Elizabeth could never address her without feeling that all the comfort of intimacy was over, and, though determined not to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of what had been, rather than what was.

Austen's letter marked "Declined by Return of Post". It is unlike any of Austen's other works. Marriage was impractical as both Lefroy and Austen must have known.

She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her realism and biting social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.