An Approach To Jane Austen And Her Pride And Prejudice

Jane Austen (1775－1817) wrote only six complete novels, two of which were published after her death. In these novels the life of the gentry, landowners and clergy at the end of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth centuries is shown in detail. They are peopled by an assembly of characters, men and women, old and young — some, but not many, children — who are unforgettable and can become as real to the reader as his or her own friends and family. Jane Austen did not step outside her own self-imposed limits. She does not write of titled people in grand houses.The essay falls into three parts:I. Complete Background Most important for understanding Jane Austen—and English literature in general—is that England was relatively untouched by the violent revolutionary activity of the times. Nevertheless, Great Britain did experience a "revolution " during these years which continued through the nineteenth century. This revolution—as with so many things English—occurred legally, through the continuing of the British Constitution.When we look into Jane Austen's novels, we are not surprised to see that they lack the violence (insurrections, guillotines, assassinations, marching armies) which were characteristic of the European continent and America. The absence of these elements may be a result of another factor in her life, and in the life of the nation.Much of the turmoil which characterized English society and politics at the opening of the new century was a result of one factor which did not enter into the American and French revolutions, namely increasing urbanization and industrialization. Although Jane Austen lived in the years between Oliver Goldsmith and Charles Dickens, her world is neither urbanized nor industrialized. If one were to read only her novels for information on her times, one would never know that there were any large cities in England, least of all that in those cities were such phenomena as factories, cotton looms, child labor, gin palaces, slums, widespread prostitution, and the endless list of ills that beset England at the time.Jane Austen was born between two centuries, and is more properly seen as a child of the eighteenth century than as a forerunner of the nineteenth century. When the century came to an end, she was 25 years old, and most of her life was over. Also, she had formed the opinions, prejudices, attitudes, which were to stay with her to the end of her life. Jane Austen never questions the rigid social and political system of her times.It is clear that between 1750 and 1830, a different kind of literature began to appear: the revolution in literature known as "romanticism". That change of direction, or revolution, has been described by some critics as a shift from an emphasis on "reason" to an emphasis on "emotion" and the "natural." Without a doubt, however, Jane Austen's loyalties are to the writers of the past. Her letters are filled with allusions to those writers, which shows where she got the models for her style and ideas. These are her models; these are her idols.II. Critical AnalysisSome critics accuse Jane Austen of being obsessed with money and rich relations. But both were a necessity in the society to which she belonged. And all Jane Austen's work shows a recognizable standard of values. Her father was a country vicar; his family remained faithful Christians throughout their lives, and went regularly to church. Jane took for granted that a person should be sincere, unselfish, disinterested and unworldly, and that virtue should be judged by good sense and good taste. These beliefs are fundamental to her work.Throughout her life Jane Austen had been guided by Christian principles, and she accepted the Church's teaching without question. Her faith is implicit in all her writing; the virtues of a disciplined life, a caring relationship between husband and wife, and their duty to give children a moral and loving upbringing, are reflected in her letters and in her novels. At her death she expected to appear...