In Austen-L, Anielka Briggs wrote: “I am thinking/writing about the
Sophia Sentiment letter and trying to ascertain whether or not it is by JA. May
I ask a question of every and any individual who cares to reply? Do you
believe it was written by Jane Austen or not?”
Anielka,
I have been firmly convinced of JA as the true author of the Sophia Sentiment letter
(and some others among the Loiterer entries) ever since I first read of that
theory (which dates back to the late 80’s as I recall) in 2005. Here are links
to my prior posts on JA’s concealed contributions to The Loiterer:
In a
nutshell, I see JA’s wickedly satirical hand behind at least two other Loiterer
entries, written during the same era, and in the same tone, as JA’s early
Juvenilia. But it’s most obvious in Sophia Sentiment’s Letter, which at times
reads like JA’s juvenilia, at another point like the narrator of Northanger Abbey, and at still another like JA’s
mature Plan of A Novel .
But
as your post has caused me to revisit this topic, now a couple of other aspects
of Sophia Sentiment come to mind:
First,
and of special importance to me, when Sophia Sentiment complains that the
Loiterer archive contains “[n]ot one Eastern Tale full of Bashas and Hermits,
Pyramids and Mosques—no, not even an allegory or dream have yet made their
appearance in the Loiterer”, I now can say, based on my recent discovery (less
than a month ago) that Emma’s Mr.
Perry is a representation of the famous fairy “Peri Banou” from the Arabian Nights Entertainments:
So,
now I see that JA, at age 40, finally remedied these specific deficiencies of
The Loiterer, by including in Emma a
character, Mr. Perry, who is, per my deconstruction, straight out of a
realistic version of an “Eastern tale”, and also is the subject of Frank
Churchill’s supposed ‘dream’, and of course Emma
is allegorical in a dozen ways!
So,
thank you, Anielka, for prompting me to notice the 3-decade arc of JA’s
engagement with “Eastern tales”!
Second,
I just learned from this blogger…
that “[t]his theory [of JA as author of Sophia S.] is supported by the fact that (to please Jane?) this was the only edition of The Loiterer ever to be advertised in The Reading Mercury -
the Austens' local newspaper. Possibly James paid for this advertisement to please his little sister.”
I never knew that, but now that I do, I think that
is exactly what happened! It’s a really wonderful extra bit of supporting
evidence.
And third (and this is a point I strongly suspect
you already had in mind, Anielka, when you wrote your post), I now believe
that, somehow, some way, improbable as it
seems, JA, at age 13, could already know enough about the personality of
her chronological peer, Princess Sophia, the 12 year old daughter of King
George III, to consciously choose that particular Princess’s Christian name for
the pseudonymous author of the kind of light, bright and sparkling wit that exudes
from every sentence of the Sophia Sentiment letter.
This is so apt, because everything we know about the
real life Princess Sophia from her own writings suggests to me that she was
very much a kindred spirit of Jane Austen, a brilliant woman frustrated by her
constricted role in a large, psychologically complicated family, and in
particular under the thumb of a
domestically tyrannical mother.
And I
specifically suspect you of this sly intent, Anielka, because you have written
in the past about Princess Sophia, including quietly quoting the Princess’s
wittiest bon mot: ““Oh ye Gods, how deadly dull it is, and only think of our
going to the Master of Ceremonies’ ball and sitting in a circle there-I wished
myself a kangaroo.”
I
cannot help but be reminded of two of JA’s’s own bon mots:
First
this from JA’s 1813 letter: “If I am a wild beast I cannot help
it. It is not my own fault.”
And
second, the following speech by the witty Tom Bertram at a boring Mansfield
Park social function:
“…between
ourselves, [Mrs. Grant], poor woman, must want a lover as much as any one of
them. A desperate dull life hers must be with the doctor," making a sly
face as he spoke towards the chair of the latter, who proving, however, to be
close at his elbow, made so instantaneous a change of expression and subject
necessary, as Fanny, in spite of everything, could hardly help laughing at. "A
strange business this in America, Dr. Grant! What is your opinion? I always
come to you to know what I am to think of public matters."
I do
believe JA in this moment intended her readers to see Dr. & Mrs. Grant as parodic
representations of King George III & the Queen, not only in his hinting at
a lack of sexual intimacy in the latter stages of both marriages, but also
channeling the droll wit of Princess Sophia, and also pointing to war with
America, a wickedly satirical political barb to toss at the King who, through
his bungling misgovernment, lost the American colonies forever.
And
now I will quit while I’m ahead.
Cheers,
ARNIE
@JaneAustenCode
on Twitter
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