Cassandra would have been the first reader of all Jane Austen’s manuscripts, yet it was she who, out of prudence, recommended anonymity when the first novels were published. The younger sister always sought the favor of the older, always thinking of Cassandra’s entertainment and satisfaction. It is hard not to see Cassandra’s influence as infantilizing. Her sometimes cold critical comments about her sister’s books (Mansfield Park, in particular) may have been inhibiting. The relationship with Cassandra sustained Jane Austen, but perhaps also damaged her impulses and self-trust.

Eliza Hancock (later Eliza de Feuillide and still later Eliza Austen) was an important friend. Her wit and worldliness brought continental freshness to the Austen circle of friends. She was an enthusiastic reader of Jane Austen’s manuscripts and an encouraging presence, and it seems clear she preferred Jane to Cassandra.

Anne Lefroy may have lived the life of a conventional wife and mother, but her range of interests and her views were those of an independent consciousness. She had befriended the young Jane Austen eagerly after moving to the Steventon area, lending her books and taking the young girl’s writing seriously. The large difference in their ages was, curiously enough, not a barrier, and the friendship endured until Mrs. Lefroy’s death, which occurred on Jane Austen’s twenty-ninth birthday. The death was dramatic and shocking, a fall from a horse. Jane’s grief at the loss may have been stirred by an old spoon of resentment, for it was Mrs. Lefroy who was partly responsible for separating her from young Tom Lefroy many years earlier. The anniversary of Mrs. Lefroy’s death, occurring each year on Jane’s birthday, must have poisoned the day. Four years after the fatal accident, perhaps in an attempt to exorcise her mingled feelings, she wrote a rhapsodic poem in Anne Lefroy’s honor.

I see her here, with all her smiles benign
Her looks of eager love, her accents sweet;
That voice and countenance almost divine;
Expression, harmony, alike complete.

 

Listen: ’tis not sound alone—’tis sense,
’Tis genius, taste and tenderness of soul:
’Tis genuine warmth of heart without pretence,
And purity of mind that crowns the whole.

In her lifetime Jane Austen frequently declared her lack of respect for schoolteachers, but Anne Sharp, the governess to her nieces and nephews at Godmersham, was young, animated, and intelligent. The two women became friends, visiting and corresponding. “Dearest Anne,” Austen addressed her, sharing with her the details of her life and expressing gratitude to her for her acts of friendship. Austen had enough respect for Miss Sharp to solicit her opinion about her later novels, Mansfield Park and Emma. Mrs. Elton was “beyond praise,” Anne Sharp wrote, and this remark offers a comment on the sense of irony the two women shared: Mrs. Elton, as readers of Emma know, is undeserving of any praise at all, but Jane Austen’s drawing of the egregious Mrs. Elton is a great accomplishment.

The Lloyd sisters, Mary and Martha, were old friends from Steventon days. Mary eventually married James Austen, becoming his second wife. Jane and Mary were never to be good friends, despite their closeness in age. The ten years between Martha and the younger Jane, however, did not diminish their very long friendship, first as neighbors and later as correspondents.

Some years later, when old Mrs. Lloyd had died, the Austen trio invited Martha to join their household. She remained with them in the following years—in Bath, Southampton, and finally, Chawton. She was an unmarried woman, without close family, and must have seemed to Jane and Cassandra another sister. She was welcomed for the congenial company she provided and no doubt for the financial help she may have contributed. At the age of sixty-three she became Francis Austen’s second wife.