Catherine Hemingway's Blog

Jane Austen’s described her astute observations on social dynamics in rural England during the transition from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century as “pictures of domestic life in country villages”, but was there a hidden agenda in her writings?  On the surface she focused on independent heroines dealing with the trials and tribulations of courtship, but she also indirectly commented on the inequities of the society in which she lived.  While many view her novels as delightful stories of...

In Jane Austen’s social sphere, manners dominated the rules of behavior, and everyone was judged by them.  Polite society required adherence to the conventions; it was imperative to know your place in the pecking order and follow the rules assigned to preserve the social order. This required a general agreement to be pleasing, polite, and deferential based on the status of those in your immediate orb.  However, one character’s perception of agreeable behavior may not always be pleasing in the...

Self portrait 2023 As 2025 closes out, I invite you to review my blog posts of the past year where I examine the social dynamics of Jane Austen’s time and how it influenced her writings to reveal universal truths that are so relatable in contemporary life. Many thanks to all who have allowed me to share my thoughts and graced me by reading them. Happy New Year! Wishing all my Janeite friends and followers a prosperous 2026. Jane Austen – To Have and Have Not Jane Austen’s Most Loving...

Misguided notions are a theme throughout Jane Austen’s novels.  She was very observant of social positions because her family lived on the periphery of wealthier relatives and acquaintances.  Propriety demanded people stay within their rank with occasional exceptions made for intelligent, resourceful women whose attractions allured suitors. Jane presents many amusing situations in which individuals blinded by initial perceptions abruptly encounter the shock of reality and are forced to reset...

Beneath the romantic stories of love and longing surges an undercurrent of frustration and anger over the many ways in which women were dismissed and discarded by society during Jane Austen’s life.  The loss of patriarchal protection and looming poverty was a shadow hiding in the corner waiting to emerge in her own life and her vexation springs forth through the plights of her characters.  As Jane wrote in a letter to Fanny Knight, “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor –...

The Letter W as Jane Austen a cynic at heart?  Consider the opinion espoused by Elizabeth Bennet at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice:...

Original art displaying connections between Jane Austen's characters What did you do when the Coronavirus besieged the entire world and...

Jane Austen’s innate understanding of human nature is an indicator of her extraordinary emotional intelligence which she infused into...

Brothers take a back seat in Jane Austen’s novels; still, they do play an essential role in her stories as well as her life. In her...

Were Jane Austen’s sometimes comical and often less than flattering observations about the clergy merely a plot device to amuse us, or...