1. 1 Jane Austen

2. Born December 16, 1775 7th of 8 children, 6 boys and 2 girls father was a country clergyman, rector of Steventon went to boarding school with sister Cassandra and returned at age 9 in 1801 moved with family to Bath in 1809 moved to Chawton and resumed writing died on July 18, 1817

3. 3 The Austens were moderately well off. They kept a carriage and pair and ‘enjoyed … some of the considerations usually awarded to landed proprietors’. The household was lively and bookish. The family also enjoyed writing and performing plays for evening entertainment.

4. 4 When young she went to balls and picnics, and paid visits like any other girl of her class. Once, it seems, she may have been seriously in love, but the man died. She never married.

5. 5 This is a photograph of a coat worn by Jane Austen. It gives an idea of the type of clothes worn by young ladies of the time.

6. 6 Jane Austen Quotes. “A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” “An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she feels that she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done.”

7. 7 The Regency Period The Regency period in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811 and 1820, when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, later George IV, was instated to be his proxy as Prince Regent. The term is often expanded to apply to the years between 1795 and 1837, a time characterised by distinctive fashions, politics and culture. In this sense, it can be considered to be a transitional period between "Georgian" and "Victorian" eras. The era was distinctive for its architecture, literature, fashions, and politics.

8. 8 18th century England Importance of the small community system of manners formal social rituals Attitude towards literature

9. 9 18th century England English society in the late 18th century was largely made up of a series of rural communities governed in paternalistic fashion from the great house by a member of the gentry or aristocracy who owed his authority and prestige to the ownership of land

10. 10 Each community included cross section of ranks and was independent of all others.Links were created by meetings between the land owners during county activities. Starting with the vertical relationships that stretched from the highest to the lowest in the village and preceding to the horizontal relationships of the gentry a network of face to face contacts was created which embraced all of society

11. 11 Manners are more important than laws. Upon them, in great measure the laws depend. The laws touch us here and there... Manners are what vex and soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase,barbarize or refine us... They give their whole form and color to our lives. According to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them or they totally destroy them

12. 12 18th century means to maintain conventional society The family imposes the rituals as a means of retaining control over the girl or man until the marriage, and then the cycle begins again

13. 13 Role of the Family The family unit acts as a regulative force within a society that might otherwise become unstable. Connected with the marriage is the entire ritual of courtship and marriage

14. 14 18th century view of the purpose of literature Literature was a means to instruct by example so that individuals might emulate the good. Rarely are characters completely good or evil

15. 15 Austen disregarded emulation principle Austen may have begun the trend toward the modern “anti-hero” in that her heroes and heroines are fallible with faults and foibles

16. 16 Austen Novels Pride and Prejudice 1796 (Pub. 1813) Sense and Sensibility 1797 (Pub. 1811) Northhanger Abbey 1798 (Pub. 1818) Mansfield Park (Pub. 1814) Emma (Pub. 1815) Persuasion (Pub. 1818)

17. 17 Pride and Prejudice

18. 18 Achievement of Pride and Prejudice Pride and Prejudice climaxes first stage in Austen’s artistic development. That development is based upon her highly sophisticated awareness of the reader’s possible responses to fiction and upon her desire to exploit, through increasingly sophisticated techniques, the possibility for manipulating, controlling and educating these responses

19. 19 Comment on the opening sentence of the novel: It is a truth universally acknowledged,that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. » It briskly introduces the arrival of Mr. Bingley at Netherfield Park, the event that sets the novel in motion; » This sentence also offers a miniature sketch of the entire plot, which concerns itself with the pursuit of “single men in possession of a good fortune” by various female characters. The preoccupation with socially advantageous marriage in the 19th century England society manifests itself here, because in claiming that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife, the narrator reveals that the reverse is also true: a single woman, whose socially prescribed options are quite limited, is in ( perhaps desperate ) want of a husband. » Rhetorically speaking, the sentence is an irony. There is an ironic difference between the formal manner of the statement and the ultimate meaning of the sentence.

20. 20 Main Plot The story centers around the Bennet family---Mr. & Mrs. Bennet and their five grown-up daughters. Mrs. Bennet’s chief interest in life is to have her five daughters married to rich men, since under the law of the time, if Mr. Bennt dies one day, the family estate will pass on to his nearest male relation, a clergyman called Mr. Collins. At the beginning of the novel,Mr. Bingley, a rich bachelor, moves to live near the house of the Bennets, and bring there his friend Mr. Darcy. Bingley falls in love with Jane,the eldest daughter,but was separated by Bingley’s sisters as well as the disapproval of Darcy. Darcy belittles Elizabeth and hurts her dignity by refusing to dance with her. Later, however, he falls in love with Elizabeth for her wisdom, yet when he proposes marriage to her, he finds that she is prejudiced against him. Her dislike for him is increased by false information about him as well as by her misunderstanding.After many amusing incidents everything is cleared up, thus Darcy overcomes his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice and they are happily united. At the same time, Darcy brings back Bingley to Jane and they are also engaged. Thus the novel comes to its happy ending.

21. 21 Characters of Pride and Prejudice

22. 22 Elizabeth Bennett Intelligent lively and animated opinionated and staunch demonstrates an acceptable revolt against conventions of society Called “ the most delightful a creature that ever appeared in print sets the action in the novel personifies the prejudice in the title of the novel

23. 23 Jane Bennett Na ï ve and gullible insists on believing the best about everyone is 18th century epitome of beauty and femininity reserved and conventional in her manner Slightly insipid lacks animation

24. 24 Mr. Bennett Shrewd, witty, and learned and detached regrets his marriage to an intellectual and social inferior holds his wife up to subtle ridicule fails his station in terms of the 18th century Fails to provide a male heir or provision for his daughters fails to govern his family allows others to assume his responsibilities and duties

25. 25 Mrs. Bennett Comic creation suffers from “ nerves ” refuses to accept her role as wife or competent mother unintelligent, generally concerned with superficial matters Loud, overbearing and obnoxious lacks any “ gentility ” questing to get her five daughters married-- to anyone materialistic

26. 26 George Wickham Villian of the novel points out the problems of raising expectations carries the theme of appearance vs reality-- he has all the appearance of goodness Must marry for money to maintain his lifestyle acts as a foil to Darcy acts as a moral lesson to Elizabeth

27. 27 Lydia Bennett Child of nature animal-like in appetites and desires similar to her mother mother ’ s favorite selfish Demands instant gratification behavior indicates that she cares very little for societal conventions vain

28. 28 Mary Bennett Is emblematic of the “ blue stocking ” the woman who wants to be intellectual intent is in affectation rather than genuine attraction to academia E.g. her musical talent is forced and artificial Vain about her imagined talents and intellects

29. 29 Darcy Arrogant about his position in society tied to conventional wisdom about marriage partnerships claims to be shy opinionated Capable of growing and adjusting his value system follows the noblesse oblige code underestimated by Elizabeth

30. 30 Charlotte Lucas Elizabeth ’ s best friend, discounting Jane older, unmarried practical according to society ’ s standards believes that any couple can be happy enough Doesn ’ t want to know potential spouse well marries for economic security and position gains Elizabeth ’ s disapproval for her choice

31. 31 Mr. Collins Comic character pompous and officious position is due to avowdsons-- awards of the church financed by rich people sycophantic Regards the upper classes with too much awe and lowers his own worth parody of the extremes of “ gentility and manners ”

32. 32 Lady Catherine de Bourgh As ill bred and rude as Mrs. Bennett deserves no special recognition based on her own abilities enjoys dictating to others Continues the play on the word, “ accomplishment ” emphasizes that gentility and good breeding are not solely based on wealth and privilege

33. 33 Mr and Mrs Gardner Point out that gentility is not necessarily apportioned to the upper classes exhibit easy and admirable manners and decorum Act as the parents that Elizabeth should have had appear to “ validate ’ the new observations of Elizabeth

34. 34 Characterization “… Heywood has been called a prose Shakespeare. Really, Miss Austen much more really deserves the title. Within her range her characterization is truly Shakespearea, but she has scarcely a spark of poetry... ” Richard Simpson

35. 35 Instead of telling us what her characters are and what they feels she presents the people and they reveal themselves. In this she has not been surpassed by Shakespeare himself. If ever living beings can be said to have moved across the page of fiction as they lived, speaking as they spoke, and feeling as they felt they do so in Pride and Pejudice, Emma, and Mansfield Park FOR MORE INFO...

36. 36 Sir Walter Scott comment which revived interest in Austen She has a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life, which to me the most wonderful I ever met with....The equisit touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early

37. 37 Irony As in many of Austen’s other novels, irony is employed in Pride and Prejudice as the lens through which society and human nature are viewed. Through the novel, Austen studies social relationships in the limited society of a country neighbourhood and investigates them in detail with an often ironic and humorous eye. Note her presentation of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, for example. Their contrasting temperaments are first shown through their manner of conversation; Mrs. Bennet chatters on while Mr. Bennet counters her talk with mildly sarcastic statements, the mocking tone of which Mrs. Bennet completely misses.

38. 38 Austen ’ s irony Irony is implicit in Elizabeth Bennett herself: as a complex person she can judge others, but as a middle class heroine with bourgeois tendencies, she can herself be pleasantly fallible

39. Highlight any procedural differences from regular projects of this type Discuss requirements, benefits, and issues of using new procedures “Jane Austen as Ironist and Moralist” George Henry Lewes

40. Critics ’ Response Subject matter – Austen ’ s subject matter--courtship and marriage and common issues-- are too slight for her artistry Dialogue – plot revolves around what the characters say and not what they do Detachment – Austen is too far removed from what her characters feel