English 334 Major Authors: Jane Austen
Professor Dorice Elliott
“First and foremost,” wrote famous nineteenth-century critic George Henry Lewes, “let Jane Austen be named, the greatest artist that has ever written.” Jane Austen’s status as a canonical figure in the history of English literature was well-established long before the late twentieth century when feminist critics revived the reputations of so many once-prominent women writers. Her six published novels have long been admired for their witty social satire and endearing characters and have been widely read by both scholarly and popular audiences. Their enduring popularity is apparent in the numerous film versions of the novels that have been released in recent years. Why is Jane Austen such a popular writer, even for a late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century audience? Is there something subversive in her polished and seemingly-conservative writing? How did her contemporaries read her and how do readers and viewers interpret her now? We will read the six major novels-- Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, MansfieldPark, and Persuasion-- as well as some of her juvenilia and unfinished novels. We will also watch some of the films made from or based on the novels. We will consider the novels in their historical context, looking particularly at issues of gender and class, as well as literary style. Students will participate in lively discussion and write three 5-7 page papers and a final exam.