...JANE AUSTEN An English author widely read in the nineteen-hundreds, was Jane Austen. Although Austen’s works were widely read and popular in her lifetime, she published her works anonymously. All of her books are mainly about bright, young heroines in courtship and finally marriage, even though Austen herself never married. Her best-known books include Pride and Prejudice. Virginia Woolf, a renown critic in Austen’s time called Austen "the most perfect artist among women." Austen’s position as part of the upper class of the early nineteenth century British society gave her not only a subject for her novels but also the time needed for writing. Jane Austen was born in Stevenson, Hampshire, as the second daughter and seventh child in a family of eight. As a young woman Jane enjoyed dancing and she attended balls in many of the great houses of the neighborhood. She loved the country, and enjoyed long country walks. As a result, when she wrote, many of her works are set in the English countryside. Life was going great, therefore it came as a shock when Mr. Austen decided to retire and move with his wife and two daughters to Bath. Bath is where two of Austen’s books are set. The next four years were difficult ones for Jane. She disliked the busy town and missed her Steventon life. After her father's death in 1805, his widow and daughters also suffered financial difficulties and were forced to rely on the charity of the Austen sons. Most of Jane’s novel characters are upper middle...
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...Discuss the ways in which Jane Austen uses caricature to ridicule or point out the faults of a rigid class system in characters such as Sir Walter, Mr. Woodhouse, and Mr. Collins. Extend your explanation of these character's personalities and goals to those of one or two of today's politicians. Are there parallels between Mr. Woodhouse, for example, and members of the Congress or Legislature? Explain your Answer. Jane Austen uses caricature to ridicule and to point out faults of the rigid class system of her day. We can look at Sir Walter Elliot from Persuasion, Austen’s last completed novel in 1816. Secondly poor old Mr. Woodhouse from Emma, written by Austen and published in 1815. Lastly Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice also written by Austen and published in 1813. Sir Walter Elliot at first read comes off as pompous and vain. After finishing the novel I cannot seem to change my view of him and probably with good reason. “He maintains personal qualities that are abhorrent to Austen's protagonists. Selfish and self-absorbed, he is unable to think past himself and his own immediate desires. Yet Sir Walter is not at all evil or ill inclined; rather, he is comically ridiculous, a caricature of the old, titled class” (SparkNotesEditors). Austen explains his vain character well in this one statement. “Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four...
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...Green, Brianna English 2 Professor Padilla June 3, 2012 Emma: the Turning Point at Box Hill Essay Emma, a novel by Jane Austen, is the story of a young woman, Emma, who is rich, stubborn, conniving, and occupies her time meddling into others' business. There are several recurring themes throughout the novel; the ideas of marriage, social class, women's confinement, and the power of imagination to blind the one from the truth, which all become delineated and reach a climax during the trip to Box Hill. The scene at Box Hill exposes many underlying emotions that have been built up throughout the novel, and sets the stage for the events that conclude it. Emma's personality is largely shaped by the nature of her upbringing. Emma had no motherly figure guiding her as she grew up, due to the fact that her mother passed away at a young age, and her governess, Miss Taylor, became her best friend instead of an authority over her. At the start of the novel Miss Taylor gets married to Mr. Weston, leaving Emma with her despondent and hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse. Although Mr. Woodhouse often confines Emma to the house because of his paranoia of her being harmed, he gives her little guidance. Emma becomes accustomed to being the "princess" of her house, and she applies this role to all of her social interactions, as she develops the ability to manipulate people and control them to advance her own goals. Emma views herself with the highest...
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...Admiral Croft who was among the nouveau rich, had the financial means to rent Kellynch from Sir Walter, one of the so-called landed gentry. How (I assume this should be what) does Jane Austen's treatment of class and social mobility reveal about these men and their women such as Anne Elliot and Mrs. Smith? Which group fares better and why? Persuasion is set in a time when landed gentry were beginning to lose their firm grasp over the money and power of society and were being forced to acknowledge not only the presence of the nouveau riche, but the fact that one cannot survive on name alone. The nouveau riche were faring better financially but were not accepted socially by titled men such as Sir Walter, who may have been losing their estates slowly due to falling incomes and a spread of the collective wealth of the area but were still not apt to welcome those from families who may not have been mentioned in Burke's Peerage. Social mobility was allowing people with new money the access to old families with title and position that previously would have been unattainable. Austen shows an interesting difference between being rich and being titled – one stands firm and one is easily lost. Sir Walter is losing his fortune at a rapid pace, and along with it, his home and estate, while his title and position in society stand firm. He could lose every penny, but the title on his name would still grant him entry to most any home or societal function. Mrs. Smith, on the other...
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...woman’s intelligence. Some may be ecstatic, but Jane Austen almost did not meet him because she disliked him. Although the era she lived in almost prevented her from being published, it also heavily impacted her novels. Jane Austen’s writings were greatly influenced by her prosperous late eighteenth century village and city homes, enlightening education, and numerous romantic interests. It all began when Austen was born into an upper middle class English family. One of the major influences on Jane...
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...Jane Austen: A Life Revealed Novels written by Jane Austen are timeless and will never be forgotten because of her witty remarks and sophisticated style of writing. She gives her readers a sense of what it was like to live in the Georgian era which was from 1714 to 1830 in England. During this time women like Jane and the lower class were not treated fairly as everyone else. They were not obligated to receive an education as we are today and they could not get jobs, instead they were forced to do all of the house chores. They were also forced into marriage just for the economic benefits since women could not have jobs. Although most women decide to stick to house chores, activities like sewing, and cross stitching Jane took a different path,...
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...Introduction It appears that like many great artists, the writer Jane Austen was not greatly appreciated in her own time. 1 Austen came from a big family being the seventh child of George and Cassandra Austen. To some, the way Austen does not seem so bad as she had a family who liked each other and a Father who worked as an Oxford-trained rector in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Austen's was a household where learning and imagination were encouraged. In Austen's lifetime she completed six novels. However, her two novels considered literary classics were Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Austin went by the pen name: “The Lady”. Also, Austen had a special relationship with her only sister Casandra and her father. It should...
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...Love, Wealth, and Marriage Pride and Prejudice, authored by Jane Austen, is a skillfully crafted novel dealing with love, comedy, and first impressions. The novel follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, and her middleclass family living in 19th century England. Elizabeth, unlike her younger sisters, is quite quick-witted but perhaps is too judgmental and relies very heavily on her first impressions of people; this is clearly evident after her first meeting with Mr. Darcy. Lydia, Elizabeth’s youngest sister, is rather childish and seems to be quite foolish; this is made quite evident when she marries Mr. Wickham. Another important female character is Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s opportunistic friend; she marries Collins after Elizabeth rejects his marriage proposal. Another interesting concept portrayed in the novel is the motivation behind the main characters’ marriages: Elizabeth marries out of love, where as her friend, Charlotte, marries so that she might continue with her lavish lifestyle. Lydia, Elizabeth’s youngest sister, marries out of what she thinks is love but, in fact, out of something more sinister. The first marriage found in the novel is that of Charlotte Lucas to the nervous Mr. Collins. Charlotte, being a “well-educated woman of small fortune”(120; Vol.1, ch. 22), readily accepted Collins’ proposal regardless that her best friend, Elizabeth, had rejected the same proposal not a week before. Charlotte marries Collins primarily because he will be able to...
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...tuberculosis (Weldon 37-39). Jane Austen, born 1775, in Hampshire, England, was removed from most of these challenges due to her wealth, but the constriction she felt and debasement she observed still disturbed her (Life v). Her entire life was channeled toward marriage, and her thoughts and opinions were seen as trivial and lesser because she was female. Austen found escape in literature, and channeled many of her life’s frustrations into her last novel, Persuasion. The novel became a place where she could immortalize herself and those close to her, live out...
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...BOOK REVIEW Emma is a classic novel written by Jane Austen in 1815, published by John Murray. Emma is an intelligent, upper class young woman who thinks she knows more than other people. She decides to use her knowledge to become a matchmaker for her new little friend, Harriet. Emma finds out that she doesn't know as much as she thinks she does; while she discovers she misread quite a few of her acquaintances. She discovers that she didn't even know herself as well as she thought. The Regency era was a time of great social, political, and even economic change. The upper class lived extravagantly and spent huge amounts on pomp and show which caused a tremendous drain of money and this lead to large scale poverty. Jane Austen's portrayal of England's class structure in 1816 presents the idea that there are three distinct social classes, the lower, middle and upper class. All three join together in harmony to create the essence of Highbury, however there is a little discrimination present. In the early part of this period the ballroom dancing was prevalent in high society parties. Jane Austen features balls in her novels quite often. CHARACTER OVERVIEW: Emma is a young, beautiful and rich girl and finds herself a bit smarter for her match-making habit. She is a feminist character and thinks that she’ll never marry. Mr.knightley is Emma’s neighbor and also her sister Isabelle’s brother-in-law. He is a very good friend and critic of Emma and found to be wise in decision...
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...Review: The Historical Austen Galperin, William. The Historical Austen. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2002. William Galperin’s 2002 work, The Historical Austen, offers a dichotomous approach to understanding both Jane Austen in history, as well as, in literature. Austen’s history remains troubled by a lack of sources for her personal narrative, however, Galperin strives to find her contributions to writing and Austenite studies’ historicity to find his own “probable” Jane. (7) He does this through literary trends, aesthetic trends, and social trends in support of his thesis arguing for widespread understanding of Austen’s dynamic oppositional style, which would correspond with contemporary opinions despite many other scholars’...
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...Word Choice and Syntax Jane Austen originally wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1813 as a novel of manners. Included on pages 11 to 12 is a passage Austen utilizes to depict major themes that recur throughout the novel. She did this by using dialogue between Elizabeth and Jane, as well as Elizabeth’s thoughts. Syntax, a cynical tone, and background imagery of the Bingley sisters are used to suggest that listening to society’s expectations of manners is necessary, but should be limited and that before Elizabeth decides to judge others based on their actions, she must look within herself and realize her own flaws. At the beginning of the passage, Elizabeth expresses her doubts about Jane’s judgements of the Bingley sisters. According to Elizabeth,...
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...Why do we still read Austen today? By Ida Palmer Jane Austen is considered a revolutionary novelist and prose-writer, arguably rivalled only by the likes of William Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde. But, 200 years after her books were written, why do we still read them today? Possibly the most apparent reason is Austen’s ability to make us feel better about ourselves. Her books are awash with moral guidance as we see the main characters go on journeys and encounter obstacles in their quest for happiness, and we cannot help but put ourselves in their shoes and wonder “What would I do?”. Austen uses subtlety to guide us through moral difficulties, avoiding the preachy tone of “You SHOULD do this”, and instead incorporating the delicate air of “This is a possibility.” Our need for guidance and role models relates back to the inescapable human desire for valid instruction from an influential leader; In her time, when unmarried women were virtually invisible on the social scale, Austen was not a typical body for a role model, and so many of her readers would not have uncovered, or expected, the moral messages written into her storylines. Contemporary readers, however, can easily unpick the subtleties in Austen’s work and indentify the intricacy in her “comedy of manners”. Another perfectly valid reason we still read Austen today is simply because she is an eloquent and articulate writer. She writes with wit, flair, irony, and an unmatchable humour in her tone. Her novels, albeit...
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...In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen creates vivid and engaging characters and fluid character development through her use of diction and syntax. For example, one can analyze how Austen stresses Elizabeth’s reaction to Darcy’s letter. The reader quickly understands Elizabeth’s inquisitiveness and, turbulence existing within Elizabeth’s mind. But such as they were, it may well be supposed how eagerly she went through them, and what a contrariety of emotions they exited. Her feelings as she read were scarcely to be defined. […]. She read with an eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension; and, from impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring, was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes (Austen 181). The diction Austen uses heavily...
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...•Emma, written in 1815 by Jane Austen, investigates the foundation of marriage inside nineteenth century British society. Each character is meshed into the story and makes faces off regarding with respect to marriage and the part men and ladies depict while considering the possibility of marriage. Austen likewise investigates what every sexual orientation profits by a union. The view Emma has toward marriage, and how these perspectives change once she finds a good accomplice, Mr. Knightley, is a focal topic all through the novel. When she is consoled of the adoration Mr. Knightley has communicated, Emma can get through the dividers she has made around herself and go into a union in a positive way. •Austen investigates marriage and why Emma,...
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