This is a big week for North American Jane Austen fans- we finally get Sanditon! One of Austen’s unfinished novels, it is only a few chapters long but introduces rather different characters than we are used to. And Andrew Davies, the king of modern Austen adaptations, is here to see us through. So, I thought that I would focus on Austen and her characters this week! There were a million different ways to communicate in the Regency period, and none of them were speaking… The language of fans in Jane Austen (and for Jane Austen) was a widely used form of communication.
The Jane Austen Centre in Bath covers all aspects of Jane Austen’s life, and the language of fans is no exception! As long as you understand the language of fans, you can say any number of things to an eligible suitor without ever opening your mouth. Fans weren’t really used to communicate with your friends and family, but rather those that you are getting to know. It would be of particular importance in a place like Bath. Bath was a city to see and be seen in, to make social connections.
The Language of the Fan
‘I wish to be acquainted’
Fan in the left hand, covering the face below the eyes.
‘Follow me’
Carrying fan in the right hand, open and in front of the face.
‘You have changed’
Drawing closed fan across the forehead.
‘I wish to speak to you’
Fan in the left hand, closed. The lady fingers the top of the fan with the fingers of her right hand.
‘My love for you is breaking my heart’
Clutching closed fan to the décolletage.
‘Do not forget me’
Fan open, held behind the head.
A Wide Span of Emotions
What is interesting to me is how closely you would need to paying attention for some of these. “My love for you is breaking my heart” is simply “clutching closed fan to the décolletage”. (Slightly dramatic…) That is a gesture that you wouldn’t necessarily notice nowadays. Some of them are rather flamboyant, though- ie, holding a fan open behind your head. Quite a different form of communication than we are used to now!
If you are looking for more of Austen’s forms of communication, you can read my post on her letters!
Do you know the language of fans in Jane Austen and the Regency period?
Cheers,
The Historian
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