“The passions are perfectly unknown to her... What sees keenly, speaks aptly, moves flexibly, it suits her to study: but what throbs fast and full, though hidden, what the blood rushes through, what is the unseen seat of life and the sentient target of death - that Miss Austen ignores.”
Thus Charlotte Brontë on the writing of one of our most popular 19th-century authors. Is this true? Is it just? While Austen’s novels seem to have a universal appeal, inspiring numerous popular film and TV adaptations especially in recent years, screenwriters have often seen the need to “sex up” her narratives (Andrew Davies). Close reading reveals that there is a great deal more to her works than romance plots with lively characters and witty dialogue. She was concerned with women’s education and their limited options in a patriarchal society, and analysed the relationships between generations and between marriage partners. She was aware that money and social status were determining factors in most people’s lives and that this could lead to a conflict between duty and inclination when choosing a partner in marriage. She accepted that social conventions mattered, but in each of her novels demonstrated that there may be a great disparity between manners and morals.
This course takes a fresh look at her novels in the context of her time and her social and literary background, exploring the way she was influenced by, and moved beyond it. Taking into account her own life and opinions as documented in letters we shall discuss the themes mentioned above, and address the question raised by Charlotte Brontë whether Austen was able to depict passion!
Learning outcomes
- to develop confidence in their own critical ability through taking part in discussions of texts they have read and reflected on independently;
- to express their responses to these texts, making use of other readers’ interpretations where appropriate;
- to discuss issues of education and marriage in at least one of Austen’s novels.
