Date Thesis Awarded
7-2012
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
English
Advisor
Kim Wheatley
Committee Members
Elizabeth Barnes
Brett Wilson
Kathrin Levitan
Abstract
This paper investigates the flaws which Jane Austen sees within the landed gentry and examines how she uses the form of the courtship novel, with its emphasis on the heroine's viewpoint, to both point out the gentry's problems and pose a solution. Looking at Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion together shows how Austen becomes increasingly dissatisfied with the landed gentry and changes her opinion of the necessary solution from endogamous marriage to exogamous marriage. Courtship and marriage provide the means for revitalization of the landed gentry, and through the implications of the heroines' marriages Austen assesses the feasibility of her proposals for reform.
Recommended Citation
Luze, Meredith Paige, "Courting Revitalization: Companionate Marriage and the Problem of the Landed Gentry's Reform in Jane Austen" (2012). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 540.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/540
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 License.
Comments
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.