Jane AustenPride and Prejudice
A study of voice…
“Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.”
A comedy of manners – money, family background, and personal vanity complicates the course of true love.
Highlights of Jane’s Life
Born 1775
Died 1817 (age 42)
Daughter of a country minister in Steventon
(small Hampshire town)
Sister – Cassandra (neither married)
Brothers –James, Henry, Francis, and Charles
Educated
Novels
Sense and Sensibility (published 1811) Pride and Prejudice (1813) Mansfield Park (1814) Emma (1816) Northanger Abbey (1817) posthumous Persuasion (1817) posthumous
Shorter works Lady Susan The Watsons (incomplete novel) Sanditon (incomplete novel) Juvenilia The Three Sisters Love and Freindship [sic; the misspelling of
"friendship" in the title is famous] The History of England Catharine, or the Bower The Beautifull Cassandra
Hollywood’s Fascination
Pride and Prejudice (six film versions) Emma (five film versions) Sense and Sensibility (four film versions) Persuasion (three film versions) Mansfield Park Northanger Abbey 2007 Release of Becoming Jane 2007 The Jane Austen Book Club
The Novel
Originally published under a pseudonym Considered most popular of her six novels Original title First Impressions (1797) Redrafted, published under new title in
1813.
Plot
Emphasis on character development Restricted to a sphere of a few families Study of relationships and upper classes Matrimony supplies stability Coincidence main plot device Explores human weaknesses No outright evil
Comedy charged with moral purpose Good-natured irony Narrative voice – amused detachment Highly polished, considered the product of
a perfectionist Masterpiece of verbal and structural irony
Famous opening line sets the exigent and tone: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
Exigent: social pressure, not individual choice, determines marriages and relationships.
Satirical tone: It is not that a single man desires a wife, but that everyone finds he lacks one, his good fortune requires it.
Ideal – Polite social behavior Reality – Characters fall short Tone – Politely modulated despite
characters contrasting behavior defects. Result – The follies, self-deception,
vulgarity, and deceit are illuminated by the grace and polish of the narrative tone.
Elizabeth – Protagonist of worth
Intelligent Not frozen in one position – dynamic Sharp wit outshines narrator’s tone Contrasts as well to the flat, polite, self-serving
euphemisms of the rest of the characters. Seeks a firmer grip on reality than the society
that prizes facades.
Realistic – Elizabeth can be deceived. Cinderella Story – Convention is tilted
- wicked step sisters - Bennet sisters
- wicked step mother - Mrs. Bennet
- fairy godmother - Lady Catherine
- handsome Prince - Darcy
Purpose
Austen desired to satirize the traditional Eighteenth Century Romance Genre
*Battling Lovers *The Charming Rake*Obstacles *The Injured Innocence*Blocking Figure *The Jealous Rival*Parallel Romances*Comic Ending
Criticism – Greatest strengths also greatest weaknesses.
No awareness of international upheavalsand turmoil of her day*Napoleonic Wars*Industrial Revolution*Plight of working class*Effects of psychology (Freud)*Effects of science (technology/Darwinism)
Jane wrote what she knew.
*Little insight into male characters.
* Extreme passion avoided.
Point of View
Austen pioneered Free Indirect Discourse
- third-person limited narration.
Is the heroine speaker or the narrator?
This narration is the precursor to stream-of-consciousness.
Romanticism versus Realism
Advocates no restraint
Shows nature as a transcendental power
Reveals man’s plight currently tragic
Celebrates natural beauty
Presents order and discipline
Supports traditional values and norms
Views human condition in comic spirit
Sparse description of nature
Dialogue
Most vivid and important part of the novel Major turning points are verbal Provokes gentle laughter at times Makes bitter observations at times States moral evaluations
Theme
Knowledge comes through careful reasoning and considered experience, unclouded by pride or prejudice based on rank or mere appearances.
Historical Backdrop
Regency Period Industrial Revolution and Social Class
Structure Women’s Rights and Entailment due to
Patriarchy Social Mobility Limits Social Decorum and Reputation
This has been an undocumented Report NOT a Research Project! This is an example of the research you
should do as an initial way of approaching your topic.
Now you are probably ready to create a research question.
What are some possible research questions? Discuss with your partner!
Here is mine -
How does Jane Austen’s use of verbal and situational irony cause her to be categorized as a Realist rather than a Romantic author?
Now I must research to find out what the authorities say… I would not just Google this idea. I need to find authority. I need to use literary texts and internet
sites that are recognized as critical analysis by people in the field.