Fans of Jane Austen, those who read her stories and those who write stories in homage to her canon, are all students of human nature because it is the focus of her writings. Yes, they are love stories, but they are also an examination of relationships within the family and society at large that drive the narrative and captivate our interest.
In March of 2024 I published a blog post “Jane Austen Understands Social Anxiety” which attracted hundreds of readers and stimulated some lively discussions on Facebook. A few people took umbrage with my including Mr. Darcy in the list of characters who suffered from social anxiety. They considered him to be wealthy, arrogant, proud, and aloof by nature and gave no credence to the possibility that he potentially suffered from social anxiety despite the examples I cited in my post. My purpose here is not to relitigate my position but to share my journey as a writer and the experience of creating characters that reveal themselves in the process of conjuring them. Jane Austen said of Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”
In March of 2023 I published my first novel, The Matchmaker of Pemberley, which combined characters from all six Austen novels who meet in Bath. Lizzie and Darcy are the focal point of the plot where three marriages and an engagement take place and characters retell their stories from their point of view to new acquaintances. Colonel Fitzwilliam makes an appearance as do Persuasion’s Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple and her daughter, the Honorable Miss Carteret of whom Jane wrote: “There was no superiority of manner, accomplishment, or understanding. Lady Dalrymple had acquired the name of ‘a charming woman’ because she had a smile and a civil answer for ever body. Miss Carteret, with still less to say, was so plain and so awkward, that she would never have been tolerated in Camden-place but for her birth.”
Was Miss Carteret just another version of Anne De Bourgh, the victim of an overbearing mother and a poor constitution? Quiet, plain, and awkward could certainly qualify her as a character who might suffer from social anxiety, but could there be other influences? What if she was an intelligent woman with a brilliant mind who was confined by the rules of polite society to endure the daily platitudes of conversations and events that were so excruciatingly boring, she chose to avoid engagement by projecting reserve and aloofness? The social constraints imposed by society on gifted women in those times would have been onerous, hence, the Honorable Miss Carteret became a protagonist who called out to have her story told. This was the woman to whom Colonel Fitzwilliam introduced himself in The Matchmaker of Pemberley.
After I concluded writing Pemberley to Dublin, A Matchmaker’s Journey, which tells the story of the colonel’s pursuit of Miss Carteret, I realized that I had conjured a female version of Mr. Darcy; she was wealthy, arrogant, proud, and aloof. She had to come to terms with the barriers she had faced from childhood and the defenses required to protect her values and integrity, until finally recognizing her own behavior masked fears and anxieties that kept her trapped in a prison of her own creation.
Both characters suffered from social anxiety and were saved by their opposites, people who were self-confident and socially at ease. Darcy was drawn to Lizzie’s sparkling wit, her impertinence and out-spoken opinions, her distain for those who put on airs. She saw herself as an equal to Darcy in birthright if not in wealth. She never tried to ingratiate herself to those of higher social standing or sacrifice her independence for anyone she did not respect.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was very similar to Lizzie which is why they were attracted to each other when they first met at Rosings: “he was beyond comparison the pleasantest man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in life was most eligible.” Had he been the first son of an earl rather than a second son, Darcy would have had real competition on his hands. Like Lizzie, Colonel Fitzwilliam was socially at ease, self-confident, and full of good humor which made him perfect for an intelligent, aloof woman who was determined to never marry because she refused to become the possession of a husband, the fate of married women at that time.
Jane Austen reveals one aspect of human nature universally acknowledged, that opposites attract. People who suffer from social anxiety often benefit from finding partners who provide a balance to their introverted ways. Whether being introverted was intrinsic to their nature or was the result of nurturing, they benefit from someone with softer social skills, self-confidence instead of self-consciousness, at ease instead of anxious in social settings.
They can fall prone to avoidance and use aloofness as a tool which can be perceived by others as arrogance, but it also inhibits their ability to develop social skills. “I certainly have not talent which some people possess,’ said Darcy, ‘of conversing easily with those I have never seen before, I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.” The right partner can help mitigate these traits and enrich the lives of both parties.
In the case of Miss Carteret, she was the recipient of nurturing by her father because of her unique intellectual gifts, and distain from her mother for her plain appearance, lack of social graces, and the fact that she valued scholarship over the rules imposed by society. Like Emma, she was wealthy and had no need to marry.
My goal as a writer is to adhere to the character development Jane Austen established and build on that foundation with new characters whose demeanor and behavior, I hope would please her, fit within the values she espoused, and stay true to the conditions in which she lived.
Jane Austen speaks to the plight of women to this day in terms of the constraints and expectations placed on them during her lifetime. They were not allowed to participate in higher education or learn a trade which made them entirely dependent on the men in their families. They were pressured to marry so as not to be a burden on the family.
Considering the hard-won rights of women in our own time, Miss Carteret’s stance in Jane Austen’s time is understandable; she did not want to lose her autonomy. Jane herself declined marriage proposals for similar reasons. When I was a young adult, a woman was not allowed to have a credit card in her name, open a bank account, or apply for a loan without the signature of a husband.
I invite you to meet the Honorable Miss Carteret whom Colonel Fitzwilliam pursues in Pemberley to Dublin, A Matchmaker’s Journey. I wonder if you will agree that she rightfully belongs on the list of characters who suffer from social anxiety alongside Mr. Darcy, Edward Ferrars, and others I included in my blog post from last March. I hope you will enjoy this story of the power of love to transform lives and bring true happiness.
Visit www.catherinehemingway.com to:
-Pre-order Pemberley to Dublin, A Matchmaker’s Journey (available Nov. 15)
-Order The Matchmaker of Pemberley, An Amorous Sequel to All Jane Austen’s Novels for $0.99
-Download the first three chapters of both novels for free
-Read my blog posts
If you would like to preview and review my new novel prior to launch, email me at www.info.catherinehemingway.com
(Pastel portrait by Catherine Hemingway)
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