Religious hypocrisy in Austen's novels:

 

Publication N°5 : Jane Austen and Hypocrisy

Religious hypocrisy in Austen's novels:

In Pride and Prejudice as well as in Sense and Sensibility, Austen depicts another kind of hypocrisy one can find in society, religious hypocrisy.

            Mr. Collins is a fair depiction of religious hypocrisy. Mr. Collins belongs to the church, as he is a clergyman, a man of God. Yet, through the description of his characters and the obsession he has with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the reader understands that Mr. Collins gives more attention to his patroness than he does to God. This is a first hypocrite behavior, as it is clear for the reader that his love for God is not as important as it should be for a man of God, as he prefers the social rank of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Further in the novel, Mr. Collins depicts a behaviour that is contrary to what is expected from a clergyman. When he proposes to Elizabeth, he mentions his position and connections, which should not have any importance for him, as superficiality is punished by God, as Luke said in the New Testament (verse 12:15) “one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”[1] Yet, for Mr. Collins, the value of material things is important:

Mr. Collins expected the scene to inspire, and was but slightly affected by his enumeration of the windows in front of the house, and his relation of what the glazing altogether had originally cost Sir Lewis de Bourgh. [2]

Mr. Collins’s behavior is not following the precepts written in the bible, the precepts he speaks of at church. The character of Mr. Collins is a hypocrite because of his contradictory behavior concerning the precepts of God, and the material life and wish to climb the social ladder he lives. Through this depiction, Austen points out to the reader that everyone has flaws, and that even people following the Commandments of the Bible can be hypocrites. Leading a life devoid of material things is not possible for everyone, and hypocrisy can be found even when people are supposed to depict an exemplary attitude.

Temptation is everywhere, and Mr. Collins has fallen into the trap of social ladder climbing, as he rather worships Lady Catherine de Bourgh rather than God. Ali Albashir Mohammed Al-Haj describes Austen’s societal criticism as: “seldom satirical but her satire is always gentle, seldom, severe and never savage. She brilliantly uses irony in social comedies.”[3]

It is through the use of irony that Austen underlines the religious hypocrisy of Mr. Collins. Further in the novel, after the news of the elopement of Lydia and Wickham is known by everyone, Mr. Collins writes a letter to Mr. Bennet: “You ought certainly to forgive them, as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing.”[4] Through this quote, Austen underlines the hypocrisy which is at the core of the character of Mr. Collins, with a humoristic description of what a clergyman, a man preaching the values of God, thinks of forgiveness. There is a notion of double, of opposition, of irony in this quote, as the forgiveness he speaks of is not forgiveness at all. With the use of the humorous and ironic character of Mr. Collins, Austen underlines the hypocrisy that can reign in the religious milieu, especially towards those who are spreading the words of God. Austen wants to show her reader that hypocrisy can be found in every milieu.

            The character of Mr. Collins can be contrasted with the character of Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility. Edward Ferrars aspires to have his own parsonage, with tranquil life. Yet, he does not truly apply the values of God as he should do. He keeps his engagement, but he concealed the truth, and if it were not for the character of Lucy Steele, the reader could have wondered if Elinor would have known of his engagement to Lucy.

One of his lies is about a lock of hair: “"I never saw you wear a ring before, Edward," she cried. "Is that Fanny's hair? (…) “Yes; it is my sister's hair. The setting always casts a different shade on it, you know."”[5] It is later revealed that the lock of hair belongs to Lucy Steele. The reader understands that Edward Lied to protect Lucy Steele, but his lie gave false hope to the protagonist, who is “mortified, shocked, confounded.”[6] when she learns the truth. It is written in the Old Testament: “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight”[7].

Edward Ferrars is not as hypocritical as Mr. Collins, but Austen still made him use of lies, or lies by omission, which makes him a hypocrite towards his religious faith. On the contrary to Mr. Collins, the reader sympathizes with Edward, as he is engaged with a sour and hypocritical woman, who use openly her hypocrisy when the reader understands that Edward has no real choice. Austen depicts hypocrisy that cannot be avoided by some people to protect somebody from social ruin. The two characters of Mr. Collins and Edward Ferrars are different people, with different principles of life. Mr. Collins is more satirized by Austen, as she made him a foolish and narrow-minded character, whose occupation of clergyman does not make him truly share the real values of God. Edward, on the other hand, is a hypocrite towards the precepts of God but not to protect himself, even if he hurt people along the way. Austen depicts the religious hypocrisy living in everyone, but some are more forgivable than others.

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[1] Bible Gateway. “Bible Gateway Passage: Luke 12:15 - English Standard Version”.

[2] Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice”. p.113

[3] Al-Haj, Ali. “The Concept of Selfishness in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice”

[4] Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice”. p.255

[5] Austen, Jane. “Sense and Sensibility”. p.88

[6] Austen, Jane. “Sense and Sensibility”. p.121

[7] Bible Gateway. “Bible Gateway Passage: Proverbs 12:22 - English Standard Version”

Social hypocrisy in Austen's novels.

 

Publication N°4 : Jane Austen and Hypocrisy

Social hypocrisy in Austen's novels.

In Persuasion, the hypocrisy reigning in the aristocratic milieu is not depicted implicitly by Austen. The novel begins with the description of Sir Walter’s favorite hobby, which is to read The Baronetage, a book that contains the history of ancient families who have an aristocratic title. In addition to this fact, Sir Walter is depicted as vain and deeply attached to his title of baronet. This beginning underlines the tone that will reign throughout the whole novel, the satire of the pretentious aristocracy.  Later in the novel, the reader sees that Sir Walter has a strong desire to be associated with Lady Dalrymple.

Lady Dalrymple is mentioned thirty-two times in the novel, and yet she does not appear more than two times in front of the protagonist. This number shows that Sir Walter is mentioning her too much as he should do normally. Hypocrisy is perceived through the eyes of Anne Elliot:

 Had Lady Dalrymple and her daughter even been very agreeable, she would still have been ashamed of the agitation they created, but they were nothing. There was no superiority of manner, accomplishment, or understanding. [1]

 The term “agitation” is not innocent in this quote. The politeness due to the rank of Lady Dalrymple becomes hypocrisy when this politeness is highly exaggerated.

People had to make a fuss around her arrival, only because of her social rank. Their hypocrisy is even more striking when Austen made her bland as a woman. Austen also underlines that Lady Dalrymple and her daughter seem to be equivalent in “manner” and “accomplishment” as the next woman. They are not extraordinary people worth knowing, and Anne is disappointed by this, as the hypocrisy of her father and sister becomes even more important. The reader perceives this through the eyes of Anne Elliot, who is not blinded by envy and has no desire to climb the social ladder. She is not biased. This quote also depicts that Lady Dalrymple, and her daughter are used to such a treatment, as the fuss their presence made doesn’t affect them. The fuss created is only present because of the envy of Sir Walter and Elizabeth, who dream of climbing even more the aristocratic ladder by association with Lady Dalrymple. The reader does not necessarily understand the need for such hypocrite manners, especially someone who would read Persuasion nowadays, but such general panic would have been understood if they were worth it, humanly speaking, and this feeling is described by John Halperin:

In genteel households small matters of etiquette were of greater importance than they are today, largely because the eighteenth century gentry belonged to a society more formal than anything we know. There was more outward courtesy and ceremony of manner [2]

May Witwit and Maysoon Taher Muhi wrote in their essay: “Sir Walter, who is shown to have all the appurtenances of refinement, is actually vulgar in his obsession with his own appearance and importance”[3].

This quote points out that Austen criticizes self-importance and false appearances, which only underlines the hypocrisy of a social class, here the aristocracy. Austen makes Persuasion a satire of the aristocracy and the hypocrisy living in this social rank, by depicting the snobbism of the aristocrats who only consider people through their social rank. This social hypocrisy can be contrasted with another novel. In Sense and Sensibility, hypocrisy towards a member of the aristocracy comes from someone who belongs to the middle class.

            Lady Middleton is a secondary character in the novel, whose appearances are scarce. She does not seem to enjoy social meetings, which is unusual for someone of the aristocracy, and she only takes pleasure in flattery, especially concerning her children. Her character is cold, insensitive about her surroundings, but when someone flatters her children, and by extension herself, she expresses positive feelings: “they happened to be so doatingly fond of children that Lady Middleton's good opinion was engaged in their favour before they had been an hour at the Park”[4] The reader understands that the personal pronoun “they” is a reference to the Steele’s sisters. To ensure the positive vision of everyone about themselves, the Steele’s sisters are doing whatever they can to be liked, even if they must lie, be hypocrites about it. The children they are so fond of are not children anyone could be fond of, except for Lady Middleton. Austen makes it clear that her mother has no power over them, and that they are badly raised: “their sashes untied, their hair pulled about their ears, their work-bags searched, and their knives and scissors stolen away”[5]

With this quote, Austen underlines the constant pampering of the aristocracy, especially when it comes from someone who has a lower social rank than them. This pampering is so usual that they do not doubt for a second that it could be false. The importance given to the social rank of the aristocracy only makes them blind to any hypocrisy they could encounter, and Austen makes it clear that Lady Middleton is not aware that the praises made by the Steele’s sisters are false ones, only made to gain trust and to be liked, accepted by a member of the aristocracy.

The reader understands that in this situation, it is hypocrisy, because the situation is seen through the eyes of Elinor Dashwood and the omniscient narrator, who is truthful about the conduct of Lady Middleton’s children. There is no doubt that if Lady Middleton encountered children from a lower social class and as badly raised as her own, she would resent them and their mother. It seems that in Austen’s era, members of the middle and upper class had to pamper the aristocracy and using of hypocrisy was usual.

For Lady Middleton, as well as for Sir Walter Elliot, their whole existence revolves around appearances and material goods.

(…) admiration of whatever her ladyship was doing, if she happened to be doing any thing, or in taking patterns of some elegant new dress, in which her appearance the day before had thrown them into unceasing delight [6]

This quote, in addition of underlining once again the hypocrisy of the Steele’s sisters, also underlines the superficiality of the life of Lady Middleton. Austen depicts the superficiality in the lives of aristocrats, but through the character of Lady Middleton, she put the emphasis on the purposeless life of an aristocrat woman at the end of the eighteenth century. The superficiality of her life has now a meaning through her children.

Austen makes her character lives for her children because it is the only thing she has purpose in doing. Raising the next generation, as it was expected of women in Austen’s era. Hypocrisy comes when Lady Middleton does not realize that her children are not behaving nicely towards anyone and does nothing to stop it. The constant hypocrisy she supposedly encountered in her life concerning her children, here emphasized by the Steele sisters, only shows to the reader that this is a vicious circle. Lady Middleton does not realize that her children are not nice because people are hypocrites towards her, and people are being hypocrites because they feel the need to be, for them to be accepted by a higher member of society. The reader can suppose that if people were not such hypocrites towards Lady Middleton, perhaps she would have realized that her children are a nightmare.

Through these two characters, Austen depicts the superficial lives of the aristocratic milieu, whether it concerns a man or a woman. With this superficiality, hypocrisy comes along, and flourished.

Austen shows the importance to pamper the aristocracy, and that hypocrisy is reigning in this social rank, whether hypocrisy comes from them, or people belonging to an inferior social class. The importance of social ranks, and the complexity of social interactions are underlined by Austen in her novels.

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[1] Austen, Jane. “Persuasion”. p.193.

[2] Gerebring, Philip. “Social Rank and Individuality”

[3] Witwit, May, and Maysoon Taher Muhi. “Social Satire in Jane Austen’s Persuasion”

[4] Austen, Jane. “Sense and Sensibility”. p.106

[5] Austen, Jane. “Sense and Sensibility”. p.108

 

[6] Austen, Jane. “Sense and Sensibility”. p.106 

Hypocrisy in Austen’s novels: a way to criticize different aspects of society or an analysis of people.

Publication N°3 : Jane Austen and Hypocrisy

Introduction on: 

Hypocrisy in Austen’s novels: a way to criticize different aspects of society or an analysis of people.

 

Before discussing the theme of hypocrisy in Austen’s novels, it is important to establish the structure of her novels. The first impression the reader can have about the genre of Austen’s novel can be discussed. It has become common knowledge that some novels of Austen are concealing their genre. The most obvious one is Northanger Abbey, which appears to the reader as a parody of the gothic novel. One can wonder if some of her other novels are also hiding their genre. Pride and Prejudice appear at first as a romance novel, a novel made for women, defined as “. Yet, many literary critics agree to say that there is more than romance in the novel, and the issue at stake is a social satire of the rural life of the upper-middle classes in England, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

This novel can also be seen as a pastiche or a parody of the Cinderella story, where the protagonist marries the rich landowner. Sense and Sensibility can be viewed as didactic, as Austen makes the implicit point of learning to go beyond simple appearances.  Furthermore, through the representation of Marianne’s character, her choices, and her behaviour, which are pushed to extremes, and her failure to respect some of the social conventions of her time, the novel can be seen to some extent as a satire of the sentimental romance genre. The novel Persuasion can be perceived by the reader as a criticism of the superficial high society life, and a critic of the power of persuasion that some people have on others. Austen underlines the importance of social ranks in her society, the mistakes people made because of the duty they owe to their rank (Anne Elliot did not marry Frederick Wentworth at the beginning of the novel because he did not belong to the same social class). Austen’s novel can be viewed as didactic and as a study of human beings facing the social customs, the flaws, and virtues of their time.

In the writing of the novels themselves, Austen uses duplicity, especially in the narrative aspect of her novels. According to E.M Halliday:

 

The narrator seems to be standing outside the story, not yet observing the characters but gazing off into the middle distance for some reflections on life in general. But this impression does not last. [1]

The novel Pride and Prejudice begins with a statement: “It is a truth universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.[2] This quote makes the reader think that the narrator is omniscient, as if God was commenting on the lives of the characters of the novel. Yet, with this omniscient narrator and the uses Austen makes of the free indirect speech that is mixed with the thoughts of the protagonist, the narrator appears as biased, as he always gives their point of view through the eyes of the characters. The omniscient narrator does not tell the truth about the reasons for the actions of some characters, like Mr. Willoughby or Mr. Wickham. If the narrator is truly omniscient, he uses duplicity to conceal facts from the reader. The point of view Austen used in her novels is biased, as the use of free indirect speech is always linked to the vision of the world of the female protagonist.

An analysis of the different forms of hypocrisy is going to be made, to understand the social criticism Austen makes through the various forms of hypocrisy she described. One of the most striking forms of hypocrisy concerns the aristocracy, whether it comes from someone belonging to the aristocracy or someone who belongs to an inferior social class, which would make social hypocrisy. In addition to this social hypocrisy, there will be a focus on religious hypocrisy, which will end with the analysis of moral hypocrisy especially when it comes to money.

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[1] Halliday, E. M. “Narrative Perspective in Pride and Prejudice.”

[2] Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice”. p.1