What Jane Austen's Novels tell us about Dance

Dance, specifically country dance, forms the backdrop to many of Jane Austen's novels, yet she does not dwell on the mechanics of dance; she seems to assume her readers would already know that. Much has changed in the last two, two and a half centuries, and what was intuitive to Austen's contemporaries is obscure to us today.

If you wish a list of dances which might have been danced by Austen's characters, I refer you to A Trip to Netherfield found in Graham Christian's The Playford Assembly (the only dance Austen mentions by name is La Boulangère, a French circle dance). I do not intend to find anything so useful, instead I shall go through the novels, roughly in the order written, looking for hints about dance. (I use the ordering found on The Jane Austen Society site.)

What might people have danced?

At the time Jane Austin was writing, people in England danced Country Dances, which at that time were longways dances for as many couples as wished to join, usually triple minors. Cotillions, danced with four couples in a square formation, came over from France in 1760~1770, these were quite popular, but Jane Austen only mentions them in Northanger Abbey and her characters do not appear to dance them even there. Scottish Reels were popular about this time, and Mr. Darcy might have asked Elizabeth Bennet to dance one with him. Minuets had been around for a long time, but none of her novels mentions this style of dance.

After the Napoleonic Wars, first quadrilles, and then the couple waltz came over from France, this would be toward the end of Austen's life, and neither style is mentioned in any of the novels.

Lady Susan

Started 1794~5 finished ~1805

So far, I have found no reference to dance or balls in this work.

Sense and Sensibility

Initially started in ~1795 as Elinor and Marianne, reworked in 1797 as Sense and Sensibility, revised 1809-1811, published 1811.

In chapter IX when Willoughby is introduced we learn from Sir John:

“He is as good a sort of fellow, I believe, as ever lived,” repeated Sir John. “I remember last Christmas at a little hop at the park, he danced from eight o’clock till four, without once sitting down.”

“Did he indeed?” cried Marianne with sparkling eyes, “and with elegance, with spirit?”

“Yes; and he was up again at eight to ride to covert.”

In chapters VII, XI, XIII and XVIII dances are mentioned but not described.

In chapter XXVII, after everyone moves to London, we learn that dances in town are much more formal and constrained than in the country:

Elinor found, when the evening was over, that disposition is not materially altered by a change of abode, for although scarcely settled in town, Sir John had contrived to collect around him, nearly twenty young people, and to amuse them with a ball. This was an affair, however, of which Lady Middleton did not approve. In the country, an unpremeditated dance was very allowable; but in London, where the reputation of elegance was more important and less easily attained, it was risking too much for the gratification of a few girls, to have it known that Lady Middleton had given a small dance of eight or nine couple, with two violins, and a mere side-board collation.

In chapter XXXVI Mr. Robert Ferrars boasts of how he helped Lady Elliott arrange for a dance in a small space. Room for 10 couples was not sufficient, but 18 was adequate. Suggesting that even private dances had an enviably number of dancers by modern standards.

Such descriptions of dances as are present in this book all suggest longways country dances, and not cotillions (where the number of couples would need to be divisible by four).

Northanger Abbey

Started in 1798 as Susan, sold for publication in 1803, but never printed, published posthumously in 1817.

In chapter 2, Catherine goes, for the first time, to one of the public balls in Bath, and cannot get a partner, and so does not dance. At all. At the time women were not allowed to ask men to dance, and no one could ask anyone without first being introduced (which the master of ceromonies for the ball was expected to do for people, as happens in the next chapter).

In chapter 8, Isabella says that it is the rules say people must change partners. And later that people are expected to dance two dances together before changing partners: “Oh, no; I am much obliged to you, our two dances are over; and, besides, I am tired, and do not mean to dance any more.” (unlike the modern custom of changing after every dance).

In chapter 10, Charlotte goes to a "cotillion ball", which appears to start with cottilions (which Charlotte does not dance) and end with country-dance (which she does want to dance). The cotillions were over, the country-dancing beginning. Eventually Mr Tilney asks her to dance, and after rebuffing Mr. Thorpe, expresses his view that equates dancing with matrimony:

Her partner now drew near, and said, “That gentleman would have put me out of patience, had he stayed with you half a minute longer. He has no business to withdraw the attention of my partner from me. We have entered into a contract of mutual agreeableness for the space of an evening, and all our agreeableness belongs solely to each other for that time. Nobody can fasten themselves on the notice of one, without injuring the rights of the other. I consider a country-dance as an emblem of marriage. Fidelity and complaisance are the principal duties of both; and those men who do not choose to dance or marry themselves, have no business with the partners or wives of their neighbours.”

“But they are such very different things!”

“—That you think they cannot be compared together.”

“To be sure not. People that marry can never part, but must go and keep house together. People that dance only stand opposite each other in a long room for half an hour.”

“And such is your definition of matrimony and dancing. Taken in that light certainly, their resemblance is not striking; but I think I could place them in such a view. You will allow, that in both, man has the advantage of choice, woman only the power of refusal; that in both, it is an engagement between man and woman, formed for the advantage of each; and that when once entered into, they belong exclusively to each other till the moment of its dissolution; that it is their duty, each to endeavour to give the other no cause for wishing that he or she had bestowed themselves elsewhere, and their best interest to keep their own imaginations from wandering towards the perfections of their neighbours, or fancying that they should have been better off with anyone else. You will allow all this?”

In chapter 16 we have the only reference to a country dance figure: and saw her with Captain Tilney preparing to give them hands across.

Pride and Prejudice

Started as First Impressions in 1796, reworked as Pride and Prejudice in ~1812, published 1813.

There are three balls described here, the first in chapter III (the Meryton Assembly), the second (an impromptu affair at the Lucases) in chapter VI, and the third (at Netherfield) in chapter XVIII.

Mr. Bennet does not even go to the first ball, and his wife does not appear to dance. Since Jane the eldest is 23 one assumes the two of them are in their 40s, yet they seem to think themselves too old for dancing.

People appear to ask for two consecutive dances, rather than changing after every dance (as we currently do in Santa Barbara).

“Oh, my dear Mr. Bennet,” as she entered the room, “we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice. Only think of that, my dear: he actually danced with her twice; and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her; but, however, he did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance. So he inquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then, the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the Boulanger——”

This is also the only time a dance is mentioned by name in any of the novels, Boulanger, it was commonly danced as the final dance of an evening.

In chapter X:

After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm by a lively Scotch air; and soon afterwards Mr. Darcy, drawing near Elizabeth, said to her,—

“Do you not feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel?”

I can think of three ways to interpret this request, but none of them makes any sense in the context. A reel is a dance figure, a Scottish name for a hey, but it requires at least three dancers, you can't do a reel with only two. It might also refer to a country dance where the music was a reel, but again, you can't do a country dance with only one couple, or it might refer to a Scottish Reel, a type of dance which alternates 8 bars of setting steps with 8 bars of dancing a reel (hey), but again the minimum number of dancers is three.

In chapter XI Bingly implies that a ball cannot be held until enough food has been prepared for it: “If you mean Darcy,” cried her brother, “he may go to bed, if he chooses, before it begins; but as for the ball, it is quite a settled thing, and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough I shall send round my cards.”

In Chapter XVII we learn that women wore roses on their shoes for balls: the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were got by proxy. In the seventeenth century people wore elaborate knots of fabric on their shoes, but it seems unlikely that is the meaning here: there would be no need to get new ones right before the ball if it were just a fabric rosette.

In Chapter XVIII Elizabeth says the time to dance two dances is half an hour, now a country dance usually has a 32 bar tune which takes roughly half a minute to dance, so this suggests 30 repetitions of the each dance which would be about right for a line of eight couples. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together;

Mansfield Park

Started in 1811 and published in 1814.

Fanny only dances twice, once in chapter XII, and once in chapters XXV-XXVIII. Again we are told that people dance two dances before changing partners: To engage her early for the two first dances was all the command of individual happiness, “I wished to engage Miss Crawford for the two first dances,”, and “You must dance with me, Fanny; you must keep two dances for me; any two that you like, except the first.”.

There is no mention of cotillions, and several mentions of longways sets and country-dances.

Emma

Started in 1814 and published in 1815.

There are two dances in Emma, the first, an impromptue affair at the end of vol. II, chapter VIII, and the second, long planned, long delayed in vol. III, chapter II

When planning the dance (in vol. II, chapter XI) it appears that having a sit down supper is an integral part of a private dance: Mrs. Weston proposed having no regular supper; merely sandwiches, &c., set out in the little room; but that was scouted as a wretched suggestion. A private dance, without sitting down to supper, was pronounced an infamous fraud upon the rights of men and women;

At the dance, Mr. Weston has to be talked into dancing, and Mrs. Weston does not dance at all. Mrs. Weston was Emma's and Isabella's governess from when Emma was 5, which was 16 years before the book begins, so Mrs. Weston must be in her thirties or so (and Mr. Weston was a "suitable age" for her, and with a ~20 year old so, so presumably in his forties). Mr. Knightly, who is 16 years older than Emma also does not dance until required to do so. Dancing was only for the young.

Mr. Elton, who had been dancing before, uses being married as an excuse not to dance with Harriet: —and if I were not an old married man.—But my dancing days are over, Mrs. Weston.

Not only that, dancing was only for gentlefolk, Robert Martin (the farmer) is not invited to the ball, nor is there any mention of his sisters being there.

At the end of the evening (and the chapter), we see that women may not ask men to dance, but get around this by suggesting the men ask them:

...—They were interrupted by the bustle of Mr. Weston calling on every body to begin dancing again.

“Come Miss Woodhouse, Miss Otway, Miss Fairfax, what are you all doing?—Come Emma, set your companions the example. Every body is lazy! Every body is asleep!”

“I am ready,” said Emma, “whenever I am wanted.”

“Whom are you going to dance with?” asked Mr. Knightley.

She hesitated a moment, and then replied, “With you, if you will ask me.”

“Will you?” said he, offering his hand.

Persuasion

Started in 1815 and published posthumously in 1817.

Anne never dances, but she does play the piano at Uppercross so that others may dance, and they dance country dances.

Conclusions

Despite dances and balls being central to most of her novels, Jane Austen says very little about them. Only about the effects they have on her characters.

The most surprising to me is that people expected to dance two dances together rather than changing after every dance.

One thing that Austen does not describe in detail, but which is clearly important to her characters, is "who leads the ball"? Which meant who gets to be first couple in the first dance. The first lady was usually expected to choose the first dance (Austen does not say that this is the case in her novels). This is mentioned in Persuasion where Elizabeth has spent Thirteen winters’ revolving frosts had seen her opening every ball of credit because she is the highest ranking (dancing) lady in the district. In Mansfield Park Fanny leads the second ball, because it is in her honor. In Emma, Emma does not lead the ball because Mrs. Eliot is a new bride, and she leads it instead.

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