Visiting the city of Bath was a tremendous experience beyond my expectations. The buildings and scenery were breathtaking and rich in history. It was like stepping into a storybook. Though I am only barley beginning Persuasion, and know very little about the characters and plot thus far, I am sure that visiting the site of the setting of this novel will greatly enrich my reading experience.
At the Jane Austen Centre, I discovered the sort of house that Jane Austen would have lived in while she was dwelling in Bath. The Centre also displayed the type of dresses and garments they would’ve worn in her time. This gave me a clear picture of what life looked like for Miss Austen. Bath being a very fashionable city, it appeared to me that the Austen family was sustained by more humble means. I did not get the idea that they were any elite of society. This caused me to wonder if this was the reason that Austen was displeased with the move to Bath in 1800. Along with leaving her childhood home, the only one she ever knew, I wonder if Austen was worried about fitting in with fashionable society.
Being at Bath gave me a better idea of what Jane Austen’s life was like, and the sort of things she and the Austen family would’ve done there. Though she didn’t write much while she lived in Bath, it is evident that her time there heavily influenced her later novels. After visiting Bath, I will be much more apt to contemplate Austen’s life and experiences in that city and how they influenced her writing.
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