What better way to start the year than to focus on one of Jane Austen’s most beloved characters? Join Austen Variations as we spend January looking into the lovely Jane Bennet.
I dread trying to compete with Leslie Diamond’s tale from yesterday, but here we go…Back to Regency Era London with Miss Jane Bennet!
Dear Diary:
January 10: We arrived in London early this afternoon and my dear aunt and uncle are happy to be home and comfortable after the busy time in Hertfordshire for the holidays. I wish Lizzie was here with me to enjoy London, but I know how much trouble she went through to arrange this visit for me; convincing Mama that she can do without me for a few weeks and trying to keep her from going into transports over the idea that I will be in the same city as Mr. Bingley and his sisters. I confess that I hope to see Caroline but I doubt that I shall see Mr. Bingley as we will be moving in quite different social circles. However, she will tell him if I see her and he will know where to find me should he choose to do so. Caroline’s letter after the Netherfield ball gave me to fear that Mr. Bingley does not care for me as I would have liked him to. So kind, so comfortable to be with! I must finish this and go down to help ready the children for their dinner!
January 11: I attended church with my aunt and uncle and all the dear children! They are so good, in spite of a very long sermon on trusting God, who will see to all our needs. I do trust and love him and I pray that it is his will that Mr. Bingley will learn to care for me as much as I care for him. But I must not repine. Lizzie is sure that Miss Bingley would try to separate us if she could, but I cannot think that she would be so duplicitous!! Why would she go out of her way to befriend me if she is afraid her brother would marry me? I admit that she did not reply to my letter telling her that I was coming to the City, but perhaps the letter was lost, or they could have gone to Pemberley for Christmas and the letter may be following them to Derbyshire and back to London. We shall see.
January 13: Had a pleasant day with my aunt yesterday as we went into the City and did a little shopping . My dear little cousins are growing so quickly that they constantly need new clothing and we spent the evening cutting out gowns for the little girls and new shirts for the boys. The sewing will keep up busy this week, but I hope they will have lovely new clothes for church next Sunday! We dine at the Kellings tonight. I have not met these friends of my uncle’s before, but he speaks very well of them. Mr Kelling has several ships which are kept busy importing silks from India and ivory from South Africa. I am looking forward to an evening out and I’m sure we will have a pleasant time.
January 14: I very much enjoyed the dinner last night and Mr. and Mrs. Kelling are very pleasant. Mrs. Kelling is the daughter of a Colonel who served in India during her entire childhood. Mr. Kelling met her at a ball given at the post and they married within a month! Mr. Kelling is a forthright man, not refined in his manner, but very kind and with many interesting stories about his travels before their marriage. I am certain that they never lack for conversation! I hope we will see them again soon.
January 15: We spent the evening at home tonight and had a quiet family dinner, then my aunt and I continued our sewing. A very pleasant and quiet time and I played games with the children before their bedtime. No answer to my letter to Caroline.
January 17: We continue very quiet here and are almost finished with the clothes for my dear nieces and nephews. They will look very smart for church on Sunday. Still no word from Caroline and I have not heard from Lizzie that they have returned to Netherfield, and I know she would write me instantly if they returned.
January 20: Dinner with the Hartnetts. They are old friends of my aunt and uncle (I believe he is a distant relative of my dear aunt) and I know them well. We can be sure of a fine dinner and comfortable conversation.
February 1: Still no word from Caroline. I cannot imagine what has happened to keep her from answering! Surely nothing has happened to her or her sister or brother!
February 10: I have not been sleeping well in the past few days over worrying about the Bingleys. I hope that they are well. My aunt and I are going into town in the morning and I am determined to stop at the Hursts’ to see how they are doing, and, I admit, to make sure all are well. I cannot think that they would have ignored my letter if all was well.
February 11: I stopped at the Hursts’ as I planned and was happy to find that Mrs. Hurst and Caroline are both well, although we did not get to speak long as they were on their way out to the shops when we arrived. Caroline will visit Cheapside very soon and we will have time for a good chat then. Mr. Bingley is staying with Mr. Darcy and his sister and Caroline says that they rarely see them as they have so many engagements.
February 18: We go on quietly, as usual here. My aunt and uncle are so kind to me!! They took me to the opera last night and enjoyed it enormously! I saw Mr. Darcy across the way with Mr. Bingley and a young lady, whom I assume is Mr. Darcy’s sister. They did not see us and i did not see them in the lobby during the interval. Perhaps they had refreshments brought to their box to avoid the crowds, which are tremendous. I am sure I will hear from Caroline very soon.
February 28: Caroline finally visited me at my uncle’s house. She seemed very different than when I saw her at Mrs. Hursts’ home- she was very nervous, twisting and playing with her gloves the entire time. She drank her tea very quickly and immediately jumped up and apologized, saying she had an important errand that she had forgotten. She left as soon as her pelisse was brought and barely spoke a kind word before she left. She most definitely did not indicate that we should see her again. I can only think that she is trying to let me down kindly but wants me to know that her brother has no interest in seeing me again. I cannot think of another interpretation for her actions, and I’m sorry if she feels that I am a threat to her brother’s peace of mind. It is clear that Lizzie was right. I don’t know why Miss Bingley went out of her way to gain my friendship in Hertfordshire, but she clearly does not want to continue it in London. I am resigned and disappointed that she would feel that we could not be friends even if Mr. Bingley does not want to see me. I must just continue my visit with my aunt and uncle and I’m determined to enjoy the time I have with them. I wish, however, that I could go home before Easter. I would be happier at Longbourn, even without Lizzie, as she will soon be visiting Charlotte and Mr. Collins at Hunsford and will then stop in London on her way home and we will finish the last part of the trip together. It will be lovely to be home. (a few water spots have blurred these last words)
Advise Jane on how to recover from her disappointment with Bingley…
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Poor Jane. She needs to stop trusting and believing everyone’s “good intentions”. How she managed to hear Caroline’s treatment of her sister while at Netherfield, is beyond belief. Poor thing keeps making excuses for her letters not reaching the Hursts’ home in London shows how clueless she is. One letter maybe, more than one not likely. Her visit to Louisa and Caroline should have helped her see without blinders, but it took Caroline’s visit to Gracechurch Street to finally open her eyes. If she had just listened to Lizzy, this heartache would have been over months ago.
I really feel for Jane, who is trying desperately to find excuses for the Bingley’s behavior. All of them are guilty of betraying her trusting nature, but you depict Jane’s embarrassment and uncertainty so well! Thank you for this insight, C. Allyn!
Thank you for these lovely diary entries of Jane. They give us a glimpse into what she was thinking after the Bingley’s left. I do think that she was trying so hard to convince herself and didn’t want to admit the truth until the visit to Cheapside from Caroline. My advice would be to get angry and tell herself that no one should treat her so rudely or so meanly…at both Caroline and Bingley. This would have been such a blow to her confidence and self-esteem that anger, even a mild case of it, might have helped to alleviate some of the heartache. But Jane being as sweet and lovely as she is, could not think meanly of Bingley. Only time is going to help.
Jane is too trusting and Lizzy has told her to sit up and smell the coffee and she refuses to listen. Jane, it is one thing to think nicely of people, but when they treat you unkindly, don’t you think that would make you think? Jane is an ‘enabler’ to use a modern term and if she and Bingly do not have a stern, (but kind) nanny for their children, those kiddo’s will turn out to be as wild as March hares! Although I have always wondered about that term!
Author
March Hares: during the mating season (March) male European hares are are reputed to run and jump around like crazy trying to find mates. They run, jump, box with other male hares, etc. There is some question about whether this is something hares really do, and their mating season can stretch out to other months, but the expression (which was Mad as a March Hare originally) has been around in English since about 1500. Lewis Carroll used this expression to create the March Hare who was at the tea party in Alice in Wonderland. (He also had the Mad Hatter, which is another English expression and refers to the results of hat makers using Mercury salts when making felt for hats. Mercury salts are extremely toxic and cause brain damage and bizarre behavior).
From Wikipedia (for those who are curious as the term “wild as a March hare”)
A long-held view is that the hare will behave strangely and excitedly throughout its breeding season, which in Europe is the month of March (but which in fact extends over several months beyond March). This odd behaviour includes boxing at other hares, jumping vertically for seemingly no reason and generally displaying abnormal behaviour.
Here in West Texas, we just have jack-rabbits which curiously enough look like a European hare.
Author
Jackrabbits are actually hares, Hollis. Mark Twain described them as “jackass rabbits” because of their large, donkey-like ears.
Poor Jane!! She is too kind and trusting at times (well, all the time!), and I’m sure that it was a bit of a wake-up call for her to experience Caroline’s poor treatment.
At least we know that there is happiness with Bingley in her future!! 😀
Thank you for a lovely diary entry; I enjoyed getting to know Jane a little better! 😉
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
If only Jane had listened to Elizabeth she would have saved herself from wondering why Caroline hadn’t replied to her letters and known her for the manipulative person she was. Luckily we know that it all comes right in the end 😃
Jane is such a lovely character, that she deserves a loving husband…whether it’s Bingley or someone else. Caroline on the other hand…she is such a mean-spirited person that I feel sorry (to an extent) for any person who marries her. Is 20,000 pounds worth it to marry such a woman? Actually, I would love to see Caroline remain a spinster.
Oh, Jane, how sad! She really wants to believe the best in all people, even to the extent of finding an excuse for their rude behavior. Caroline is such a Regency ‘mean girl’ who could have told Jane nicely that Charles was not interested in her, but decided that humiliation and rudeness were better methods. Even after that behavior, Jane still tries to see the best in Caroline (thinking that Caroline was “trying to let me down kindly”). Thank you for this insight into Jane’s thoughts.
I liked these entries and would like to see Jane have more backbone. Reading her diary entries when she meets Bingley again and what she really thinks about Wickham would be nice. I do wish she had drawn Bingley’s attention at the theater, but I know you were staying true to the storyline.
Unfortunately, if Caroline was a spinster wouldn’t she live with Jane and Bingley? Even though, Jane could possibly give her an introduction on how Caroline should treat her and her family members. Drop a few hints as to why she may still be a spinster and how her brother Darcy so loves her sister, Elizabeth.
Just a few thoughts.
Author
Good idea, Patty! I’ll have to work on these ideas!
Jane dear, now that you wee what Caroline is truly about, perhaps you might ask your Aunt Gardiner to send a note to Miss Bingley, thanking her for her call. You might write on as well. Perhaps your uncle might write to Mr Bingley in behalf of your father, with some bit of business regarding Netherfield and inviting him to communicate with him in Gracechurch street since that is where you are and your frequent correspondence with Longbourn would be certain to gain him the most up-to-date information about conditions on his leased estate. I feel sure that this plan, or something in a similar vein, will make him aware of your presence in London and then we shall see what he does next. I know it is a step you might not have taken in the past, given your concerns for propriety and wishes not to impose yourself upon his notice. But dear girl, I know that you suffer, and i believe with all of my heart that he suffers equally. The only way toward your future happiness is a meeting between you two; and the only way to ensure that such a meeting occurs is to make him aware of your proximity. AND the only way to do that is for you to show enough of your heart’s desire for him to understand. Come, my dear, if you cannot act for your own benefit, do so in order to relieve Mr Bingley of his pain, I know you can do that!
Author
Lovely! I hope Jane listens to your advice! 🙂
The poison sisters could not have stabbed a more kind and innocent angel than Jane. I would not know how to console her but would try distraction with projects and visits and letters to be written or passages from books to be shared.
And I agree that Jane and Bingley must wake up before they have children. Certain behaviors cannot be tolerated.
Oh, Jane. She sees good in people even when it’s not there. It is a shame that she did not see the duplicitousness in Caroline. It would be great if she could confront Charles, but at that time,,, She should try meeting available gentlemen her uncle knows.and distract herself.