An unfinished tale of strict guardians and first love, written by seventeen-year-old Austen.
Portrait of Hortense de Beauharnais, 1790s, attributed to Jacques Sablet
Janeites, hello and welcome to the Austen 250 Reader series! Today, we focus on a story from "Volume the Third" of Austen's extensive adolescent portfolio.
"Kitty, or the Bower" is dedicated to Jane Austen's beloved older sister, Cassandra. It is written in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner, not unlike that of "The History of England".
To Miss Austen (1)
Madam
Encouraged by your warm patronage of The beautiful Cassandra, and The History of England, which through your generous support, have obtained a place in every library in the Kingdom, and run through threescore Editions, I take the liberty of begging the same Exertions in favour of the following Novel, which I humbly flatter myself, possesses Merit beyond any already published, or any that will ever in future appear, except such as may proceed from the pen of Your Most Grateful Humble Serv.
The Author
How's that for an opening? Dated August 1792, "Kitty, or the Bower" is thought by some to be a direct predecessor to Northanger Abbey. A full version of "Kitty, or the Bower" is not to be found online, so in order to read this lovely piece of writing, dear Janeites, one must buckle down and purchase a collection. The Jane Austen Summer Program used the Oxford World's Classics edition of Austen's Teenage Writings at their symposium in 2023. (It just so happens to be the very same edition employed by this author, as well. I highly recommend!)
A Brief Summary of a Brief Work
Jane Austen sets up her up readers for familial push and pull right from the start. Readers are immediately introduced to the title character, Catharine "Kitty" Percival, an orphan. Kitty has long been in the care of her domineering aunt, Mrs. Percival, whose love for her is veiled by an absurd dissection of her every action. This proves to be quite unfortunate for the latter.
Kitty's closest friends, the Wynne sisters, have moved away after the death of their father, a clergyman. Cecilia relocates to India in order to make a secure match, procuring a wealthy husband and Mary travels to fill the role of companion to a curmudgeonly, far-away relative. When they were together, the three girls had planted a garden (or bower, see the Oxford English Dictionary, definition 3) at Mrs. Percival's house. Kitty still passes many hours there.
Mrs. Percival is nervous that her ward might socialize with questionable young men (well, young men in general...) or form any undesirable connections. Thus, the only "approved" companions for Kitty include the fractious Dudley family. The Stanleys, who are relations of Kitty's, are considered off limits as Edward Stanley is a young, wealthy, and very single man.
When Edward moves to France, the rest of the Stanley family is finally allowed to visit. Kitty greatly looks forward to their arrival and is disappointed to discover the daughter, Camilla, is flippant, frivolous, and fond of gossip. This is juxtaposed with Kitty's thoughtful, serious, and bookish nature. The two girls disagree over the Wynne sisters' situation; tensions are briefly cooled, however, when Camilla learns they have all been invited to a ball the next evening at the Dudley residence.
Unfortunately, upon waking the following day, Kitty finds herself tormented by a toothache. She bears the pain with grace and- with a dash of comic concern one might attribute to Emma's Miss Bates- Mrs. Percival seems more ruffled than the victim herself. With no sign of an immediate recovery, Kitty remains at home while the rest of the house attends the ball.
In a surprising turn of events, during the ball none other than Edward Stanley arrives at the Percival home. He whisks Kitty to the ball and over the next few days it becomes clear that he has great romantic interest in- as well as shares similar intellectual interests with- Kitty. (Much to Mrs. Percival's chagrin.) Kitty, of course, falls in love against her aunt's wishes.
But it is not to be. Edward's father agrees with Mrs. Percival's worries and ships his son back to France. Kitty is in the depths of despair until Camilla reveals that her brother was greatly pained by the forced separation, as well, and that the burgeoning feeling of love was mutual.
As this tale is, after all, unfinished, that is where readers are left. Our final picture of "Kitty, or the Bower" is the heroine herself, reflecting happily on the fact that indeed, Edward loves her, despite the distance and guardians between them. (Oh, woe! If only there was more...)
A Brief Mention of Further Resources
Kitty, or the Bower was left unfinished, however Austen's nephew, James Edward Austen, composed a version of an ending. If you desire to read his conclusion for yourself, it can be found on pages 208-209 in the Oxford World's Classics edition of Austen's Teenage Writings.
I also recommend this delightful article by Juliet McMaster, JASP icon, where she considers an entirely new ending for "Kitty, or the Bower", with reference to other works by Austen.
(1) Teenage Writings by Jane Austen, Oxford World's Classics, p. 169
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