41 - As Jane Austen Saw the Clergy

As Jane Austen Saw the Clergy
By Raymond A. Cook

IT has often been said that if one would recapture the spirit of an age, he must go not to its chronicles, but to its songs, poems, and stories. Certainly is the statement nowhere truer than in the novels of Jane Austen. Although she did not die until the second decade of the nineteenth century, her works are strongly eighteenth century in tone. To study the seven clergymen in the five principal novels of Miss Austen is to understand much of the attitude toward Christianity in eighteenth century England.

At hardly any other period in English history was the clergy held in lower esteem. The eighteenth century mind in general looked upon clergymen as hardly more than parasites upon society. Enthusiasm for religion and for the salvation of souls was at its lowest ebb, and the apathy of the clergy was strongly scored by such outstanding literary figures of the period as William Cowper, Oliver Goldsmith, and Henry Fielding. Two other writers, Jonathan Swift and Laurence Sterne, are fairly representative of a type of educated clergymen who did not let their spiritual lives interfere very seriously with their secular ones.

I

The condition of the churches of the period reflects the general disinterest of the people and the careless attitude of the clergy. Rarely opened during the week, the churches, with their sagging pews, moth-eaten curtains, and bone-chilling mouldiness, stood as symbols of the disrespect into which the Christian religion had fallen. The expression "poor as a church mouse" must surely have found its greatest application in the eighteenth century, for there was little more than dust and aging timbers to be eaten. Sermons were dull and had little to do with the Christian life. Debates on doctrine occupied the average preacher, who was anxious to read his sermon hurriedly and get back to the comfort of his home. Cowper's lines are revealing of the clergy when he speaks of

The things that mount the rostrum with a skip,
And then skip down again; pronounce a text,

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Cry ahem! and reading what they never wrote,
Just fifteen minutes, huddle up their work,
And with a well-bred whisper, close the scene.¹

Many parishes had no resident clergymen at all. When a curate came on Sunday to read a hasty sermon, he was seen no more until the following Sunday. Little or no visiting among the poor and sick was engaged in, and christenings and funerals were dealt with perfunctorily.

In many cases the qualifications of clergymen were far from satisfactory. Very little knowledge was required of an aspirant to a curacy, and the taking of orders was often nothing more than a formality. G. E. Mitton tells of an ordination in which just two questions were asked, one of which was "What is the Hebrew for a skull?"² A letter concerning the examination of a Mr. Lefroy, who married Jane Austen's niece, contains the following words: "The Bishop only asked him two questions, first if he was the son of Mrs. Lefroy of Ashe, and secondly if he had married a Miss Austen."³ Bronlow North, Bishop of Winchester, is reputed to have examined his aspiring curates during the tumult and shouting of cricket games. Archbishop Secker lamented the sad state of the Church of England and concluded: "An open and professed disregard of religion is become, through a variety of unhappy causes, the distinguishing character of the present age."⁴ From such an age Jane Austen drew her devastating portrayals of the English clergy.

Much of the apathy of the English Church of the eighteenth century may be accounted for by the vicious "system" of Church preferment. The Established Church had not yet been shaken from its peaceful repose by the intensive pressure of democratic rationalism and the enthusiastic encroachments of Methodism. The younger son of a family, often without hope of any substantial inheritance, was forced to cast about for a preferment and "decent" living. The preferments were like other forms of property, and no concealment at buying and selling them was made. The transformation from secular to Church life was a nominal one, and a clergyman might spend considerable time among acquaintances who might have no way of knowing by his actions or his dress the nature of his living. It will be recalled that in Northanger Abbey Mr. Tilney's being a

¹ The Task, Book II, "The Timepiece," lines 409-13.
² Jane Austen and Her Times (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1905), p. 46.
³ Quoted ibid., pp. 46f.
⁴ Quoted ibid., p. 37.

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clergyman is brought only casually and incidentally to the knowledge of Catherine Morland.

The deficient sense of responsibility of the clergy of the time is one of the remarkable reflections in Jane Austen's characterizations. In a way which is more convincing than perhaps any historical account can be, Miss Austen reveals this deficiency by repeated instances in which the clergymen have only the vaguest notions of their mission. In Pride and Prejudice Mr. Collins' sense of responsibility toward his parishioners or, rather, his lack of the same, is best described in his own words to the Bennet family. He has just been extolling the virtues of musical study:

"I do not mean, however, to assert that we can be justified in devoting too much of our time to music, for there are certainly other things to be attended to. The rector of the parish has much to do-In the first place, he must make such an agreement for tythes, as may be beneficial to himself and not offensive to his patron. He must write his own sermons; and the time that remains will not be too much for his parish duties and the care and improvement of his dwelling, which he cannot be excused from making as comfortable as possible."⁵

The general attitude of unconcern toward visiting the parishioners, especially the poor, is indirectly expressed in Emma as Mr. Elton meets Emma and Harriet Smith, who are returning from attending a sick family. Though Mr. Elton has thought of visiting this family, he does not for a moment consider continuing on to the cottage of the sick. The pleasant prospect of a walk back with Harriet and Emma has caused him to forget his mission entirely.

Edward Ferrars, in Sense and Sensibility, has no plan at all as to how he shall go about administering the preferment made possible for him by Colonel Brandon. In discussing the time spent during the twelve months preceding his acceptance of the preferment, he says to Elinor: "I had … nothing in the world to do, but to fancy myself in love."⁶ It is evident from the confession that Mr. Ferrars has not pondered long and deeply on the matter which is to become his life's profession. Months after Colonel Brandon had secured him the clerical living at Delaford, he suddenly realizes that he has not visited his parsonage. So nebulous are the duties of Ferrars

⁵ Pride and Prejudice, p. 101. The Novels of Jane Austen, 5 vols., edited by R. W. Chapman (oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1933). All references to the novels of Jane Austen are taken from this edition.
⁶ P. 362.

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that he might, for all practical purposes, have belonged to some other profession.

Like Ferrars, Dr. Grant in Mansfield Park is a convivial gentleman who likes to have visitors constantly about him, but his Church duties are so rarely referred to that we are surprised when we recall that he is a clergyman. We hear so little of Henry Tilney's responsibilities as a clergyman in Northanger Abbey that he, like Edward Ferrars, passes muster as a minister only because the author pauses for a moment to tell us that he is.

By common consent, the most memorable personality among the clergymen of Miss Austen's novels is to be found in Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Collins is at once ridiculous, disgusting, pompous, and pitiable, without having an inkling that he has any of these qualities. He is so preposterous that we can hardly believe that such clergymen could exist until we find such men documented elsewhere in the annals of eighteenth-century Church history. His reasons for wanting to marry Elizabeth Bennet give the key to his character:

"My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it is a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish; secondly, that I am convinced that it will add greatly to my happiness; and thirdly, which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honor of calling patroness."⁷

When we remember that this speech is directed to Elizabeth herself, we are prone to ask ourselves if such a person can exist. Even Elizabeth's emphatic negative answer to his proposal does not deter Collins in the least. Indeed, he understands that all young ladies must show this sort of disinclination as a matter of propriety. His disregards her objections with "a formal wave of the hand" and proceeds to advance his suit which, he feels, can have only the inevitable result-success.

Mr. Elton, in the novel Emma, is similar in several respects to Mr. Collins. Both men are pompous, self-conscious, and ludicrous. Mr. Elton appears to be a person who would charm one for an hour, but who would bore one to distraction beyond that limit. He is generally thought of as a very agreeable and eligible young bachelor, but he has that quality of the comic about him which is almost inescapable in Jane Austen's novels. This quality is revealed by

⁷ P. 105.

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the author's omniscient coment after a rather embarrassing situation for Mr. Elton:

After this speech he was gone as soon as possible. Emma could not think it too soon; for with all his good and agreeable qualities, there was a sort of parade in his speeches which was very apt to incline her to laugh. She ran away to indulge the inclination . . .⁸

Emma's opinion of Mr. Elton after his proposal provides a good commentary upon the position of the clergy in the rank-conscious era of Jane Austen. Emma feels that she has been insulted by the addresses of Mr. Elton for her hand. That he should conceive of such a connection is highly mortifying to her. His calling is not worthy of consideration in Emma's thoughts:

Mr. Elton's wanting to pay his addresses to her had sunk him in her opinion. His profession and his proposal did him no service. She thought nothing of his attachment and was insulted by his hopes.⁹

The attitude toward a lower social rank receives additional emphasis here when we remember that Emma elsewhere says that "a young man might be safely recommended to take Mr. Elton as a model. Mr. Elton is good humored, cheerful, obliging and gentle."¹⁰ The fact that Mr. Elton may have these qualities and be a clergyman in the bargain does not influence Emma in the least when it comes to a matter of marriage.

This consciousness of social rank extends throughout the scale of society. Mr. Elton apparently considers Harriet Smith in much the same manner that Emma has thought of him, for he rudely refuses to dance with Harriet at the Weston's party because of what he believes to be the great difference in their social ranks. Perhaps this occasion gives the truest key to his character.

II

Like Mr. Collins and Mr. Elton, two other clergymen in Jane Austen's novels may be grouped in the same general category. And here again we see Miss Austen's ability to bring to life two different men who bear certain similar characteristics-Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey and Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility. Tilney is a tall, young gentleman of pleasing countenance and lively expression. "He talked with fluency and spirit, and there was an

⁸ P. 83.
⁹ P. 135.
¹⁰ P. 34.

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archness and pleasantry"¹¹ in his manners which make him agreeable to Catherine Moreland. He is polite enough to listen attentively to conversations which do not interest him. In short, he is pleasing socially, and is an addition to any polite company. But it will be remembered that there is nothing in his manners or dress which assigns him to his profession, and Catherine learns that he is a clergyman only by a fortuitous circumstance. His qualifications as a gentleman are excellent; the full nature of his qualifications as a clergyman is never revealed.

Though Mr. Edward Ferrars is an amiable man, he does not have the address and charm of Mr. Tilney. The most striking opinion concerning Edward Ferrars and his profession of clergyman is given by Edward's brother Robert. When Elinor Dashwood relates to Robert the particulars of Edward's preferment, Robert's reaction is decidedly pronounced:

He laughed most immoderately. The idea of Edward's being a clergyman, and living in a small parsonage-house, diverted him beyond measure;-and when to that was added the fanciful imagery of Edward reading prayers in a white surplice, and publishing the banns of marriage between John Smith and Mary Brown, he could conceive nothing more ridiculous.¹²

Robert's further remarks leave no doubt of his concept of the English clergy:

"Poor Edward! He is ruined for ever. I am extremely sorry for it … Poor Edward!-he has done for himself completely-shut himself out forever from all decent society!-but, as I directly said to my mother, I am not in the least surprised at it; from his style of education it was always to be expected."¹³

Edward Ferrars appears to be a negative sort of character. He neither attracts nor repels us. We are somewhat surprised that a very sensible girl like Elinor should choose him, but his faults are not so glaring as are those of Mr. Collins and Mr. Elton. His greatest fault seems to be a deficient sense of direction. He can hardly make up his mind which course to take in a matter, and when he eventually embarks upon a given course, he does so with such lack of enthusiasm or determination that he appears to wonder whether or not he has done the right thing after all.

¹¹ P. 25.
¹² P. 298.
¹³ P. 299.

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The eldest clergyman treated at length by Jane Austen is Dr Grant in Manfield Park. He is also the only clergyman who is married at the beginning of the novel. Dr. Grant is very fond of eating, and wishes to have a fine dinner every day. He likes to keep a huge larder and is excessively fond of society. The type of clergyman exemplified by Dr. Grant is discussed by Miss Crawford, his sister-in-law, in a conversation with Edmund Bertram:

"It is indolence, Mr. Bertram, indeed-indolence and love of ease-a want of all laudable ambition, of taste for good company, or inclination to take the trouble of being agreeable, which make men clergymen. A clergyman has nothing to do but to be slovenly and selfish, read the newspaper, watch the weather, and quarrel with his wife."¹⁴

Proceeding from her discussion of clergymen in general, Miss Crawford makes a practical application to Dr. Grant, whom she calls an

"… indolent, selfish bon vivant, who must have his palate consulted in everything; who will not stir a finger for the convenience of anyone; and who, moreover, if the cook makes a blunder, is out of humor with his excellent wife. To own the truth, Henry and I were driven out this morning by a disappointment about a green goose, which he could not get the better of. My poor sister was forced to stay and bear it."¹⁵

Although Dr. Grant is not treated altogether unsympathetically in Mansfield Park, he impresses the reader as a petulant man approaching middle age, and one whose old age promises to be peevish and irascible.

The same novel which includes Dr. Grant also gives us Jane Austen's most conscientious clergyman. Edmund Bertram is a man of high principle, calm demeanor, and unswerving loyalty. His qualities attract the secret love of Fanny, and his opinions are respected by all. But with all these qualities, it is difficult to deny that he is rather priggish. He speaks sententiously, and his words have a self-conscious, oracular air, especially when he is discussing a moral principle.

The fact that Edmund Bertram is to be a clergyman works strongly in his disfavor as he attempts to win the hand of Miss Crawford. He falls considerably in her estimation as she learns of his chosen profession. She asks Edmund with chagrin:

¹⁴ P. 110.
¹⁵ P. 111.

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"But why are you to be a clergyman? I thought that was always the lot of the youngest, where there are so many to choose before him."

"Do you think the church is never chosen then?"

"Never is a black word. But yes, in the never of conversation which means not very often, I do not think it. For what is to be done in the church? Men love to distinguish themselves, and in either of the other lines [the legal profession or naval service], distinction may be gained, but not in the church. A clergyman is nothing."¹⁶

In answer to Edmund's justification of his choice, Miss Crawford replies:

"You assign greater consequence to the clergymen than one has been used to hear given, or that I can quite comprehend. One does not see much of his influence and importance in society, and how can it be acquired where they are so seldom seen themselves? How can two sermons a week, even supposing them worth hearing, supposing the preacher to have the sense to prefer Blair's to his own, do all that you speak of?"¹⁷

Miss Crawford's final argument is that he really is "fit for something better," and she urges him to change his mind before it is too late.

The only other clergymen in Jane Austen's novels are Charles Hayter and Dr. Shirley in Persuasion, who are such minor characters that they warrant hardly more than a passing comment. We know little of Hayter beyond the fact the he is a "very amiable, pleasing young man" who has an attachment for Miss Henrietta Musgrove. Mary Musgrove does not have a high opinion of him: "And pray, who is Charles Hayter? Nothing but a country curate. A most improper match for Miss Musgrove, of Uppercross."¹⁸ Dr. Shirley is a clergyman apparently devoted to his profession, and he gives promise of being an ideal clergyman in the present-day meaning of the word, but the reader is told so little about him that his character and potentialities are left to conjecture.

The clergymen passing to and fro before us in the novels are good reflections of the ministers in real life during the period, their virtues and weaknesses remarkably brought to life by the genius of Miss Austen. The clergymen show that sort of half-contemptuous regard for fervor in religion which characterized the complacent

¹⁶ P. 92.
¹⁷ P. 93.
¹⁸ P. 76.

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deism of the eighteenth century. Enthusiasm, infectious faith, and a dynamic sense of an ever-present divine force they leave to such "fanatics" as the Wesleys and the Whitefields. The religion they preach, if the word may be used, is a kind of modified political and social constitution. The clergymen, individual and varied in character though they may be, have one quality in common: "Nothing alarms them so much as religious zeal."¹⁹ To mention religion outside the pulpit would seem to be overstepping the bounds of good taste, and Jane Austen's clergymen to a man are not guilty of such a breach.

Miss Austen's characterizations are so subtle at times that one may overlook the plea for a more conscientious dedicated clergy, free of the trammels of apathy and conformity. Indeed, many readers see Jane Austen's work only as the apotheosis of the novel of manners, delightfully perceptive of the social relations of the landed gentry in her time. To consider her novels merely as conscious propaganda pieces for the reformation of the Established Church would surely be a mistake, but so implicit is her awareness of the complacency of the clergy that one cannot set aside her satire as inconsequential or unauthoritative. Though she was a young woman who traveled but little in English society, she was in a position to see at close hand the comings and goings of ministers, for her father was a clergyman, and she spent her formative years in a vicarage.

III

What has the novel to offer us today in our contemporary concern for the ministry and the Church in a decadent society? Although much of modern fiction is devoted to the adventurer, the physician, the scientist, and the deviate, the clergy has been treated in many novels worthy of serious attention. As models of Christian devotion or as advocates of the devils party, ministers are characterized in the works of such modern writers as G. K. Chesterton, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Alan Paton, James Street, James Gould Cozzens, Sinclair Lewis, Somerset Maugham, George Bernanos, Francois Mauriac, and Peter De Vries.²⁰ Although some of these novelists depict conscientious, dedicated clergymen, the majority of the writers are extremely critical of their subjects. Their attacks are often bitter

¹⁹ Leonie Villard, Jane Austen (London, George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1924), p. 230.
²⁰ For an extended study of this subject, see Horton Davies, A Mirror of the Ministry in Modern Novels (New York, Oxford University Press, 1959).

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and vituperative, and denounce the characters for any abrogation of Christian principles. Protestant clergymen, especially, are singled out for criticism. Unfortunately, most of the novels which take an unfavorable view of some of today's ministers are ignored, or they are condemned as blasphemous. The novelist who is uncompromising in his denunciation of complacency, pride, hypocrisy, and shallowness in a minister of the Gospel of Christian love and sacrifice may sometimes be more profitably read by the clergy than those writers who view with favor the assured socially-adaptive, psychologically-trained, leader-of-the-finance-committee-type of clergyman. The satirist has no qualms about offending the complacent and apathetic segment of the Church. The author's portrayals, offensive though they may at first appear, may shock or jolt a minister into a rigorous reappraisal of his mission as the servant of God.

Jane Austen is perhaps the only novelist of past ages whose works are still read in their entirety with pleasure by the general reader. One can hardly review seriously her principal novels without coming away with an awareness of her concern for the undirected ministry of her time. Those who would argue that Jane Austen was in no sense a critic of the Established Church, that her novels merely unconsciously place the clergyman as a natural backdrop in the scenery of her genteel novels of courtship and marriage, only add conclusive evidence of the tragic pervasiveness of the apathetic clergy of the eighteenth century, so unfavorably is it revealed to the reader. But to say she lacks insight in this one regard, after she has brilliantly demonstrated it in others, is unreasonable, and denies the universal recognition of her genius for the past century and a half.

The reader does not go to the works of Jane Austen expecting the boldly sneering, jolting satire common in such modern writers as Maugham, Lewis, and De Vries, whose portraitures are sometimes, in effect, achieved with a broom splashing lurid colors across a billboard. Such was not her intention or forte. Hers was the delicate, subtle touch. But nowhere else in fiction can we find such inimitably perceptive characterizations of the opportunist, the snob, and the esthete in whom the message of Jesus is entrusted. And though she disclaimed her work as painting only on her "little bit of ivory (two inches wide)," we see in that seemingly narrow compass a large part of the panorama of man's pilgrim progress from darkness into light, both in her age and in our own.