The winter of 1775 was cold and bitter.
On Nov. 11, naturalist Gilbert White saw that trees in the village of Sylborn, Hampshire, had almost run out of leaves. He wrote in his diary: "The trees began to become bare. Fifteen miles away, on a high hill, in the village of Steventon, in the sound of the last leaves falling, the parish priest's wife looked forward to the birth of her seventh child every day.
The above excerpt is from the beginning of the biography of Jane Austen by British biographer Claire Tomalin – the seventh child is Jane Austen.
Born in the 18th century, Jane Austen, once hailed as a great female writer who "can sit on an equal footing with Shakespeare", was worshipped and remembered by many fans after her death.
Driven by the atmosphere, many people have developed a way to understand, remember, and spread her ideas by writing her biography, and various works named after Jane Austen have sprung up.
Some in the form of books, but also in the form of light and shadow, such as the film "Becoming Jane Austen" starring Anne Hathaway.
Among many of his works, Thomas lin's biography of Jane Austen is very popular, and many well-known media have highly praised it.
Lucy Hughes-Harrett said in the Sunday Times that Tomarin's portrayal of Jane Austen with great emotional intensity made her more vivid than ever.
Philip Hensher said in the Sunday Post: "I don't think there will be a better biography of Jane Austen than Tomarin for many years to come."
Harper and the Queen reads: Of all Austen biographies, this is the best...
The Philadelphia Inquiry also left a comment: this is one of the few biographies that can be recognized by the protagonist.
……
Is there anything exclusive about Tomarin?
Tomarin's expression in the text makes it convinced that she is not, and even Tomarin, like most writers who write about Austen, is chafed at the burning of Jane's large number of letters by Jane's sister Cassandra and niece.
In fact, in the absence of these letters, which best reveal one's life experience and psychological journey, no one can get a full picture of the great writer's clear face.
But Tomarin is different, she uses a novel-like artistic approach (the "Women's Book Review" is as fascinating as a novel) and emotionally brought in, so that the reader is like seeing Jian Ru in a beautiful picture scroll, "the so-called Yi people, on the water side".
But it doesn't lose its sense of reality, because all the people and things she talks about have really existed (the author attaches a lot of documentary evidence).
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="26" > to get to know her in a roundabout way</h1>
How circuitous is Tomarin's way?
In addition to writing about Jane's closest relatives (parents and siblings), she also spends a lot of time writing about characters that she can barely reach, trying to deduce her image from causality.
For example, her great-grandmother.
Compared with her noble mother (a descendant of the Mayor of London), Jane's father, George Austen, came from a slightly poor background and earned little from a profession (pastor), but he was well educated, graduated from Oxford University, and was awarded a scholarship for his excellent studies.
His father's profound knowledge was not unrelated to Jane's great-grandmother, whom Jane had never met.
Jane's great-grandmother was originally born into a solid family, but the family fell into the middle of the road, and encountered some people's calculations, and after the death of her husband, she had a hard time with a basket of children.
But this great mother, who put aside the arrogance of Miss Qianjin, went to apply for a nanny-like job at a school in exchange for free learning opportunities for her children.
Tomarin praised her for her ambitions — women don't always have long hair and short sights, and the traditional housewife knows that only education can create a better future.
Under such a sense of consciousness and inheritance, there are almost no people in the Austin family who do not love to learn, whether boys or girls, whether parents or children, everyone is knowledgeable and versatile.
Mom and big brother can write a good poem, sister is a magic hand Danqing, Jane can write novels and play the piano, each child has their own strengths...
Jane's father, though not soaring, was always passionate about learning—and we can get a glimpse of that from his vast library.
This library is also the factory that shaped Jane Austen – exclusively manufactured, the only one.
Jane has been reading many books in the library for many years, and the thoughts of some famous artists have faintly flickered between the lines of her works.
If Tomarin wrote about the curiosity of her relatives near and far in order to build the possible causes of the success of a great writer, then the scope and preferences of her friendships were written in order to pursue the fruits of her growth?
The author mentioned in the article that jane's close people evaluated her, and most of them were not in the expectations of fans.
To sum up, it is probably the language is harsh, cold and ordinary.
There are still similarities in her novels, and perhaps the author hints at this possibility.
Jane has 5 older brothers and 1 younger brother, and neither the sister-in-law nor the younger sister-in-law has a close relationship with her, especially mentioning the three sisters-in-law of the rich family, who are often different from each other.
Also the daughter of Austen, Jane's sister Cassandra contrasts sharply, and the latter is quite popular and praised.
This difference is directly reflected in the fact that every time the sister-in-law gives birth to a child, Cassandra helps to take care of the food, or in the big manor of the third brother Edward (as luxurious as the Darcy family in "Pride and Prejudice"), it is difficult to see Jane's figure before the third sister-in-law dies.
Of all the siblings, Jane had the best relationship with her sister Cassandra, her brother Henry, and his wife, who was able to push her heart and rely on each other.
Among the relatives who came and went, Jane loved her cousin Eliza alone, admired her exotic style, and in return, Eliza also sincerely appreciated and encouraged Jane's creation.
Jane's heart is lonely, calm and clear, and at the same time she sees life very clearly.
She may not be used to being polite and more loyal to her feelings.
She can make the characters of the novel come to life, in fact, it is this kind of calm beyond the ordinary observation, while at the same time rubbing her own thoughts and feelings into it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > understand her with motherly tenderness</h1>
When the author writes about some of Jane's unfortunate experiences, he exudes a tone of compassion between the lines, just like a motherly tenderness.
Jane was sent to a nearby farmer's house to raise her as a baby (Tomarin says that families like Austin operated because of the large number of children at that time), and did not return until she was about 2 years old.
By school age, she was sent to private schools that might not be in good condition — to make room for the boys.
The specific appearance of these schools is not described in detail, and no one in Austin's house has recorded them.
But one thing is certain, and that is that Jane almost died in a private school during the epidemic outbreak.
The author also repeatedly mentions that Jane likes to satirize tutors, speculating that she has been treated less friendly by some teachers at private schools.
However, among Jane's few friends, there is a tutor named Anne Sharp (niece's tutor).
It can also be seen that what Jane does not like is not the home teacher herself, but the experience that makes her miserable and inescapable.
Leaving aside her status as a tutor, Sharp was a new-age woman with insight, ability, and the courage to pursue her dreams (later opened a more formal school), which May be what Jane aspired to.
This is also the reason why Jane can go beyond the tiredness of the memories of her childhood private school life and like Sharp.
In addition to Sharp, the author also displays other information about Jane's unusual traditional woman, such as the fact that she may be a reader of Mary Wollstonecraft.
In the traditional eyes of the time, Mary Wollstonecraft was an outlandish woman who wrote something that was not accepted by the people of the time.
Maybe Jane had envied and imagined a free life, or had been somewhat affected.
It is mentioned that three years after Jane fell out of love (in love with Tom Lefroy and was beaten by her parents because the two parties had no property), she was proposed by a young man with a property, she initially agreed, but repented after a night.
Tomarin said that when Jane agreed, she thought that her future life would finally not have to be lost, and her sister who was in the same situation as her would have a place to live.
After repenting, what comes to mind?
Tomarin does not give conjecture, but in later chapters guides the reader to Jane's work.
Jane can focus on writing six good works that are praised by the world ("Northangjue Temple", "Pride and Prejudice", "Reason and Emotion", "Persuasion", "Emma", "Mansfield Manor"), and can add some qualities beyond traditional women to the role, such as Anne's calmness and strength in "Persuasion", Elizabeth's perseverance in "Pride and Prejudice", and so on.
Seeing the sisters-in-law who are stuck in marriages from childbirth to death (two sisters-in-law died in childbirth after giving birth to a basket of children), or seeing that she has to marry a loveless woman for the sake of property, Jane may not want to go with the flow.
But in the face of life's difficulties and constraints (before the age of 35, she did not receive a penny of manuscript fees, basically relying on people for relief), she was briefly confused and shaken about her persistence.
Tomarin understands both Jane's helplessness and believes in her backbone.
When the Austens left their hometown and moved to Bath with their daughter without consulting Jane, Tomarin wrote explicitly: Jane was like being abandoned by her family again (because she had not been able to marry as scheduled at the age of marriage).
Maybe she already felt it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="103" > conclusion</h1>
Jane died in the arms of her dear sister at the age of 41.
Her and her sister's place in each other's minds is irreplaceable.
However, Jane's inheritance was not left to her sister, but was divided into two parts, one for Brother Henry (because he was bankrupt and in debt) and one for Brother Henry's former old servant.
The side reveals Jane's compassionate heart that cares for the weak, and also shows that the author does not take the "mean" evaluation made by others about Jane.
In the later chapters, the author recounts the burning of a large number of letters after Jane's death, which shows that the regret in his heart is extraordinary.
Without these letters, Jane's true appearance is not clear after all, and no matter how hard future generations try to spy, they are like foggy eyes.
But what does it matter?
Just as Walstonecraft's husband, William Gurdhan, wrote her biography unreservedly in memory of his wife, the woman suffered a very unsightly posthumous name for quite some time after her death.
After all, every layman has something that others don't like, Jane has no obligation to let the world know too much about herself, and Cassandra has an obligation to protect her sister's privacy to the greatest extent.
Of course, this did not stop Tomarin, and the biography was finally drafted.
Those hidden secrets let it turn into smoke and rain, and Jane Austen, like a beauty standing in the rain, can't see her face clearly, and the artists go through to outline her shadow, which is also beautiful.