Jane Austen’s Will – and Those of the Two Cassandras

Abstract

ABSTRACT As a follow-up to my (linguistic) close-reading of Jane Austen’s Will, this paper analyses the Wills of her mother and sister, Cassandra Austen-Leigh and Cassandra Elizabeth Austen. The dates of these Wills as well as their contents demonstrate the particular concerns of these two testators, both in drawing up legally valid documents and to make sure that their – eventually – not inconsiderable possessions would go to the right legatees. In doing so, the (invalid but nevertheless officially proved) Will of their famous family member set an important example. At the same time, the contents of the Wills, and especially the one by Cassandra, show consideration with the needs of unmarried – or otherwise husbandless – women that were part of their social network, friends as well as dependants. This consideration reveals awareness of the existence of a parallel social world to that described by Jane Austen in her novels, where women who would not or could not marry gained some financial security through their relatives’ Wills. Following up references to people mentioned in the Will, such as the daughter of Henry Austen’s housekeeper, Mary Perigord, moreover, demonstrates the importance of Late Modern English Wills as an insufficiently explored text type.