, she gave birth to six published children that are still celebrated 250 years later by a growing fan base. 

You can find the posting about the family history discussed by the Knight family on the location of Highbury at https://www.facebook.com/CarolineJaneKnight/