In "The Janeites," Kipling tells of a group of
soldiers who are also Masons. They have formed a shadow Masonic
lodge based on their deep admiration and extensive knowledge
of Jane Austen's novels, which are a source of consolation and
support as they undergo the horrors of World War I trench warfare.
Initiates of this shadow lodge recognize each other by references to her novels,
and admission to the Austen fellowship is gained by an examination
on them. Beneath the comic, ordinary surface of the narrative
lies the random brutality of the Great War; almost all the Janeites
are killed in action, and the surviving Janeite who tells the
story is damaged psychologically. Having learned about Austen
while at the front, he asserts, "There's no one to touch Jane
when you're in a tight place."
The Cult of Janeites, though not the name, has
its origins in the Memoir written by her nephew, James
Edward Austen-Leigh in 1870. He sentimentalized his aunt to
make her conform to Victorian values, which had become more
rigid and repressive by mid-century, so that she would not offend
Victorian sensibilities. Also in 1870, Trollope assured readers
that the novels were "full of excellent teaching, and free from
an idea or word that can pollute.... Throughout all her works,
and they are not many, a sweet lesson of homely household womanly
virtue is ever being taught." This domestic view of her was
extended in the same year by Richard Simpson, who described
her as "unconscious of artistic merits" and not minding being
interrupted as she wrote because her "powers were a secret to
herself." Because of this supposed modesty, she was grateful
and surprised to earn any money from her novels.
The softening of Austen's image can be seen literally.
Jane Austen's sister Cassandra had painted a miniature of her,
in which she looks rather severe. For his Memoir Austen-Leigh
commissioned a contemporary artist to redo Cassandra's portrait
so that Jane looks less intimidating.
Cassandra's Portrait
Touched-up Portrait
The sentimentalized view of the Victorians and
of the Janeites ignores the reality of Austen's novels, which
portray illegitimate children, adulteries, seductions, and various
cruelties. It also ignores her letters, in which she wanted
to know what friends and family thought of her novels and in
which she speculated about possible payment for her novels as
well as carefully tallied her actual earnings.
