Hello! A hearty welcome to all my fellow Janeites as well as those who are joining our ranks for the very first time. This year, the Jane Austen Summer Program is dedicating this space to exploring all of Jane Austen’s literary works in honor of her 250th birthday celebration. We have elected to start with the fragments and bits that were cobbled together during her youth and are now lovingly referred to as her Juvenilia. And so, with that in mind, we turn our attentions to Jane Austen’s comedic play, The Visit.
Synopsis
The play begins with Fitzgerald telling his guest, “the more free, the more welcome” and that themes seems to resound throughout the rest of the work.
Stanly, a houseguest, learns through Miss Fitzgerald that Lord Fitzgerald, her brother, is attached to Miss Sophy Hampton. When the party arrives at the Fitzgerald’s residence, there are not enough chairs available. The obvious conclusion is for men and women to share seats. It is suggested that some of the party members sit on each other’s laps. Grandmother Fitzgerald, who will be referenced often throughout the comedy, is blamed for this lack of furniture because it’s said that she was a recluse who never invited other people into her home.
Miss Cloe Willoughby and Stanly hit things off immediately. They have a true love at first sight moment.
Throughout the dinner, most of the courses are disagreeable in one way or the other, but most of the guests can agree to drinking some wine. This is the one and only time Grandmother Fitzgerald is lauded for her abilities because apparently, she manufactured the very best gooseberry wine. The group drink excessively and before the play concludes all the unwed couples have decided to marry one another.
Lord Fitzgerald and Miss Sophy pair with one another, having already formed an attachment before the visit. Miss Cloe and Stanly decide to become man and wife. And, because everyone else is already so pleasantly engaged, Miss Fitzgerald determines she will accept Mr. Willoughby’s hand.
Analysis
It is not hard to see a thirteen-year-old girl getting a kick out of this play, for Jane Austen was but thirteen the first time these acts were performed. It is short and there’s little explanation surrounding the attachments each of the characters has for one another, but, in some ways, this is a testament to how love works. Some people harbor feelings for one another for a long time—as Lord Fitzgerald and Miss Sophy exemplify. Others, like Stanly and Miss Cloe, are struck by Cupid’s arrow. And finally, some such as Miss Fitzgerald and Mr. Willoughby, unite for practical reasons.
Even though Austen was young, she called this play a comedy and arranged it in such a way probably because she already understood the unique ways in which others might find, nurture, or fall into love.
A copy of this text may be downloaded by clicking the box below.
Please feel free to join our team tomorrow as we continue to pick through Austen’s Juvenilia and read what this talented author was able to produce at such a young age.
Images: A windswept moor in Scotland, 2023, Photo Taken by: Mindy Killgrove-Harris
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