Edward is Enid’s husband and Alice’s father. Fay does not reveal much of his character throughout the book, indicating only that he is against feminism and worries about Fay’s corrupting influence on Alice. It is unclear whether he is interested in reconciling with Fay, but at the end of the book he is nonetheless planning to attend tea with her and Enid as long as Fay does not talk about “novels, writing, feminism, or allied subjects.”
Edward Quotes in Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen
The Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen quotes below are all either spoken by Edward or refer to Edward. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Carroll & Graf edition of Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen published in 1984.
Letter 6
Quotes
You are not the model for Chloe in Female Friends. Too many of my friends claim that role, in any case, for you to be able to do so sensibly. Any woman who waits upon her husband as a servant upon a master—and they are legion—all too easily sees herself in Chloe. But I made her up. I promise.
Letter 8
Quotes
As if it were decreed that your mother Enid should put bread rolls to rise every night for your father Edward’s breakfast, in order that a certain paragraph in a certain novel should be written. As if the City of Invention, little by little, using a chapter here, a paragraph there, is waking from its slumber and will eventually be more real than life itself, and we its servants, its outrunners.
Related Symbols:
The City of Invention, Bread Rolls
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Edward Character Timeline in Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen
The timeline below shows where the character Edward appears in Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Letter 2
...concerned that Fay is “un unsettling influence on Alice.” Fay also notes that Alice’s father, Edward, thinks that Fay, as a feminist, is dangerous to society. Nonetheless, Fay states that her...
(full context)
Letter 6
...Enid’s fears that Alice will begin writing fiction, in particular about Enid and her husband, Edward.
(full context)
...the character’s habit of making bread rolls for her husband mirrors what Enid does for Edward. Fay draws a distinction between the real-life incident and the fictional character, telling Enid that...
(full context)
Fay concludes by asking Enid to send love to Edward, whom Fay hopes will forgive her for using the couple’s bread rolls in her fiction....
(full context)
Letter 7
...from Australia to England. She notes that she has been in touch with Enid and Edward and may reconcile with them, which causes her to wonder briefly “why any of us...
(full context)
Letter 8
...rolls in one of Fay’s novels indicate that the story is based on Enid and Edward.
(full context)
Letter 14
...exams went. Fay also says that she will soon be having tea with Enid and Edward. She worries that the tea will be unpleasant, but says, “you never know.” However, she...
(full context)
Letter 15
...excited to she is to hear about Alice’s book deal and wonders what Enid and Edward have to say about the news.
(full context)
Letter 16
...Enid has invited Fay to tea again. Fay tells Alice that, in order to placate Edward, she will avoid talking about subjects like writing and feminism at tea, and so will...
(full context)