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“‘FOR WHAT DO WE LIVE, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?’” asks Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice PP 364). 1 To what extent does this remark reflect Jane Austen’s own attitude toward her fellow creatures? In her novels she often seems amused by the foibles of her characters, yet in a small number of highly memorable passages in the letters, she makes comments about her own neighbors that are not simply entertainingly critical, but may be considered cruel and unfeeling. Does Jane Austen laugh at her neighbors? Despite Austen’s reputation as light, bright, and sparkling, she has been accused on more than one occasion of intolerance, insensitivity, and a general lack of charity. From D.H. Lawrence, who called her a “mean” “old maid,” to a friend of mine who once called her “a real bitch,” readers of Jane Austen have often been critical of the way she talks about people she doesn’t like, especially in her letters, but sometimes in the novels as well. For the most part, she is highly praised for her critical approach to social life, credited with clear-eyed social satire and sharply intelligent assessments of hypocrisy and injustice. However, there are a number of passages in her writing that inspire intense dislike on the part of her detractors and trouble even the most enthusiastic of her fans. Reading these problematic uncharitable passages in conjunction with two letter-reading scenes in Pride and Prejudice will help to illuminate Jane Austen’s complex understanding of the nature of the theological virtue of charity. It is difficult to be always truthful, and always charitable, but while reconciling these virtues may be rare, Austen suggests that it is worth trying to find that balance.
Most of the uncharitable passages in Austen’s letters are relatively mild criticisms of the people she meets in the course of social life. After attending a ball, she writes that “There were very few Beauties, & such as there were, were not very handsome. Miss Iremonger did not look well, & Mrs Blount was the only one much admired. She appeared exactly as she did in September, with the same broad face, diamond bandeau, white shoes, pink husband, & fat neck” (20 November 1800)....