tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436417288060370638.post2300021535371223705..comments2024-01-29T03:20:32.291-05:00Comments on ...... SHARP ELVES SOCIETY ...... Jane Austen's Shadow Stories: Jane Austen's 1808 Birthday Elegy to Madam Lefroy: Shining a Light on James Edward Austen Leigh's Concealments in his 1870 Memoir of Jane AustenArnie Perlsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720424361279466002noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436417288060370638.post-20099537155172797322012-01-25T12:44:28.765-05:002012-01-25T12:44:28.765-05:00Today, Christy Somer wrote in Janeites & Auste...Today, Christy Somer wrote in Janeites & Austen L: "David Nokes’ bio reminds me of JA’s poem to Mrs. Lefroy written between letter’s 62 & 63, so here it is. This is taken family poetry: To the Memory of Mrs. Lefroy who died Dec:r 16 -my Birthday- written 1808"<br /><br />Christy, thanks for reminding us of that chronology. Your comment made me think about that poem as the "meat" inside the sandwich provided by Letters 62 & 63.<br /><br />You of course recall that I have previously expressed my opinion about that poem as a covert satire of Madam Lefroy here....<br /><br />http://sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com/2011/12/jane-austens-1808-birthday-elegy-to.html<br /><br />...which contains links back to earlier more extensive posts of mine on this topic.<br /><br />In reflecting on that elegy in relation to these letters, what is involved in both is that this was a huge turning point in JA's life, that began abruptly in October 1808 when Elizabeth Austen Knight died and the plan to move to Chawton Cottage miraculously came into being. This was a time, I think, when JA really began to feel empowered as an author, as she could foresee living in a home environment in which she could take control of her creative life and get published.<br /><br />So the satirical poem to Madam Lefroy was, I think, part of getting closure on her life up to that moment, moving on from the past--both the Steventon era now 7 years removed for JA, and also the wandering in the desert in Bath and Southampton---and looking with enormous energy and eagerness toward the future. I feel that same surge of energy all over these last letters written from Southampton. There is no mourning, no regrets, only eager anticipation of a bright future.Arnie Perlsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720424361279466002noreply@blogger.com