Comments on: Jane Austen and Vickers’ “Companion to the Altar”

By: imogen88

imogen88 — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:13:29 +0000

Given Jane Austen’s background and life, these posts are relevant to the times she lived in, so must influence the novels. Very interesting to read, thank you.

By: larderlines

larderlines — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:03:24 +0000

Thanks for this very interesting article. I’d never heard of this book and I would agree with much of what people above have said, including that I personally have not “had enough” of the topic of Austen’s religious life and beliefs. I look forward to your entry on her prayers. Thanks again.

By: jfwakefield

jfwakefield — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:59:22 +0000

Thanks Cathy, that means a lot :)

By: cathyallen

cathyallen — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:36:27 +0000

OK, I’ll look forward to it. However, for me personally, it’s not too much; I’ve enjoyed it, and I’ve wondered about it. I’m very pleased to know your “take” on it, and I feel the same as karen2field, below.

By: jfwakefield

jfwakefield — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:12:35 +0000

Thank you, Karen. Yes, I agree with you. I do think she had a very sincere and devout faith.She did not play “lip-service” to it at all. Perhaps because she was so good at writing well- rounded characters, and “attractive” villains- see the example of Mary Crawford- I think it is very easy to overlook where her true sympathies lay.

By: jfwakefield

jfwakefield — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:06:32 +0000

Thank you,Cathy. I will write about Jane Austen’s prayers later in the year, hopefully, as I think we’ve all had enough of this topic by now….:)

By: jfwakefield

jfwakefield — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:05:00 +0000

You are quite right,Lauren.I think this has been an area of Jane Austen scholarship that has, how shall I put this… not received as much attention as other areas, probably because it appears to be,well, difficult and not exactly fashionable. But I do thin that her religion was a serious part of her life, and that is for increasing numbers of people is something that seems a little alien( I’s tugging to find the correct phrase, but I hope my meaning is coming through!)I think close attention ought to be paid to her own vision of Christianity and morality, for only then can we hope to understand her system of morals as applied to her novels.

Thank you so much for commenting.

By: jfwakefield

jfwakefield — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:00:04 +0000

My pleasure, thank you for commenting: it is lovely to “see” you here :)

By: kfield2

kfield2 — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 21:29:06 +0000

I have understood Jane Austen to have been a very religious person right from the beginning of my introduction to her. I read her prayers in an Oxford Press edition of Minor Works which included her Juvenilia, some prayers that she had written, and I believe the rest were the unfinished works. (I may be incorrect in my attribution to Oxford Press and if so, I duly apologize.) I have read a lot about the C of E Church of that time in order to understand what it was like for her to grow up as a rector’s daughter and how that informed her world. I have wrestled with whether or not she just intellectually believed what she’d been taught because pretty much every Englishman or woman would have declared they were a Christian because they were English or because they had been christened. This is at least what I’ve understood in my studies of this. So I’ve wondered if anything to do with religion for her was just uttering familiar words and the right times or if in uttering those words her heart truly understood them.

This post seems to answer that for me, or at least give me a stronger sense that this was true. I am not casting aspersions on the C of E. In every denomination, at least in America, there are those who “get it” and are uplifted by “it” and there are those who “don’t get it” and just repeat words that they may or may not believe. They just show up to be seen or to follow the family tradition.

Sorry, didn’t mean to go on. In short, I am really uplifted to know that “our Jane” seemed to really understand and take seriously her faith. Thanks for sharing this with us, Julie. You’ve had me thinking for the past couple of weeks about the Book of Common Prayer and I’ve been encouraged by it.

By: cathyallen

cathyallen — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:40:33 +0000

Yesterday I tried to think of something eloquent to write about how I enjoyed this posting. Now that I’ve come back today, I see that Lauren Gilbert has said it for me, and better than I could, so thank you, Lauren! Thank you, too, Julie.