Transcript Document 7123709

JANE AUSTEN, PRIDE AND
PREJUDICE, AND OTHER
THEMATIC CONCERNS
JANE AUSTEN – THE BIOGRAPHY
Austen was born December 16, 1775 in
Steventon, near Hampshire (England).
 She was the seventh of eight children.
 Her father was a revered and member of the
clergy.
 Austen was formally educated until the age of
ten, but then was educated at home by her
parents (who just so happened to be well-read
and encourage her writing).
 Her closest sibling was her sister Cassandra,
with whom she wrote and performed plays.
 Austen wrote her first novel when she was
fourteen.

JANE AUSTEN – THE BIOGRAPHY
In 1801, the Austen family moved to the bustling
town of Bath.
 This town, mixed with her country upbringing,
flesh out many of the characters and scenarios in
her numerous novels.
 In 1805, Austen’s father passed away, putting
the wife (also named Cassandra) and the two
girls into financial trouble.
 They eventually relied on the charity of the
sons/brothers for their subsistence.
 After traveling and living with relatives for
nearly three years, the Austen women settled in
Southamtpon.

JANE AUSTEN – THE BIOGRAPHY
The last years of Austen’s life were quietly spent
writing.
 She died an untimely death at age 41 from
Addison’s disease, or a lymphoma like disease of
the kidneys.
 She is buried at Winchester Cathedral.
 She was never married.
 Her life is often described as “untroubled,” apart
from minor financial struggles (and she nearly
died at age 9 while at boarding school from a
viral infection).

JANE AUSTEN – THE BIOGRAPHY
Austen was once engaged to a man named
Harrison Bigg-Wither.
 He was pleasant and Oxford educated, and yet
she turned him down (even though it would have
given her financial security and moved her up in
social class).
 Even though marriage for “romantic” purposes
was becoming more of a viable option, people
were baffled when she said “no thanks”.
 Austen had a mixed attitude toward marriage
and motherhood.

OTHER NOTABLES
All of Austen’s work was published anonymously.
 Though the market was full of female authors at
the time, for some reason she stayed behind the
scenes.
 Her most famous novels are re-workings of her
early attempts.
 Sense and Sensibility is a reworking of “Elinor
and Marianne” and Pride and Prejudice is a
reworking of a shorter novella called “First
Impressions”.
 In the 1990’s three of Austen’s novels were made
into either movies or TV series.

IN HISTORY
In 1775, the year Austen is born, the American
Revolution begins.
 In 1789, the French Revolution begins.
 1793: King Louis XVI is executed (a few months
later Marie-Antoinette was also).
 1793: The Reign of Terror begins.
 1811: George III is replaced by King George IV
(formerly the Prince of Wales, a morally corrupt
leader).
 1813: Pride and Prejudice is published.
 1815: Battle of Waterloo ends engagement with
France.

WHAT IS A “NOVEL OF MANNERS”
A novel that describes in detail the customs,
behaviors, habits, and expectations of a certain
social group at a specific time and place. Usually
these conventions shape the behavior of the main
characters, and sometimes even stifle or repress
them
 “A novel dominated by social customs, manners,
conventions, and habits of a definite social class.
In the true novel of manners, the mores of a
specific group, described in detail and with great
accuracy, become powerful controls over
characters. The novel of manners is often,
although by no means always, satiric.”

CONTENT
“Austen wrote of her immediate experience: the
microcosm of the country gentry and its classconscious insularity.”
 Austen in known for “her ability to create
singular characters who linger in one’s
imagination, her unparalleled sense of irony and
wit, her brilliant dialogue, and her carefully
woven plots.”
 Austen is writing about a world where there is
social, moral, and economic stability.
 There is a great deal of formal civility between
her characters, as well as sexual restraint, and
prescribed manners.

CONTENT
The content of Austen’s novels is usually set in
the idyllic country landscape – away from
conflict, war, and industrial turmoil.
 Hence, many modern readers are drawn to
Austen.
 One of the major motifs in Austen’s work is that
of personal fulfillment vs. adherence to social
code.
 Austen is a shrewd observer of human
interaction and motivation.
 Though she traveled little, she did deeply
understand the professional and the member of
the gentry.

CONTENT
You will never see anyone working in an Austen
novel…only talking about working.
 Think of this like a soap opera.
 The wars with the Americas, France/Napoleon,
etc. never really make it into the narrative, which
is ironic, seeing as she had two brothers serving
in the armed forces.
 If anything, these military men only surface as
cute or alluring distractions for women.

CONTENT
Austen loves to talk about the gap between the
working professional and the “gentry” who are
the wealthy who do, well, nothing.
 She often makes fun of their laziness and
snobbish behavior.
 Her novels are usually based on the “marriage
plot”.
 “A typical feature of the comic novel is that
powerful social distinctions upheld in everyday
life tend to be suspended in a effort to further the
plot.”

CONTENT

Quote continued – “Within the safe space of the
novel, such comic upheavals create exciting
possibilities for minor social transgressions; at
the same time, the [novels’ conclusions], the
existing order becomes reaffirmed.”
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Obviously “pride” and “prejudice” are two of the
main themes in the novel.
 One can debate whether or not these are “good”
or “bad” things for people to possess or use.
 It was originally called “First Impressions,”
meaning one’s first impressions of others should
always be managed with caution and only
solidified after careful reflection.
 Austen introduces also a corrupt underside to the
lazy behavior of the gentry. (luxury and
indolence)

SUMMARY
http://www.wikisummaries.org/Pride_and_Prejud
ice (SPOILER ALERT)
 This link has a full plot summary, chapter
summaries and a list of characters. Do not abuse
it, but consult it for help.
 The novel is about the Bennet family and the
(hopeful) marriage of their five daughters to men
of wealth.

THINGS TO CONSIDER
The options of female characters.
 The values of professionals and the values of the
gentry. (SOCIAL CLASS)
 The absence of work.
 Personal satisfaction vs. obligation to family and
society.
 Personal judgment and self-centeredness.
 Social rules and manners.
 This is NOT realism.
 Inwardness vs. Sociability
 Being a rebel.
 Marriages of love vs. Marriages of Oppurtunity

FAMOUS WORKS
Pride and Prejudice
 Sense and Sensibility
 Emma
 Persuasion (Posthumous Release)
 Northanger Abbey (Posthumous Release)
 Mansfield Park
 Sandition (Unfinished)

ME JANE.
COOL SOURCE
http://www.jasa.net.au/jabiog.htm on Austen
 http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist7.html
On the French Revoltuion
