Jane Austen Background Information

National flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain

• 16 December 1775 - 18 July 1817

• Birthplace - Hampshire, England

• Writing style involved wit, romance, passion, emotion, logic, great structure, and sarcasm.

• Also uses comedy to critique the portrayal of women in the 19th century. 

• First novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published in 1811

• Social Class:

• Upper
• Middle
• Lower

• Industrial Revolution: 1760 - 1820/1840

• Before the Industrial Revolution the class system in England was very separate. 

• It is the arrival of the Industrial Revolution that led the emergence of a strong middle class in England.

• Employment:
• Railroad Worker
• Charcoal Production
• Farming

• Male/Female Roles:

Painting that depicts gender roles in the 1800's

• A woman's purpose in life is to find a husband, have children, and spend the rest of her life taking care of them. If a woman decided to stay single, she would be ridiculed by the community. The man's purpose was to work and provide for the wife and children.

Many of Austen's novels illustrated the genre of Romance




• Themes

• Many themes are  found in Austen’s novels including love, marriage, wealth, class, gender roles, and femininity.

•  Death rarely occurs in her novels



Anglican Church in Dublin

• Austen's father was a clergyman in the Church of England (Anglican)

• Novels include a strong sense of moral code underneath comedy.

• Represented the Church of England and believed in the Puritan tradition.

Original copy of Pride and Prejudice printed in 1813

• Pride and Prejudice Intro:

• Published in 1813

• Sold over 20 million copies worldwide

• One of the most popular novels in English literature

• Modern interest has resulted in many adaptations and novels imitating Austen's original characters.

Pride and Prejudice

• Summary:

Pride and Prejudice follows main character Elizabeth Bennet, where she will encounter multiple issues found in the society of the landed gentry, during nineteenth-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five other daughters named Jane, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet wish to find Elizabeth and her four sisters a suitable husband to marry, one with a fair amount of wealth at that. The rich and single Mr. Bingley moves into the Bennet's neighborhood, and is immediately attracted to Jane Bennet. Through the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Jane, Elizabeth will be in frequent company with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley's rich and prideful friend. Elizabeth will have to overcome her prejudice as Mr. Darcy overcomes his pride so that they both eventually get married and live happily ever after.

Landed gentry - British social class consisting of landowners; upper class. 

• Main Characters:

• Elizabeth Bennet - Protagonist of the novel, story is told from her perspective, judges others on first impression (origin of "Prejudice" in the title)

• Mr. Darcy - Male protagonist, very prideful due to his immense wealth (origin of "Pride" in the novel's title)

• Mr. and Mrs. Bennet - Both work to see that their daughters will receive wealth after they pass away.

• Mr. Bingley - Falls in love with Jane, without him Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would never meet.

• Theme: 
• The theme that created even the title "Pride and Prejudice" and was certainly a great issue in nineteenth-century England is class. Darcy's first impressions of Elizabeth are molded by his upper class background as he acts snobbishly to her at first. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's love for each other is only achieved after they free themselves from the shackles of class and status.

• Symbols: 
• It is noted that Elizabeth finds great solace in the outdoors and enjoys rambling on by herself  in such places as Netherfield's Garden. Elizabeth is imposed upon when she finds that Mr. Darcy has discovered her favorite walking path. The sight of Elizabeth and Darcy walking together represents their marriage that is to come. The outdoors, to Elizabeth, symbolizes freedom and peace.

• Literary Techniques:
• Conflict - Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are conflicted due to their sense of pride and prejudice that causes them to misunderstand each other.

• Characterization - Austen uses direct characterization to illustrate the differences between characters in the novel.
• For Example - Mr. Bingley is described as,"good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners" whereas Darcy is described as, "Proud to be aboe his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared wit his friend"