Self-Control (novel)

Self-Control is a novel by the Scottish novelist Mary Brunton, published in 1811. The novel, which had some success in its own time, tells a rocambolesque tale, which inspired Jane Austen when she wrote her Plan of a Novel.[1]

Part of the author's intent in writing the work was to show "the power of the religious principle in bestowing self-command", and as a rebuttal to the idea that a reformed rake makes the best husband.[2]

Plot

The heroine, the devout Laura Montreville, is pursued by the lecherous rake Colonel Hargrave. Realising that he has offended her, the Colonel gives Laura a more honourable proposal of marriage, but she refuses him gently on grounds of moral incompatibility, despite this meaning that she would miss out on the Colonel's title and fortune. Captain Montreville, Laura's father, finds out that Laura's annuity is not assured, and so takes Laura to London to fix the matter. Without the knowledge of her father, Laura consents to marry the Colonel eventually, if he can reform himself within two years.

When she is left without any money in London, she decides to support her ailing father by selling sketches. During her time in London, a man named Montague De Courcy begins to fall in love with her. De Courcy buys Laura's sketches in secret. Hargrave follows Laura to London, and he becomes involved in an affair with a married woman. Hargrave meets Laura in the shop where she sells her sketches and paintings, and accompanies her home and harasses her. Hargrave's affair is found out by his lover's husband, and the two men duel. Hargrave wounds the husband, and then goes to Laura, urging her to marry him before she finds out about his affair. Because Hargrave threatens to kill himself, Laura faints, and is found by her father, who then realises that Hargrave has been threatening his daughter, and he has been encouraging Hargrave. This causes Captain Montreville such grief that he dies the next morning. When Captain Montreville dies of his illness, Laura goes to live with Lady Pelham, her maternal aunt. Lady Pelham helps Laura receive her annuity, but she is not religious and colludes with Colonel Hargrave. Laura learns of Hargrave's duel, and resolves to refuse him. Hargrave attempts to persuade her to marry him by more drastic measures - having her arrested under false pretenses, tricking her into joining a gambling party, and when Lady Pelham dies, Hargrave kidnaps Laura and takes her to the wilderness of America. He plans to rape and then force Laura into marriage - she fakes her own death by escaping down the rapids in a canoe, which she ties herself to. Hargrave commits suicide, and Laura returns to her home country, where she marries Montague De Courcy and has five children with him.

Publication

Mary Brunton, from the second edition of Emmeline (1820).

The first edition was published in February 1811 in two volumes, with a run of 750 copies, for the price of 21 shillings. 500 of these copies were sold out by the end of the month. The novel was dedicated to the poet Joanna Baillie - Baillie read the novel and offered some criticisms to Brunton. A second, revised edition was published in May 1811.[3] A pirated edition was published in the USA in 1811, at this time there was no copyright agreement between the two countries.[3][4] Self-Control had three editions published in the first six months of its availability, a total of around 3000 copies. Jane Austen wrote to her sister Cassandra in 1811 "We have tried to get "Self-control," but in vain. I should like to know what her estimate is, but am always half afraid of finding a clever novel too clever, and of finding my own story and my own people all forestalled."[5] Kathryn Sutherland explains Jane Austen's comments on Self-Control as Austen being worried by Brunton's success, as Self-Control was selling wildly during the time Austen was preparing Sense and Sensibility for publication.[6] A French translation was published in 1829.[7] Twenty years after its initial publication, Self-Control was included in the Standard Novels series by Richard Bentley and Henry Colburn.[3][8]

Reception

Despite the success of Self-Control at the time, Anthony Mandal has noted that scholarship of Brunton has been dismissive.[3] In The Eclectic Review, it was mentioned that the sequence of events was improbable. The Eclectic Review also finds it hard to believe that Laura felt regret at having to turn down Hargrave initially, as "we only have the word of the author" that this is the case.[9] The British Critic noted that this was a polarising work. It regarded the moral of the story as being excellent, and the situations in the novel to be improbable, but not beyond the realms of possibility. It noted that some situations were softened in the second edition. It considered Hargrave to be a hero of the story.[10] The Scots Magazine criticised the "strained and improbable incidents" throughout the book, characterising them as the desperation of a romance novelist to impress the audience. Despite this, The Scots Magazine praised the "lively portraits of character" in the novel and the emotional expressions, finding an emotional realism in the novel despite the improbable situations in it.[11] The Times Literary Supplement writes that Self-Control seems to draw from Samuel Richardson's Clarissa and Frances Burney's Cecilia.[12] In October 1813, Jane Austen wrote "I am looking over Self Control again, and my opinion is confirmed of its being an excellently-meant, elegantly-written work, without anything of nature or probability in it. I declare I do not know whether Laura's passage down the American river is not the most natural, possible, everyday thing she ever does."[13] When writing her Plan of a Novel, Austen wrote to her niece: "I will redeem my credit with him by writing a close imitation of 'Self Control' as soon as I can. I will improve upon it. My heroine shall not only be wafted down an American river in a boat by herself. She shall cross the Atlantic in the same way, and never stop till she reaches Gravesend."[1] In 1999, Kate Fullagar writes that Self-Control "is clearly concerned with the difficulty of a woman earning her own living and with the importance of female financial independence."[14]

Adaptations

A radio drama adaptation was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 Austen, Jane (2011). Le Faye, Deirdre, ed. Jane Austen's letters (4th ed.). Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. p. 295. ISBN 9780199576074.
  2. ↑ "Mary Brunton". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mandal, Anthony (2013). "Mary Brunton - Self-Control, A Novel". Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Self-control : a novel : Brunton, Mary, 1778-1818 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jane Austen -- Letters -- Brabourne Edition -- Letters to Cassandra, 1811". Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Keymer, ed. by Thomas; Mee, Jon (2005). The Cambridge companion to English literature : 1740-1830 (Transferred to digital print. ed.). Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 256–257. ISBN 9780521007573.
  7. ↑ "Brunton, Mary (DNB00)". Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Self-control : a novel : Brunton, Mary, 1778-1818 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  9. ↑ The Eclectic Review, June 1812 - Review of Self-Control by Ann Gilbert (née Taylor)
  10. ↑ British Critic 38 (September 1811), p. 213.
  11. ↑ The Scots Magazine, 1811 pp.202-213
  12. ↑ "Jane Austen's rival". The Times Literary Supplement. 5 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Catharine and Other Writings. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Fullagar, Kate (1999). McCalman, Iain; Mee, Jon, eds. An Oxford companion to the Romantic Age. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191726996. Retrieved 16 May 2015 – via Oxford Reference Online. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Mary Brunton - Self Control". BBC. Retrieved 30 September 2014.

Further reading

External links

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