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Introduction
Jane Austen is generally accredited to be one of the most widely read and accepted writers in the world of English literature. Effective use of realism, indirect speech, and crucial social criticism is very common in Austens writings. Austen has a deep insight into the family dynamics and she has portrayed in her stories the relationships between children and parents and how parents handle their children. After a deep analysis of Austens novels, a reader can understand that Jane Austen portrays her heroines as strong and highly influential. Most of her heroines are youthful and emotional and a reader can easily find some similarities between these characters. Critics notice that Austen provides her views through her characters, either by their movements or by the authors direct remarks. Jane Austens heroines are characteristically balanced between youth and adulthood and faced with many hardships and sometimes throbbing decisions that come with mounting up. Jane Austen bestows two types of characters in her novels. She wrote six novels in about twenty-seven years of her literary career. Jane Austens leading heroines have appeared in her popular novels such as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. Some of her heroines are perfectly good and they remained unchanged in the end. Some of them made some mistakes and later they changed their mistakes. It is clear that each of Austens finest heroines either has or develops strong scruples and a sense of individual answerability. Through her female characters, Jane Austen analyses the concept of womanhood and also seeks the major features of ideal womanhood. Jane Austen had a powerful belief in the existence of snobbery in upper and middle-class societies in England. With the help of two distinctive types of female characters, Jane Austen depicts the positive and negative attributes of womanhood. One can see that Jane Austens novels present two types of female characters, one is unchanged characters that remain at the end of the novel and the other is changed either by their own mistakes or by other external forces. Austens heroines are intelligent, powerful, and follow feminist ideologies.
Critics notice that Jane Austen had followed specific and influential themes in most of her novels including the rights and responsibilities of women folk. Austens novel Sense and Sensibility discusses balancing emotions and thought. Jane Austens masterpiece Pride and Prejudice is about the topic that judging others very fast. The theme of the novel Emma is about budding into adulthood. In her novel Persuasion, Austen gives the theme of second chances in human life. A reader can find the fact that Jane Austens unchanged heroines like Fanny in Mansfield Park, Annie in Persuasion, and Eleanor in Sense and Sensibility share some common characteristics. The novelist presents them as more powerful characters who remain unchanged at the end of the story. A reader can see the mannerisms of a gentlewoman in Jane Austens heroine Fanny Price. Fanny is the heroine of Jane Austens widely accepted novel Mansfield Park. She is the most remarkable, sensitive, shy, intelligent, and virtuous character in this novel. She is a very beautiful and gentle woman who follows some moral principles and ideals in her life. Fannys timid behavior and weak physical performance make her different from the heroines of Jane Austen. In chapter XXXIV of Mansfield Park Henry Crawford says something about Fanny to his sister. Henrys comments help the reader to understand more about the character of Fanny. Henry says; And then, her air, her manner, her tout ensemble, is so indescribably improved, She must be grown two inches, at least since October. (Austen 215-216). Fannys nature and her physical appearance are revealed here through the words of Henry. Fanny is the eldest daughter of an ambiguous lieutenant in the department of Navy, who has eight other children, and she led a solitary life at the estate. At the time of her first arrival, her cousins frighten her severely and she gets moral support only from the side of Edmund. Later she found Edmund to be her intimate companion at Mansfield Park. Fanny is an intelligent and pretty woman in her youth and she has an insight about her life and lives by a firm moral code. Her meticulous character helps her to lead a life without mistakes. Austens character travels an emotional expedition to gladness. The writer Jane Austens other important heroin is Anne, a beautiful lady. The novelist portrays Anne, not a powerful character At the beginning of the novel, then the reader can see she managed several complications which occurred in her family. Here Anne shows her virtue and human kindness to her fellow persons and also expresses her sincerity and faithfulness.
As a notable novelist in 19th century English literature, Jane Austen portrays her heroines with striking features and they have their own identity in literature. John P. Hardy states; Jane Austen explores human relationships at this depth means that her heroines at some stage seem more alone or isolated than many of her minor characters. (Hardy xiii).
Jane Austen was the greatest woman novelist during the first quarter of the nineteenth century and also one of the most beloved writers in English literature because her novels show the real picture of social life. Most of her novels are modeled on one specific pattern so that there is little difference in her art in all the novels she wrote. The heroines of Jane Austen are minutely portrayed and accurately described. Her heroines are living characters and they are not types but individuals. In all her novels she introduces beautiful and intelligent women characters and all these characters have different personalities.
The character of Fanny Price in the novel Mansfield Park is the decisive example of Jane Austens unusual capacity to create a colorfully frail character, full of traits but missing inner profundity. The journal article entitled Fannys Character in Jane Austens Mansfield Park gives helpful comments for the reader to understand the ability of Austens character formation. The author remarks; Fanny Price of Mansfield Park is the ultimate example of Austens rare capacity to create a colorfully insubstantial character, full of quirks but lacking inner depth. (Lopez para 1).
Analyzing the comment, a reader may be forced to think that Austen portrayed Fanny Price as a symbol of ideal womanhood and the novelist makes a serious attempt to explore moral teachings through her heroines.
Anne Eliot is another striking character in Jane Austens novel Persuasion and she is noted for her intelligence and excessive passion. The novel is widely considered the last completed novel by Jane Austen. Anne Eliot is witty, intelligent, and clever who is fully proud of her appearance. Ann Eliot is the overlooked daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, who is always conscious about her good looks and likes to lead a luxurious life. As a novel that appeared as the ending part of Austens literary career, a reader can find some glimpses of feminism in her novel Persuasion. Austen presents her heroine Anne as an absolute figure who follows some feminine features in this novel. But she never react against the existing problems affected by the female community. Anne has a powerful personality which helps her to stand steady in difficult situations and constant in her principles. Anne keeps her personality in her family and a reader can easily find this from Annes attitudes towards the family members and others. Anne is highly conscious about the social structure in which her dealings operate, and although she may search a bit more litheness, she by no ways desires to seriously face the principles of class. As a member of the upper-class family, Anne understands and respects the significance of making an appropriate match, and is prevented by the view of someone as squat as Mrs. Clay incoming into her family through marriage and other functions. Annes greatness is her ability to be strongly influenced by others. Analyzing Austens novel, a reader can notice that the character of Anne is highly considered, for in her free and flexible mind, respect for duty, and her ability to balance imagination and practicality. Jane Austen portrays her heroine Anne Eliot in the background of a male dominating society where men play a vital role in social, financial, and family issues. This is a helpful thing for a reader to find the difference in Annes nature. In his work entitled A Companion to Jane Austen studies, Robert T. Lambdin gives highly informative comments about the character formation of Jane Austen. The author remarks; By allowing Anne Eliot to be intellectual and passionate, distinctly more multidimensional than the usual heartless talking heads or compassionate lessons of the previous novels, Austen changed her typical character pattern. (Lambdin 160).
Jane Austens novel Sense and Sensibility explores the sufferings of two sisters who stagger upon pleasure in a way they did not anticipate. Eleanor is the eldest of the two sisters. While Marianne, the younger one demonstrates the romantic ideals of the middle-class people who lived in nineteenth century England. Austen portrays the character of Eleanor as sensible and conscious. Like the character of Fanny Price, Austen keeps positive discrimination for Eleanors ability to gain happiness from family and associates, because she lived not only for herself. Eleanors suppressed feelings and emotions reveal the life of a typical 19th-century woman who considers love as secondary importance in social life. Eleanor has a strong awareness of the existing social atmosphere. The web article entitled The Sense and Sensibility of Jane Austen by Rachel Lerman provides valuable comments about the nature of Eleanor. The author remarks; Elinor is the sister who is concerned with the welfare of her relations and takes it upon herself to look after their well-being. (Lerman para 4). Eleanor explores the characteristics related to eighteenth-century neo-classicism, effective insight, rationalism, concrete judgment, and balancing of emotions. Here, one can understand that Jane Austen waves toward her ancestors and acknowledge the influence of their tradition on her generation. Austen demonstrates her second type of characterization through the novels such as Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. Emma Wood House is the main female character of Jane Austens novel Emma. Jane Austen presents the character of Emma Wood House as a charming and young twenty years old lady. She plays the role of a humorous and fortunate woman in this novel. Emma Wood House loved a gentleman Harriet but this love is not successful. In the case of Emma, life is more luxurious and she never looks at life as a serious one. Her inclination to concern herself too much with other characters life makes many problems in Emmas life. Emma continues her merrymaking through gossiping and playing matchmaker. Through the character of Emma, Austen criticizes the luxurious life of middle-class people. Self-ignorance is a great fall in Emmas character. Here, Austen presents her heroine Emma as a person who struggles with her self ignorance. The author gives a clear comparison between healthful and unhealthful connections between Emma and Harriet, and Emma and Knightley. Emma Harriets relationship reveals the unhealthy relation; here the teacher abuses the student. After a deep analysis of the novel, a reader can easily find that Emmas extreme intelligence, education, increasing knowledge, power, and authority make her commit many mistakes. In the conclusion part of this story, Emmas mind changes and she marries another person Mr. Knightly. In this remarkable novel, Jane Austen has pictured the ability and power of women in society. Austens novel Emma points out the position of women in social contexts. The character Emma delights in interfering in other peoples relationships. She continuously demands until men and women are completely mistaken for each other. Despite her concentration on romance, Emma is inexperienced about her feelings, and her relation with gentleman Mr. Knightly. Jane Austens other characters show the same changing mentality of mind and self-distraction. Adrian Carpenter remarks; Although Austen thought that only she would like her witty, fanciful, self-deluded heroine, Emma has gained the affection of generations of book lovers.
(Carpenter para 9). The novel helps the reader think that the writer clearly portrays Emmas mistakes and her erroneous attitudes and carelessly identifies them as such, but the author also proposes a consideration or even an attachment for the heroine that helps moderate the readers consideration of the character. One can easily find the truth that Emmas intrusive nature, excessive arrogance, extreme pretentiousness, which keep her from acquiring the true gentility that she wishes to seize. After the guidance of Mr. Knightley, Emma begins to judge people morally not externally and she can understand the concept of true gentility.
Marianne is another typical example of Austens effective character formation. She plays the role of the youngest and luxurious sister in Jane Austens novel Sense and Sensibility.
Like Austens controversial character Emma, Marianne also follows some romantic ideals in her life. If one analyzes the nature of the two characters he/she can easily identify the relevance of the title Sense and Sensibility. Eleanor represents sense while Marianne demonstrates sensibility. Austen represents Marianne as a young girl with her feelings and emotions. Analyzing the minor characters of the novel, it is clear that the writer gives more emphasis on Mariannes mistakes and faults in the first part of the novel. Unlike the novel Emma, Austen does not give enough chance for repentance. Marianne does not permit anyone to come in the way of revealing her emotions. Marianne reveals her emotions about Willoughby to anyone without hesitation; on the other hand, in the world that they were in, Willoughby does not think he can marry Marianne as a result of the existing social system. Elizabeth Gregory gives relevant comments about the nature of a romantic girl. The author remarks; Marianne is passionate, romantic and impetuous, the sensibility of the title, and is led by her heart rather than her head when it comes to men. (Gregory para 3).
Jane Austen explores her extreme craftsmanship through the presentation of two sisters in the novel Sense and Sensibility. Both of them have various attitudes toward the male they love, and the novelist shows how the two sisters reveal their affection through their contradictory dispositions. Austens heroine Marianne in Sense and Sensibility reminds the reader that she is a strong worshipper of romanticism and she keeps the works of great romantic writers in her mind. These romantic concepts influence her attitudes towards life. She fails to find ideal beauty and life in her surroundings. Like the character of Emma, Austen presents Marianne at the end of the novel Sense and Sensibility who gets happiness through the realization of her faults. After a deep analysis of the novel Sense and Sensibility, one can find some slight autobiographic elements of the novelist Jane Austen. The writer pictures the figures of her heroines in this novel by gathering the memories of Austens past life. After the death of her father, Austen and her family were forced to live with her relatives for financial help. Even Marianne has her romantic conceptions and feelings she is very dedicated to her family. Marianne is a person who has always been caught up in verse or any other romantic thoughts and she often becomes insensitive about what is happening around her. The fault in Mariannes case is she could not realize the existing social system and the intensity of reality. She considers John Willoughby as a romantic person for her dreams, but as a result of his family interference John is forced to go back and Marianne begins to show the signs of severe depression. After the change or realizing the mistake Marianne becomes a better person. The tendency to give a chance to realize their mistakes Austen proves that she has followed some poetic justice in her works. Ultimately Austens heroines reach the position of perfectness and this deserves the consideration that Austen keeps the concept of ideal womanhood in her mind.
Jane Austens masterpiece Pride and Prejudice focuses on an intelligent woman named Elizabeth, who is young and the chief female protagonist, with romantic and personal ideals. Like many other works of Austen, this novel also is noticed by the excessive use of literary techniques free of indirect speech. In this novel, the writer discusses the social structure of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century social life of England. Jane Austen demonstrates the picture of a patriarchal society in which males have economic and social dominance. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Austen demonstrates her female characters struggle to find a state within the conventional social establishment of marriage. Austen portrays the character of Elizabeth, one of the five daughters in a reduced family on the Middle English landscape. Here one can see Elizabeths sufferings between the principles of idealism and pragmatism. Austen herself keeps some comments about the novel Pride and Prejudice especially the character of Elizabeth. Robert Morrison asserts that famously, she fretted that it was rather too light& bright& sparkling, and certainly readers have been captivated its comedy, wit, romance, and splendid heroine Elizabeth Bennet, who Austen herself thought as delightful as ever appeared in print. (Morrison 1).
A reader can find some special features in the character of Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Even though she keeps some romantic concepts about love and marriage, she is never ready to sacrifice any of her intelligence and charm in making her serenity with Darcys principles. Elizabeths vanity and pride affect her judgment, making her prone to think worse of Darcy and to think in favor of Wickham. In the end, Darcys letter provides a chance for Elizabeth to realize her fault. Like Emma and Eleanor, Elizabeth also reaches a level of perfection. The major difference which a reader can find in the characters of Elizabeth and other heroines is that Elizabeth and Jane have been directed to develop virtue and powerful characters despite the carelessness of their parents. Through her heroines, Austen discusses social issues related to womenfolk. Existing manners, marriage functions, and education are highly controversial at that time. Elizabeth follows a tendency to judge on initial impressions and possibly being a little discerning of the evidence she practices to her evaluation. After a detailed study of the novel Pride and Prejudice, a reader can see that the perpetuation plot and the other characters both major and minor are mostly from Elizabeths viewpoint and thoughts. A reader can even find some signs of imagination and romance in Austens novels; the ultimate aim of the novelist is to explore the realities of existing society. In this novel, Elizabeth perceptibly cares seriously about Jane and she gets it upon herself to walk a long distance through the mud to visit her sister. If a reader makes a comparative study about the characters of Austens other heroines, such as Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Catherine in Pride and Prejudice, it is easy to find that Elizabeth enjoys some special qualities. All the above-mentioned characters change their life after realizing their plot. But in the case of Elizabeth, the novelist gives a chance to the reader to identify that Elizabeth overcomes her faults through her strength of character, great intelligence, moral sense, and attractive personality. Elizabeths mistakes make her more humane and more experienced. Considering these features of Austens heroines, one can feel difficult to reach the conclusion that Jane Austen is a pure Feminist writer. It is easy to admit the fact that Austens depiction of Elizabeth Bennet is more realistic and masterful, sometimes contrasting her with characters missing her attributes to improve readers appreciation of her.
Catharine Morland is the female protagonist of Jane Austens first completed novel, Northanger Abby. The narrator demonstrates her as more attractive who has the mannerisms of a village lass. She performs the role of a pretty, beautiful, and poor girl in this novel, and Catherine likes to wear new clothes and she also likes to read gothic novels. Like the character of Anne, Fanny and Elizabeth, Austen depicts Catherine Morland as a devoted sister of James Morland; she is very frank and she is respected by all people. But, Catherine makes various mistakes in her life, because she learns gothic novel and applies this novel to the real life situation. In case of Catherine, the major fault is that she fails to differentiate reality and imagination. She cannot not find a world, like the one, which she receives in the Gothic novels and stories and some crisis begins her life. The novelist decorates the character of Catherine like a heroin of gothic novels. Jane Austens funny and pretty heroin Catharine gains a turn in her life when she makes love with the gentle and well read clergyman Henry Tilney who is the younger son of the wealthy Tilney family. Henry Tilney realizes Catharines romantic affection towards him and at the end of the play he accepts her romantic feelings. Henry Tilneys sister Eleanor Tilney is another important female character of this novel and she is also a good friend of Catharine Morland. She gives more support to the relation between Henry and Catherine, but this relation is not agreeable to Henry Tilneys father General Tilny. So, the narrator Jane Austen points out the emergence of conflict between two families on the basis of marriage proposal between Henry and Catherine. Catherine Morland is the member of a poor family but Henry Tilny is the member of a rich and clergy family who demands considerable property from his girls family. Jane Austens Northanger abbey expresses the social realities as well as the unhealthy manners which the upper-class people followed.
Jane Austens another important novel is Sense and Sensibility. This novel is the first published book of Jane Austen. Eleanor is the heroin of this novel. She is a beautiful girl and she has one sister, named Marianne. Eleanor controls her bitter feelings and she suffers all types of sufferings and is considered cold and unloving by Marianne at that time. She struggles with strong and long truthful love to one man. Jane Austen beautifully imagines all her heroin characters. She is a good feminist writer because all her heroines support feminism. The main three heroines, Fanny Price, Anne, and Eleanor keep different individuality. But, these dissimilar heroin characters remain unchanged at the end of the novel. The heroines Anne and Funny, especially solitary heroines, do not make mistakes in their life. Jane Austen gives more significance to women characters in her novels because she is a feminist writer. She clearly expresses her idea towards women because she points out that women have a significant role in this society.
The concept of ideal women in Jane Austens novels
Jane Austens heroines often show signs of independence, strong personality, resourcefulness, and intelligence; they represent various periods in Austens life. A reader may feel difficult to find an absolute female figure which reveals the concept of ideal womanhood.
Anne and Fanny enjoy a special status among the heroines portrayed by novelist Jane Austen. Both of them are free from mistakes in life. They are the solitary characters who remain unchanged at the end of their stories. Jane Austens great sense of humor, sharp wit, literary craftsmanship are demonstrated in fine form through the heroines in Austens well-known literary works. Critics notice that Austen is presented as a person with constantly good purposes and an almost compulsive longing for self sacrifice. Anne is a pretty woman who lost her blossom after falling of her engagement with Wentworth. Anne and Fanny face the number of situations which compel them to make mistakes. In the case of Anne, even she keeps her feelings and emotions towards her lover; she stands steady in her surroundings. Anne recognizes Wentworth absolutely not on the basis of his external performances, but only the comprehension of her own natural feelings and thoughts. Anne keeps her own personality throughout the novel till the novel comes to the end. The situational construction for Austens both novels Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice share some similar views that they needed comparison, but a researcher can see that the heroines of the above mentioned novels reveal a different approach to portraying the concept of marvelous woman. In her novels Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, Jane Austen wants to express the fact that the courageous refusal of the suitor by the female character is an essential plot for the novelist to articulate her concluding point. Even though some of Austens heroines have some mistakes in their community, ultimately they become perfect. Elizabeth Bennet and Anne Eliot are powerful female characters in Austens novels and both of them stand for the rights of womenfolk. But a researcher can find both Anne and Elizabeth keeps their abilities for managing their own family issues.
Elements of Feminism in Jane Austen Novels
Jane Austen wrote about the relationship between man and woman, the sufferings of women in their time, and had some contemptuous criticisms of society especially which affected women folk. Jane Austen has the status of only writing about young and active women characters, whose only interest in their life was marriage and was sometimes disparaged because of it. But, a sensible reader cannot easily reach to the conclusion that Austen wrote only about women. It may be wrong in demanding to find in Jane Austen the type of unambiguous message that a reader connects with more present feminist writers. Jane Austen is generally considered as a famous romance writer and critics also notice that she has followed some feminist ideology in her novels. Her novel Pride and Prejudice has emerged from the perspectives of romantic feminism and the novel reveals the suppression of womenfolk. This novel is the portrayal of possibility, fantasy and reality of the womenfolk. It is a very important fact for a researcher to understand that there is a romantic shift in the feminist and characteristic ideology of Jane Austens novel as her literary career developments. Instead of the external performances of the heroines, Austen began to worship the intellectual qualities of her female characters. Devoney Looser points out that; Austens attitude toward this romantic feminism was necessarily a critical one because of her ideological, cultural, and social commitment to the established church, the established professional middle class, and the dominant class the landed gentry. (Looser 23-24).
In an external reading, a reader can get the chance to think that Jane Austen was a feminist writer because her all novels reveal the feminist ideology and feminist mannerisms. Besides exalting the value of tradition and goodness in her writing style, Austen gives an emphasis on feminine rights in her novels. The term feminism can be described as a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at the protection for women. The women suffer different types of sufferings and they face very complicated problems in society context. Generally, exponents of feminism think against the male domination in society and they believe that men dominated society depresses womens actions and thoughts. Austens heroines always needed to select their own male partners and marry for love which is not very common in 18th and 19th century England. Jane Austen includes brilliant and powerful women characters in her novels. These different heroines point out the feminist ideology of Jane Austen. Jane Austen gives the important position to women characters in her novels and her heroines entirely differ from each other. Her heroines were interested in marriage and children. A reader can notice Her Elizabeths decision making ability and she refuses proposals from handsome people. She takes right decisions in the issues of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy. Austen portrays the character of Mr. Darcy as young and compelling because of his powerful and energetic figure. He respects the personality and intelligence of Elizabeth. Another relevant idea that a reader can find in Austens novel is even some of her heroines are intelligent and virtuous; they also have some faults in their behavior. After a deep analysis of Austens perceptive, one realizes that the writer gives up some of the natural laws and social rules of her culture in a manner that begins a potential for feminist readings of Austens novels. Austens another notable character Fanny Price in Mansfield Park does not accept the proposal of Henry Crawford who is a handsome and a wealthy suitor. All these characters are good examples of feminist thoughts of Jane Austen. The feminist writers give more emphasis on the problems and hardships of women in their society and they write the position of women in society. In case of Jane Austen, a reader can understand the author deeply criticizes the social systems and manners of her life time. It is better for a reader to think that more than a feminist, Jane Austen is a forerunner of feminism. In her novel Persuasion, Austen reveals her feminist thought more clear than other novels. In this novel Eleanor says; Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything. (Austen 196). These words help the reader to understand Jane Austens views about the sufferings of womenfolk in a male dominating society. It is clear that Austen was not only a writer but also a keen observer of the society.
. More than an idealistic view, Austen gives more emphasis on human experiences and faults. She has presented Fanny and Anne as virtuous as any other heroines. At the same time, she presented Emma as more controversial. These heroines The character of Elizabeth represents the status of women folk who enjoy respect and admiration; on the other hand, the character of Anne, the novelist shows some significant thoughts about womanhood. All her characters suffer different problems sufferings are the suitable identification of womens life in this society. Jane Austen may have been a feminist; on the oth
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