Jane Austen’s Themes: Sibling Ages and Character Archetypes

Erin H
Feb 4
5 min read

Jane Austen’s works often explore themes of sibling age gaps and reusing character archetypes.

In the first case, most of Austen’s characters have a two-year, three-year, or seven-year age difference with their siblings. However, in families with five or more children, one-year differences become more common.

Persuasion:

The clearest case of age themes is in Persuasion, where the dates of birth for the four Elliott children are listed. Elizabeth was born in 1785, Anne in 1787, a stillborn son in 1789, and Mary in 1791. This shows a consistent two-year gap between the living siblings (Chapter 1).

Similarly, Sophie Croft is 38 years old, while her younger brother Frederick is 31, showing a seven-year age gap (Chapter 4). However, the age of their brother Edward is not mentioned, as he is only a background character briefly mentioned in the story. This reflects Austen’s tendency to omit ages for minor characters, as seen with the older Price brothers, John and Richard, in Mansfield Park. While the younger Price siblings' ages are explicitly given, John and Richard’s are not, underscoring their lesser importance to the story.

Sense and Sensibility:

In Sense and Sensibility, the Dashwood sisters are introduced as being 19, 16, and 13 years old at the beginning of the story (Chapter 1). By December of the same year, after their father’s death, they are 20, 17, and 14. This reveals a consistent three-year age gap between the sisters.

Lady Middleton is 26 or 27 years old, while her younger sister Charlotte Palmer is the same age as Miss Dashwood. By the new year, Lady Middleton is 27, and Charlotte is 20, creating a seven-year difference between the siblings (Chapter 6).

Similarly, the Steele sisters follow the pattern. Lucy is 29 or 30, while Anne is 22 or 23, demonstrating another seven-year age gap (Chapter 21).

Emma:

In Emma, Emma Woodhouse is 21 years old, while her older sister Isabella is 28, showing a seven-year gap (Chapter 8). George Knightley is 37 or 38 years old, while his younger brother John is 31 (Chapter 12). Isabella and John Knightley, meanwhile, have a three-year age difference and have been married for seven years (Chapter 11).

Notably, the only characters whose birthdays and exact ages are mentioned in this novel are Harriet Smith and Robert Martin. This detail suggests that Harriet and Robert are intended as the true heroine and hero of the story, contrasting with Emma and George Knightley, the anti-heroine and anti-hero.

The Bennet Sisters:

Pride and Prejudice is fascinating in how it incorporates Jane Austen’s themes, including age gaps, while also presenting some exceptions. Jane Bennet is introduced as being 22 years old, and in the second week of May, Lydia mentions that Jane is "almost three-and-twenty" (Chapter 39). This suggests she will turn 23 during the second year of the story. Similarly, Elizabeth tells Lady Catherine in April that she is "not yet one-and-twenty" (Chapter 56). This establishes a two-year difference between Jane and Elizabeth.

Catherine (Kitty) is introduced as being 17, while Lydia is 15. Lydia turns 16 in June, just before eloping with Mr. Wickham (Chapter 47). Since it is stated that there are two years between them, Kitty must turn 18 in the following year, although her exact birthday is never mentioned.

However, Mary Bennet’s age is never stated, making her an enigma. There are three years between Elizabeth and Kitty, so Mary does not fit the usual mold. This is similar to the Bertram siblings in Mansfield Park, where there is only one year between Tom and Edmund but four years between Edmund and Maria, who is followed by Julia a year later. In both cases, the timelines fit within the broader patterns of sibling relationships in Austen’s works, even if the specific gaps are not consistent.

Mary is neither a background character, like the older Price brothers in Mansfield Park, nor central to the story, yet she receives little narrative focus. Her existence primarily highlights the selfishness and lack of empathy shown by all four of her sisters. While many readers see Mary as a pedantic, annoying character, her portrayal reveals her neglect and the verbal abuse she endures from her family. Even Jane and Elizabeth, often seen as kind and virtuous, are guilty of mistreating Mary.

Mary’s role allows Austen to explore the flaws in the Bennet family, showing that even the most admired characters, Jane and Elizabeth, are not without fault. This contrasts with the common view of Mary as merely a comic figure or a foil to her more outgoing sisters. The most interesting thing is that she otherwise adds little to the story and can be removed without creating any change to the storyline.

Thematic Parallels: Repeating Character Archetypes

One of the most striking aspects of Pride and Prejudice is how Austen builds multiple characters from the same base archetype. This can be seen when cross-referencing her other works as well, but in P&P, we have five variations of the same foundational character in one story: Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Caroline Bingley, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

If you struggle to see the similarities between Elizabeth, Lydia, and Mrs. Bennet, it may be harder to recognize this pattern. However, Austen uses status, wealth, education, and the influences of nature (environment) and nurture (family position) to transform a single archetype into distinct personalities.

For example, Mrs. Bennet’s "mean understanding" is not what many think as meaning "low" as when her intelligence is compared to that of other characters (minus Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy) her intellect is on par with them which shows that the "mean" here means "average". While the assumed "low understanding" which is hinted at is actually more fitting as a description for Lydia. In fact, most of what is assumed of Mrs. Bennet's character introduction is a crude and harsh view of her that sadly fit her youngest daughter much better. Elizabeth’s wit and independence emerge from her sharper intellect and slightly higher status as the favored daughter of her sarcastic and witty father; however, she also shares her liveliness and poor manners with her mother and youngest sister. Caroline Bingley’s snobbery and high-handedness was shaped by her wealth and education while Lady Catherine’s domineering nature and haughty dignity is shaped by her by her wealth and social standing.

A Challenge for the Reader

While I will explore these characters in greater detail in a future post, I encourage you to examine their similarities and differences. Consider how Austen uses status, wealth, education, environment, and familial dynamics to create distinct yet interconnected characters. Look for how these traits influence their actions, relationships, and the roles they play in the story.

Note: This post was originally published on Jane Austen's Literary Lasagna on November 25th, 2024. I am now migrating my content to this blog, but this remains my original work. Minor edits may have been made for clarity or formatting.