Perhaps she initially accepted because the marriage would have given her financial security and the means to assist her parents and sister. We can only speculate what Austen’s thoughts were about the proposal. The awkwardness of the situation caused her to leave Manydown immediately. ”Īusten changed her mind overnight, however, and refused the proposal the next morning. I conjecture that the advantages he could offer, & her gratitude for his love, & her long friendship with his family, induced my Aunt to decide that she would marry him. Five-and-a-half years younger than Austen, Harris was, according to the author’s niece Caroline Austen, “very plain in person-awkward, & even uncouth in manner. According to family tradition, she and her sister were visiting longtime friends Alethea and Catherine Bigg at Manydown Park when their friends’ brother, Harris Bigg-Wither, made the offer. Jane Austen received and accepted a proposal of marriage on December 2, 1802, two weeks before her 27th birthday. Although she never married, Jane Austen did become engaged - for one night
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