1. Jane Austen (1775-1817) Beowulf Performer - Culture & Literature
Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,
Margaret Layton © 2012

2. 1. Jane Austen’s life Born in Steventon in Hampshire in 1775.
Her father was the rector of the local church.
Spent her life within the circle of her affectionate family.
Her sister Cassandra was her lifelong companion.
Educated at home by her father.
Showed an interest in literature at an early age.
The cottage in Chawton where Jane Austen lived the last years of her life. Now it is Jane Austen’s House Museum
Performer - Culture & Literature

3. 1. Jane Austen’s life Her earliest writings date from 1787.
After her father’s death the family settled in Chawton,
a small country village.
There she produced her most mature works.
Died in Winchester in 1817.
The cottage in Chawton where Jane Austen lived the last years of her life. Now it is Jane Austen’s House Museum.
Performer - Culture & Literature

4. Portrait of Jane Austen
2. Main works
Northanger Abbey, written in 1798 but published posthumously.
Sense and Sensibility (1811).
Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Mansfield Park (1814).
Emma (1816).
Persuasion (1818, after her death).
Portrait of Jane Austen
Performer - Culture & Literature

5. 3. The debt to the 18th-century novel
From the 18th-century novelists she learnt:
the insight into the psychology of the characters;
the subtleties of the ordinary events of life  balls, walks, tea-parties and visits;
the omniscient narrator;
the technique of dialogue;
the use of verbal and situational irony.
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6. 4. The national marriage market
Austen’s values: property, decorum, money and marriage.
Austen’s England: based on the possession of land, parks and country houses.
Marriage: result of the growing social mobility.
The marriage market takes place in London, Bath and some seaside resorts.
Gossip, flirtations, seductions, adulteries happen in these places.
The marriage market produces a range of villains: unscrupulous relatives, seducers and social climbers.
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7. 5. The theme of love In Austen’s novels No place for great passion.
Concern with analysis of character and conduct.
Romantic element of happy ending  marriage between the hero and heroine.
Focus on the steps through which the hero / heroine reaches this stage.
Performer - Culture & Literature

8. 6. Pride and Prejudice (1813) Set in Longbourn, Hertfordshire.
Mr and Mrs Bennet and their five daughters (Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia and Kitty).
Mr Bingley, a rich bachelor, rents the large estate of Netherfield Park nearby.
Mr Bingley falls in love with Jane Bennet.
His friend Mr Darcy, a proud aristocrat, feels attracted to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth cultivates a dislike of Mr Darcy.
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9. 6. Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth but she rejects him.
She accuses him of separating Jane and Mr Bingley.
She accuses him of ill-treating Mr Wickham, a young officer.
Darcy writes her a letter to reveal that Wickham is an adventurer without scruples.
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10. 6. Pride and Prejudice (1813) Wickham elopes with Lydia.
Darcy finds them and organises their marriage.
Elizabeth accepts Darcy’s renewed proposal.
Bingley and Jane also get married.
Performer - Culture & Literature

11. 6. Pride and Prejudice (1813) Themes
The relationship between the individual and society.
The conflict between the individual’s desires and the individual’s responsibility to society.
The use that the individual makes of freedom and its consequences.
The contrast between imagination and reason.
Love, courtship, and marriage.
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12. 7. Elizabeth and Darcy Elizabeth Bennet has a lively mind;
is capable of complex impressions and ideas;
has a strong spirit of independence;
refuses to take on the roles which her family or society tries to impose on her;
accuses Darcy of pride.
Fitzwilliam Darcy
knows the principles of right conduct;
is selfish and unsociable;
accuses Elizabeth of prejudice;
is prejudiced by his upbringing and disgusted by the vulgar behaviour of Elizabeth’s mother and younger sisters.
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13. 8. The message of the novel
The search for a balance
through
the gradual change of the main traits of the characters’ personality
leads to
a reconciliation of the themes that they represent.
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14. 9. The Novel of Manners
Jane Austen is the undisputed master of the novel of manners.
there is a vital relationship between manners, social behaviour and character
Premise
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15. 9. The Novel of Manners Main features
Set in upper- and middle-class society.
Influence of class distinctions on character.
Visits, balls, teas as occasions for joining up.
Main themes: marriage, the complications of love and friendship.
Third-person narrator.
Dialogue: the main narrative mode.
Passions and emotions not expressed directly.
Use of irony.
Performer - Culture & Literature