Why Mr. Collins? Jane Austen’s Most Memorable Clergyman | Brenda Cox

Jane Austen had a high regard for the church. Why, then, does she present Mr. Collins as a buffoon? Why is he so deferential to Lady Catherine, and so proud of his position and his parsonage? Does he typify the neglectful clergyman Edmund Bertram describes in Mansfield Park? We’ll explore Mr. Collins’s words, actions, and character, including his marriage proposal, comparing him to Austen’s other clergymen, satirical cartoons, and Anglican and Evangelical ideals of the time.

Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She spent almost ten years researching her own questions about Austen and the church and organizing the information she discovered, making it clear and easy to understand. Fashionable Goodness explores connections between Austen’s work, Austen’s Church of England, and prominent events and people in English Christianity at the time. Brenda writes for Jane Austen’s World; her own blog, Faith, Science,…