Biographing Jane Austen

Sentimental, Revisionist, and Commercial Narratives

Abstract

Jane Austen’s popularity is undeniable and continues to be driven by the sale of various cultural products linked to her image, such as deluxe editions of her major works and film adaptations of her books. In this direction, there are biographies of the author that rescue her memory and nurture the curiosity of her readers. Conventional biographies, which focus on her life and work, and unconventional biographies, which intertwine Jane Austen with diverse interests such as gardening and fashion, stand out. For this research, three lines of biographical tradition were identified: one of a sentimental or familial nature, linked to the memories of family and close interlocutors, which rescue her history and seek to preserve a domestic image, neutralizing important aspects of her personality; a second approach, of a more revisionist nature, contextualizes Jane Austen as a historical subject marked by experiences, highlighting her interest in writing; the third approach, marked by a logic of branding and self-exaltation, typical of a neoliberal capitalist society, approaches the contemporary public by using broader historical and cultural frameworks that nuance the author, while also opening space for speculation about her life. This research sought to understand the author’s popularity, viewing Jane Austen as a cultural product for consumption. The investigation draws on theories of biographical writing and women’s writing (Wagner-Martin, 1994; Gilbert; Gubar, 2007; Heilbrun, 2008; Showalter, 2009; Smith; Watson, 2010), as well as a more contemporary perspective on gender and feminist literary criticism.