Charla introductoria en español

INTRODUCTORY TALK

All visitors begin their visit with an introductory presentation by one of our actors. Please bear in mind that members of your group may have hearing difficulties, language barriers, be accompanied by children, have a disability, etc. If this is the case, please assist them as best you can.

TALK SCRIPT
Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Jane Austen Centre, where we celebrate Miss Austen's time in the city of Bath, both as a visitor and a resident. My name is ________ from the book ______. I would like to begin your visit with a brief introductory talk about Jane's life and family, which will last approximately 12 minutes. Afterwards, we will head to our main exhibition. If you have any questions, I will be available in the exhibition throughout your visit.

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her home was on a working farm in Steventon, near Basingstoke, in the beautiful county of Hampshire, which greatly influenced Jane's writing.

Jane's father, the Reverend George Austen, was a country clergyman and worked as a farmer overseeing 200 acres of land within the parish. He was also the headmaster of his own private boarding school for the sons of local gentlemen. He ran his own boarding school in the parish for the sons of local gentlemen, which meant that Jane grew up surrounded by boys.
The Reverend Austen had a library with over 500 books to which his children had unlimited access and were encouraged to read on a wide variety of subjects. When Jane was 21, her father wrote to publishers in London trying to get her work published. For Jane, her father was her greatest intellectual support. He encouraged her literary talent despite the prejudices against female writers in the society of the time.

Jane's mother, Mrs. Cassandra Austen, was a very robust, lively, and practical woman, also known for her beauty. She was intelligent, sociable, and especially proud of her aristocratic nose and her sharp wit. In fact, she was known as the family poet. In addition to raising her 8 children and looking after her husband's pupils, she managed a dairy and a poultry yard on top of her daily household chores, including brewing the family beer.

Now, Jane's sister, Cassandra. She was Jane's only sister and her closest friend and companion. They shared a bedroom for most of their lives and were known for dressing very similarly. Like Jane, Cassandra never married, despite her parents' numerous attempts to find them a husband (particularly when they were in Bath), but like Jane, Cassandra was once engaged. Jane, however, was engaged for only one night. She was proposed to one evening, pondered it overnight, and the next day announced that she had changed her mind because she did not love the man enough to marry him (more details in the exhibition). Cassandra's engagement to the Reverend Thomas Fowle, on the other hand, would last five years. Before they could marry, Thomas traveled to the West Indies as a military chaplain, but upon arriving in Santo Domingo, he died of yellow fever, leaving Cassandra single for the rest of her days. She vowed at 25 that she would never marry again, because past 25, ladies, you were considered middle-aged; “on the shelf,” so to speak.
When the sisters were not together, they wrote to each other daily, and what remains of those letters has been the main source of information about Jane Austen; sadly, Cassandra destroyed most of the letters after Jane's death.

When Jane was 20, she began drafting her novels, and by 23 she already had drafts of Sense and Sensibility (first called Elinor and Marianne), Northanger Abbey, and Pride & Prejudice. The publishers in London showed no interest. Gothic literature was much more popular at that time, so Jane turned this challenge into an opportunity, making Northanger Abbey a satire of the Gothic novels that were so popular.

Jane was always a keen observer of people, which gave her much inspiration for her social satire, but the city of Bath also had many distractions, and she could not concentrate on her writing as much as when she was in the countryside. Jane's father passed away in Bath in 1805 and is buried at St. Swithin's church, less than half a kilometer from here. His death left his wife and daughters with very little money, and for four years they were forced to live in very modest apartments, as there was not enough money to have a house of their own.

In 1809, Edward gave the ladies the cottage at Chawton. The house was part of his inheritance in Hampshire; however, he could have offered them this property much earlier. Apparently, there were some objections from his wife's family regarding him offering help to his mother and sisters; this is remarkably reminiscent of the Dashwoods in Sense and Sensibility.

Jane's Death
Sadly, Jane would never see her two Bath novels published, as in 1816 she became seriously ill. The truth about Jane's illness remains a mystery. Various theories have been proposed, including Addison's disease and cancer.

Jane was moved to Winchester by Henry and Cassandra in the spring of 1817 to receive better medical treatment. Jane was in Chawton, Hampshire, when she drafted her will on April 27, 1817. At her death, her estate was valued at less than 800 pounds. In her will, she left almost everything to her “dear sister” Cassandra, who cared for Jane during her illness. On July 18, 1817, Jane passed away peacefully in her sister's arms, at 41 years old. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Henry arranged for her obituaries in local newspapers; this was the first time Jane was identified as the author of her novels. After her death, Cassandra wrote in a letter: “She was the sun of my life. The guide of every pleasure, the comforter of every sorrow. I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself.”

Thank you all very much for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would like to follow me, I will now lead you to the exhibition. After my colleague gives you a brief talk in our portrait tunnel, you will be able to enjoy a film, try biscuits from Regency recipes, smell perfumes, dress up in costumes, write letters with pen and ink, and see our famous wax figure of Jane Austen. Please remember to take photos and do not hesitate to ask questions.