Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose books, set among the English middle and upper classes, are notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19th century women.


Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane's father in 1805 Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times eventually settling in Chawton, near Steventon.


Jane's brother Henry helped her negotiate with a publisher and her first novel, 'Sense and Sensibility', appeared in 1811. Her next novel 'Pride and Prejudice', which she described as her "own darling child" received highly favourable reviews. 'Mansfield Park' was published in 1814, then 'Emma' in 1816. 'Emma' was dedicated to the prince regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen's novels were published anonymously.


In 1816, Jane began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison's disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, 'Persuasion' and 'Northanger Abbey' were published posthumously and a final novel was left incomplete.


Jane’s novels reflect life in the world of the English country gentry as she herself had lived it and due to her amusing plots and the wit and irony of her style, her works have not been out of print since they were first published and she is consequently one of the best known and highly regarded authors in the English-speaking world.

Pride and Prejudice - Time line

Here is the link to my time line! http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pride-and-prejudice--5 I copied most of it off the internet, but it gives me a clear understanding of what order the events come in the book. I hope it is okay!

The Convent Threshold

In my last English lesson i was introduced to another poem by Christina Rossetti known as "The Convent Threshold". After reading through the poem once, I was confused as to what the possible destinations and morals etc of the poem were. However, after sharing thoughts and looking at the poem in more depth and detail, I concluded a few ideas and suggestions that could be put forward when analysing the poem.

The poem is written in first person as the character is speaking directly to someone who she calls “my love”, showing that the poem is going to be very intimate and personal. Also, tension along with a sense of unease starts to build in the atmosphere as our present speaker confronts us with the fact that she is no longer innocent and pure by saying “my lily feet are soiled with mud”, showing that she has sinned. This also strengthens the argument that she believes Earth is her hell as the words that are used to suggest the fact that she is now impure and somewhat dirty are early therefore this could imply that Earth reminds her of her sin. The sin could be that she victimised and murdered someone, therefore when it says her feet are soiled with “mud” that is described as “scarlet” it could suggest the burial of her bloody murder and how she is continuously reminded of this incident. On the other hand, she might have had sex before marriage with the lover she is speaking with and she may strongly believe that this was a sin; therefore the theme of religion could then be brought into the poem.

As we read further into the poem, we discover that the character who is speaking wants to seek forgiveness and purify in heaven as Rossetti creates numerous amounts of heavenly imagery, such as when it says “of mansions” and “wake to sing”. She is desperate for her lover to repent with her so that they can be together for eternity in heaven, showing that she wants more than just her lifetime on Earth which suggests gluttony. She also believes that heaven will not be heaven without their love and that “paradise” cannot compare with the love they feel for each other, which is shown when it says “Or sit on steps of heaven alone?” However, her dream of their life in heaven contrasts with her lover’s dream as he is content on Earth and therefore rejects the girl when he says “find you a warmer playfellow” as in his eyes Earth is his idea of heaven; "your eyes look earthward, mine look up". This is ironic as I previously argued that she believes Earth is hell-like as it reminds her of her sin and the fact that he is happy with staying on Earth and will not repent suggests that his is not religious and does not believe he has sinned.

Furthermore, it could also be argued that there is a theme of redemption in the poem as it says that when they “stand safe within the door”, suggesting the door of heaven, he will “lift the veil” which shows that she wants them to get married in heaven so that she can be redeemed and forgiven for her sin which in this case is sex before marriage. However, heaven could just be her escapism or she may just be scared that her lover is going to replace her with another women therefore if he repents he will be hers for eternity and she will then be put at ease over the matter of replacement.