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Quietly Defiant: Challenging Society’s Ideal Woman in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice

Hirvenoja Simon, Alicia LU (2020) ENGK01 20201
English Studies
Abstract
Jane Austen is a well-known author, particularly within feminist literary history as her texts often included the lives of young women. The protagonists of Austen’s novels have often been the subject of analysis regarding how the author argued about women’s position in society however the minor characters are seldom discussed. In this essay I discussed whether or not her minor female characters can be used to argue against the ideal which women were expected to conform to during her time. When analyzing the characters, I took into consideration research on women’s position in society during Austen’s lifetime e.g. within education, marriage, and social class to understand how society affected the characters and their actions. I came to the... (More)
Jane Austen is a well-known author, particularly within feminist literary history as her texts often included the lives of young women. The protagonists of Austen’s novels have often been the subject of analysis regarding how the author argued about women’s position in society however the minor characters are seldom discussed. In this essay I discussed whether or not her minor female characters can be used to argue against the ideal which women were expected to conform to during her time. When analyzing the characters, I took into consideration research on women’s position in society during Austen’s lifetime e.g. within education, marriage, and social class to understand how society affected the characters and their actions. I came to the conclusion that none of the four characters analyzed achieved the expectations of society and therefore their characterization can be used to argue that the ideal woman is unachievable. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hirvenoja Simon, Alicia LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK01 20201
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Jane Austen, literature, feminism, character analysis, sense and sensibility, pride and prejudice
language
English
id
9029515
date added to LUP
2020-09-18 08:45:06
date last changed
2020-09-18 08:45:06
@misc{9029515,
  abstract     = {{Jane Austen is a well-known author, particularly within feminist literary history as her texts often included the lives of young women. The protagonists of Austen’s novels have often been the subject of analysis regarding how the author argued about women’s position in society however the minor characters are seldom discussed. In this essay I discussed whether or not her minor female characters can be used to argue against the ideal which women were expected to conform to during her time. When analyzing the characters, I took into consideration research on women’s position in society during Austen’s lifetime e.g. within education, marriage, and social class to understand how society affected the characters and their actions. I came to the conclusion that none of the four characters analyzed achieved the expectations of society and therefore their characterization can be used to argue that the ideal woman is unachievable.}},
  author       = {{Hirvenoja Simon, Alicia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Quietly Defiant: Challenging Society’s Ideal Woman in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}