Love And Friendship:

Love And Friendship:

From Isabel to Laura:

The first letter presents the reader with a glimpse into the life of Laura from Isabel’s perspective. Isabel asks Laura to tell the “misfortunes and adventures” of her life to Isabel’s daughter Marianne (Austen 516). Isabel argues that because Laura is turning fifty-five, she is past the danger of “disagreeable lovers” and “obstinate fathers” (Austen 516). This initial letter sets up the rest of Austen’s narrative through Laura’s letters to Marianne.

Laura to Isabel:

The second letter consists of a reply from Laura to Isabel. Laura initially disagrees with Isabel’s assessment that she is safe from “misfortunes” simply because of her advanced age (Austen 516). Laura agrees to write to Marianne and detail her life experiences in order to “satisfy the curiosity of Marianne” and to teach her useful lessons (Poplawski 183). The useful lessons are lessons learned from the misfortunes caused by “disagreeable lovers” and “obstinate fathers” (Poplawski 183). Poplawski highlights the importance of the relationship between females and their lovers and also between females and their fathers as a means through which Austen is able to criticize stereotypical female behaviors. As seen throughout the work, these two relationships are constantly criticized by satirical anecdotes. Janetta’s relationship with her father and also with her lover, Capitan M’Kenzie in the twelfth letter provides a good example of the way Austen mocks the fickleness of familial ties and romantic relationships.

Laura to Marianne:

Laura’s narrative to Marianne begins in the third letter and continues through the fifteenth letter. In the thirteenth letter, Laura gives a brief overview of the origins of her parents, her birth in Spain, and her education in a convent in France. At eighteen, Laura returns to her parents’ home in Wales. Laura pauses to describe herself at this age. She emphasizes her “accomplishments” which during this time period would have been things that made a woman a better companion for her future husband (Austen 516). Laura ends the letter by posing the idea that her misfortunes in life “do not make less impression… than they ever did,” but that her accomplishments have begun to fade (Austen 517). The uncertainty of Laura’s memory causes Austen’s work to resemble a fairytale in that that both Austen’s work and fairytales have similar qualities of ambiguity.