The Novel of Manners

JANE AUSTEN

JANE AUSTEN
Born in 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire
Her father was rector of the church
She was educated at home by her father
She was the 6 th of seven children
She spent her short and uneventful life in the circle of her family
Her inseparable companion was her sister, Cassandra, who like Jane, never married
All her novels were published anonymously while she was alive
Died in 1817

JANE AUSTEN’s NOVELS

JANE AUSTEN’s NOVELS

General features

General features

Are Jane Austen’s novels merely romances?

HOW IS LOVE POSSIBLE IN A RUTHLESS, MONEY-AND-STATUS-ORIENTED SOCIETY?
THE THEME OF MARRIAGE

FOR INTEREST AND SOCIAL STATUS
AFTER AN ELOPMENT
TO SURVIVE AND AVOID POVERTY (MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE)
FOR LOVE AFTER OVERCOMING SEVERAL OBSTACLES
FOR LOVE AFTER A JOURNEY OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-AWARNESS
Different examples of marriage

THEY COULDN’T HAVE A PROFESSION OR MONEY OF THEIR OWN
(AFTER MARRIAGE THEIR DROWRY WAS RUN BY THEIR HUSBANDS, THEIR PROPERTY PASSED TO THEIR HUSBANDS)
INHERITANCE WAS STILL REGULATED BY THE LAW OF PRIMOGENITURE
IF THE DIRECT HEIR WAS A GIRL AN ESTATE COULD BE “ENTAILED”
Why did many women accept a marriage of convenience?

In Jane Austen’s works …
Romanticism is absent (her heroines and heroes are rather formal in their courting habits, no physical contacts of any kind between them, no sensual descriptions, no passionate scenes)
Love is not idealised but rather realistically prospected
Satire (through irony) and social criticism are hugely present and often sharply achieved by the author
Balance, common sense, love based on mutual understanding and respect prevail on passion, impulse and rushed decisions
Marriages for interest or convenience are always unhappy