is a juvenile story by Jane Austen, dated 1790. While aged 11–18, Austen wrote her tales in three notebooks. These still exist, one in the Bodleian Library and the other two in the British Museum. They contain, among other works, Love and Friendship, written when she was 14, and The History of England, written at 15.
Overview
Written in epistolary form like her later unpublished novella, Lady Susan, Love and Freindship is thought to be one of the tales she wrote for the amusement of her family. It was dedicated to her cousin Eliza de Feuillide, known as "La Comtesse de Feuillide." The instalments, written as letters from the heroine Laura, to Marianne, the daughter of her friend Isabel, may have come about as nightly readings by the young Jane in the Austen home. Love and Freindship (the misspelling is one of many in the story) is clearly a parody of romantic novels Austen read as a child. This is clear even from the subtitle, "Deceived in Freindship and Betrayed in Love," which undercuts the title.
In form, the story resembles a fairy tale in featuring wild coincidences and turns of fortune, but Austen is determined to lampoon the conventions of romantic stories, down to the utter failure of romantic fainting spells, which always turn out badly for the female characters. The story shows the development of Austen's sharp wit and disdain for romantic sensibility, characteristic of her later novels.
The 2016 film Love & Friendship [sic] is a film version of Lady Susan, borrowing only the title from Love and Freindship.
Synopsis
Letter The First
From Isabel to Laura
This presents 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 55, 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.
Letter The Second
Laura to Isabel
This 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 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 criticise stereotypical female behaviour. As seen throughout the work, these two relationships are constantly criticised by satirical anecdotes. Janetta's relations with her father and with her lover, Capitan M’Kenzie in the twelfth letter, shows Austen mocking the fickleness of family ties and romantic relationships.
Letter The Third
Laura to Marianne
Laura's narrative to Marianne begins in the third letter and continues through to the 15th letter. In the 3rd, Laura gives a brief overview of the origins of her parents, her birth in Spain, and her education in a convent in France. At 18, Laura returns to her parents’ home in Wales. Laura pauses to describe herself at this age. She emphasises her "accomplishments", which in that 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 fairy tale in its qualities of ambiguity.
Letter The Fourth
Laura to Marianne
Here Austen reveals the connection between Laura and Isabel. Laura tells Marianne that Isabel was one of her few neighbours in Wales and that Isabel resided in the neighbourhood due to "indigent circumstances" and for "economic motives" (Austen 517). Laura depicts Isabel as having fewer accomplishments and less beauty than herself, but being better travelled. Isabel warns Laura of the "insipid vanities and idle dissipations" of London, Bath and Southampton, while instilling in Laura a desire to explore the world (Austen 517).