JANE AUSTEN 



The most obvious characteristic of EngUsh 

 country Hfe as described by Jane Austen, is a 

 quietness such as even the elder generation now 

 living have not experienced. A quietness which 

 many would call dull and some few peaceful. It 

 is, indeed, hard to believe that life was once so 

 placid, so stay-at-home, so domestic, so devoid, 

 not merely of excitement, but of any change 

 whatever. 



The hfe of Emma Woodhouse (to take a single 

 mstance) has all the characteristics of this deep 

 repose. At Hartfield there was certainly no 

 changing "from the blue chamber to the green," 

 a revolution which would have madeMr. Woodhouse 

 seriously unwell. 



Emma never seems to leave home, she had not 

 seen the sea, nor indeed had she (before a memor- 

 able occasion) explored Box Hill, a few miles 

 away, although her father kept a carriage and a 

 pair of horses. Nor is there any evidence of her 

 going to London, a distance of sixteen miles. She 

 did not engage in good works ; there were no 

 committees or meetings except those held at the 

 'Crown' at which Mr. Knightly and Mrs. Elton's 

 cara sposo were the leaders, and where no ladies 

 were admitted. 



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