Veal, the meat of young male calves who are slaughtered between eight and twelve months of age, is not as popular in the UK now as it was in Austen’s time. At the time, it was an expensive food, hence Mr. Bingley’s decision to offer White Soup, which was made with veal broth, at the Netherfield Ball. It is unsurprising that Bath residents like the Allens would be accustomed to finding this expensive meat in the market since, as Maggie Lane explains, Bath was second only to West London “in the range and luxury of its shops” ('Domestic economy' 14). Its geographic location put it at great advantage to receive variety and high quality in foods: meat from Wales; fruit and vegetables from the Cotswolds; dairy produce from Somerset and Devon; fish from the River Severn; and imported wines from Bristol (13). So, Mrs. Allen’s concern about a shortage of veal in the Bath market strikes Lane as somewhat odd. However, as Lane herself states in more recent work, “any mention of a specific food stuff in Austen is made by a character who is thereby condemned for being greedy, vulgar, selfish, or trivial” ('Food' 268). Austen’s letters confirm that she learned about the complex social meanings of food and eating from her own domestic duties. So, although this might seem like a passing remark on Mrs. Allen’s part, it brings attention to the triviality that characterizes both Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe.

Mrs. Allen’s remark highlights her selfishness as well as her inadequacy as a guardian. Catherine is walking in from spending more time with Isabella and Mr. Thorpe, and her intuition about his dishonesty, although not yet formulated as such, is conveyed through her thoughts about him. She realizes that he “did not excel in…making those things plain which he had before made ambiguous.” After being with him, she feels “extreme weariness” creeping over her. But Catherine’s intuition is not affirmed by her temporary guardian, Mrs. Allen, who rather than ensuring that the Thorpes are good company for Catherine, is much more concerned with the shortage of veal. The veracity of Mrs. Thorpe’s information itself must be questioned, given that her children characterize deceitfulness. Yet, in addition to underscoring character flaws, Mrs. Allen’s and Mrs. Thorpe’s reliance on the market to acquire their meat emphasizes their class. As Barbara K. Seeber points out, “[t]o be able to command food that others cannot inscribes social hierarchy” (94, 97). In this case, while Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Thorpe might be performing refinement and wealth in their preference for veal, their inability to access it emphasizes what they do not have—a large estate and cattle.

Today, veal is consumed globally. It is prized for its tenderness, which requires that calves be restricted from exercise to avoid building muscle. For long, the farming industry has used crates to confine calves and restrict their mobility, a practice that animal advocates deem inhumane. In January 2007, the European Union banned these crates. The UK has implemented this ban for calves destined to be slaughtered for food. Otherwise, since bulls don’t produce milk and adults are not deemed good for meat, male calves are often shot when they are born. Calf crates continue to be used in the US and other countries.

Veal production and consumption remind us of the power dynamic that justifies human dominance over nature. Seeber has argued that this dynamic was familiar to Austen, who was well aware of its intersection with male dominance over women (97-99). Indeed,these two power dynamics intersect in characters like John Thorpe, whose preference for hunting and mistreatment of horses signals his perception of Catherine Morland as prey to be caught and consumed.

Works Cited

How do you normally travel to your vacations? While we now depend on machines to get us where we are going, relying on animals used to be the norm. In Regency England, your travel would have depended on having access to horses, as John Thorpe indicates in this passage. While Thorpe argues that rest ruins horses, his treatment of horses counters the common practices at the time, hinting at his callous character. While traveling it was common to stop at coaching inns to get food, alcohol, rest, and fresh horses before continuing on the journey. The term “stagecoach” derives from the fact that journeys were undertaken in stages of 15-20 miles in length. At each stage stop, horses would be changed to ensure the health of the horses and the speed of the journey. Hired horses only traveled between stages, going back and forth between posts that averaged about ten miles apart. So, you would use your own horses for the first part of a journey and leave them at the coaching inn for your servant to retrieve, while continuing on your journey with hired horses. This process would be repeated at each stage of travel.

Domestic tourism was a growing area of interest for many Britons in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. While the European Grand Tour has been popularized in literature, domestic tourism was celebrated as a patriotic way to learn about the history and modern state of Britain, as well as offering an enjoyable leisure pursuit. As John Thorpe offers to Catherine Morland earlier in this chapter, one aspect of the leisurely pursuits offered by domestic tourism was exploring the countryside by the phaeton, as depicted in this painting by George Stubbs. Travel thus became something undertaken as an activity unto itself, rather than an uncomfortable method of arriving at one’s destination. Perhaps John Thorpe and James Morland are themselves enjoying a domestic tour of Britain when they encounter their family members in Bath.