TWO CENTURIES ON… Jane Austen still knows how to throw a party!

By Leslie Shepherd

In Jane Austen’s world, a dance was never just a dance.

Victoria College Principal Alex Hernandez’s students learned that first-hand when they stepped into the shoes of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy during a country ball held to mark Austen’s 250th birthday.

Austen’s birthday isn’t until December 16, but Prof. Hernandez used a break between novels in his third-year English course Austen and her Contemporaries to give his students some experiential learning.

For a few hours, Alumni Hall became a Regency ballroom, and the students became characters in motion. Under the dimmed lights and (electric) candelabras, they learned some of the English country dances that Austen and her characters would have performed, and snacked on some of the same sweet treats common in the Regency Era at the turn of the 19th century.

“One of the ways I like to bring an author’s work to life is to have an experience,” Hernandez said. “There are certain things you can only understand if you steep yourself in the world of her novels.”

Dances played a prominent role in Austen’s novels and life as they were one of the few socially sanctioned places where young men and women could interact—and touch—for any length of time.

Hernandez said that by dancing, his students quickly grasped the layered social dynamics at play in Austen’s novels—especially the scene in Pride and Prejudice where two of her best-known characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, engage in a sustained debate during just one dance.

“People spent a considerable amount of time together at dances, talking, looking into one another’s eyes and possibly holding hands,” Hernandez said. “The experience brought home what would have been intuitive to Austen’s readers— well of course they could have a debate when the dance lasts for 20 minutes.”

Henry Tilney, the leading male character in Northanger Abbey, describes dancing as an emblem for marriage: men have a duty and right to ask a young lady to dance, yet women have only the power of refusal.

Hernandez’s students emphasized how participating in the ball under the gentle guidance of English Country Dance instructor Karen Millyard helped them to grasp Austen’s world in a more tangible way.

Dance instructor Karen Millyard helped them to grasp Austen’s world in a more tangible way.

Many, like Arianne Rodriguez, reflected on the rigid gender norms of Austen’s time, and how grateful they were to not be restricted by gender roles for this experiential learning activity, because same-sex dancing was not proper in Austen’s time.

“According to the conventions of Jane Austen’s time, they would have had to sit out if there weren’t enough men,” said Rodriguez, a third-year student studying English, drama and education & society.

“It helps clarify moments when Catherine Morland (the heroine of Northanger Abbey) sat by herself, and it made me a little sad to think that she couldn’t have enjoyed a fun evening of dancing due to a lack of men. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing with my female friends all night and it pains me to think that girls, historically, have not had the same opportunities. “

The students also noted how Austen’s commentary on human nature and societal pressures still resonate today. Long before game theory was formally developed, Jane Austen was already crafting narratives that revolved around strategic thinking and decision-making.

“Austen resonates with readers more than 200 years later because she writes about aspects of the human experience that are universal—finding love, dealing with difficult family members, embarrassing yourself in a social setting,” said student Emma Ward, who was named after the eponymous character in Emma and grew up reading Austen and watching movies of her novels.

“Despite these experiences taking place in the Regency era, making many of the details time period specific, modern readers still relate to the emotions of Austen’s characters, said Ward, a fourth-year English specialist with a book and media studies major.

Hernandez agreed.

“I think so much of what we consider romantic comedy, coming-of-age drama, owes so much to Austen,” he said. “Her influence is much more expansive than literature because she was thinking alongside the big thinkers of her time.”

Hernandez said it was “soul-sustaining” to see how much his students enjoyed the event, which was co-sponsored by Victoria College and the UofT English Department.

In addition to the dancing, the students sampled Rout Cakes, small, sweet biscuits with currants named after routs, or parties. There was also gingerbread made from the recipe belonging to Austen’s good friend and sister-inlaw, Martha Lloyd, and lemonade infused with orange blossom water.

Emma Ward said if she could tell Jane Austen one thing, it would be thank you.

“She forever changed the landscape of female writers and is still such an inspiration to so many young women today. Her wit and intellect stand out across decades of writers, and her stories have become so beloved that there are new interpretations or “versions” of them coming to the screen or in print every single year. I’d like to thank her for her monumental contributions to literature and culture.”

Prof. Hernandez was installed as the 12th principal of Victoria College, one of two colleges making up Victoria University in the University of Toronto, in 2024. He specializes in 18th- and early 19th-century literature and culture.

Photos: Neil Gaikwad