Unbecoming Jane

I was looking forward to seeing the new Jane Austen biopic, Becoming Jane. My dear husband agreed to go see it with me, which pleasantly surprised me.

However, the movie itself was not a pleasant surprise. I knew going in that the story was mostly fiction, based loosely on Jane Austen's "romance" with Tom Lefroy. I knew that the filmmaker's vision of who Jane Austen was would be different from mine, and I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was that they would make Tom Lefroy into a spineless, womanizing "cad" who more closely resembled "Mr. Wickham" than "Mr. Darcy". I just can't believe that Jane Austen would fall for someone like that.

I had the pleasure of viewing Miss Potter on DVD recently. Miss Potter is a biopic based on the life of the children's book author, Beatrix Potter. Now that was a pleasant surprise! Superb acting, superb scenery, music, costumes, the whole thing worked. Unfortunately, Becoming Jane, didn't work, at least for me.

If you're interested, most of what is known about the relationship between Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy comes from Jane Austen's letters. The only three that mention Tom Lefroy are below. I found out after I watched the movie that Tom did name his oldest daughter Jane, and that he told someone late in his life that he had once loved Jane Austen. So, there was some basis for the premise of the movie. I just wish that they had given the characters more "character". According to the first letter below, Jane says he was a "very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man." Well at least the movie got the "good-looking" part right.



From Jane's letters:

"He is a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man, I assure you. But as to our having ever met, except at the three last balls, I cannot say much; for he is so excessively laughed at about me at Ashe, that he is ashamed of coming to Steventon, and ran away when we called on Mrs Lefroy a few days ago."

letter to Cassandra
January 9, 1796

"After I had written the above, we received a visit from Mr Tom Lefroy and his cousin George. The latter is really very well-behaved now; and as for the other, he has but one fault, which time will, I trust, entirely remove--it is that his morning coat is a great deal too light. He is a very great admirer of Tom Jones, and therefore wears the same coloured clothes, I imagine, which he did when he was wounded."

letter to Cassandra
January 9, 1796

Tell Mary that I make over Mr Heartley & all his Estate to her for her sole use and Benefit in future, & not only him, but all my other Admirers into the bargain wherever she can find them, even the kiss which C. Powlett wanted to give me, as I mean to confine myself in future to Mr Tom Lefroy, for whom I do not care sixpence."

letter to Cassandra
January 14, 1796