Tom Lefroy Quote Week 14

We will visit the Lefroy family for our Christmas quote. This is from Chapter 12 of the Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy:

The habit of keeping the Easter and Christmas festivals, as seasons of family re-union, was invariably observed in our Home circle, and wherever the scattered members might be, as Easter or Christmas drew near, no pleasure had sufficient attraction for any of them, and no inconvenience was a sufficient hindrance, to prevent the family-gatherings that used to render these seasons the opportunities for a happy interchange of thought and affection, which seemed equally valued by all.


There is one other instance where "Christmas" plays a part in the Lefroy family. Our dear Tom married Mary Paul whose Grandfather was named "Christmas Paul". I thought that most unusual, since I have never heard of anyone naming their child "Christmas". But to top that off, Tom and Mary named their daughter "Jane Christmas Lefroy". I am of the mind that the name "Jane" was for the Mother of Mary Paul Lefroy and not our Jane Austen, as some may believe.

So, we of Becoming Jane Fansite wish the Christmas season pleasure enjoyed by the Lefroy family to you and yours this holiday season.

Blessings,
Linda the Librarian

Pic: Christmas tree

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 177

Last Friday, 16 December, was Jane Austen’s 236^th birthday. To commemorate the birthday of our ‘girl’, I have chosen a quote she wrote to sister Cassandra on Wednesday 11 January 1809 from Castle Square. The quote was taken from Le Faye’s ‘Jane Austen’s Letters’, p. 165.

The Manydown Ball was a smaller thing than I expected, but it seemed to have made Anna very happy. At her age it would not have done for me.-

Jane was 34 when she wrote this letter. Anna Austen, being born in 1793, was 16. For our modern age, being 34 years old is definitely not old enough. However, for those days 34 years old was definitely seen as a very mature age. But just from the way Jane wrote her letters, I perceive no decline of her spirit at all. She might have danced slower and attended fewer balls, but that does not equate to being spiritless. I can hardly imagine how lively she was when she was at Anna’s age (16 years old), but I guess she must have carried on whatever spirit she had at that age into her twenties (when she met Tom Lefroy), her thirties (when she started to produce her famous novels) and even to the last day of her life.

So here’s a toast to Jane Austen. A fine lady who had made us captivated – until today – by her spirit and wit.

Pic: "Sisters Dancing"; Engraving by Marino or Mariano Bovi (Bova) (1758-1813)

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 176

Since the Christmas season is upon us, I began my search for a Christmas quote and found a lovely surprise. This week I will consider Christmas in general, because I will make a specific Christmas quote on the 24th.

I have a Pemberley friend, Julie Wakefield, who used to manage the Life and Times board at Pemberley. I had the good fortune to meet her at the Annual Meeting of Pemberley in 2003 at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She now maintains a web site/blog which continues her interest in Jane's "Life and Times". The surprise I found is her section on "Jane Austen and Christmas"!

Here is a link to that page which has many links worth your perusal on the subject. CLICK HERE

Go to her home page for links to all the other subjects she writes about - it is a treasure indeed! Happy Reading!

Linda the Librarian

Pic: Plum pudding- Jane Austen centre

Jane Austen Quote of the Week - Week 175

This quote is taken from near the beginning of chapter 48 of Emma.
Emma is discussing her feelings about Mr Knightley, and his possible feelings for Harriet.

"Wish it she must, for his sake—be the consequence nothing to herself, but his remaining single all his life. Could she be secure of that, indeed, of his never marrying at all, she believed she should be perfectly satisfied.—Let him but continue the same Mr. Knightley to her and her father, the same Mr. Knightley to all the world; let Donwell and Hartfield lose none of their precious intercourse of friendship and confidence, and her peace would be fully secured.—Marriage, in fact, would not do for her. It would be incompatible with what she owed to her father, and with what she felt for him. Nothing should separate her from her father. She would not marry, even if she were asked by Mr. Knightley.
It must be her ardent wish that Harriet might be disappointed; and she hoped, that when able to see them together again, she might at least be able to ascertain what the chances for it were.—She should see them henceforward with the closest observance; and wretchedly as she had hitherto misunderstood even those she was watching, she did not know how to admit that she could be blinded here."


Last night I was out with friends and we were talking in depth about relationships between fathers and their daughters. This quote leaped out at me and tells us something about the connection between Emma and her father.

I also understand found this quote resonated with me as I have definitely experienced not being able to dedicate myself fully to someone but at the same time not wanting anything to change or anyone else to have them. As selfish as that sounds, and it is, emotions sure can be complicated.


Pic: Simple Delights blog