Abstract
In Jane Austen’s works, the role and expectations of women in the 18th and 19th centuries are both reflected and questioned. My thesis outlines how Austen used her novels to represent the society in which she lived and how that society placed a sense of duty on women, specifically in terms of family, education, and marriage. Along with the representation of these duties, I also focus upon on how Austen uses her protagonists, primarily in the novels Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park, to question those standards and provide for her readers examples of women whom they could relate to and learn from as well. My major point of focus is how Austen challenges her readers to learn from the example set by her countercultural female protagonists. Finally, taking into account the ways which Austen reflects and challenges the roles of women, I conclude with a focus on how Austen emphasizes the importance of novels within her society, while also considering the impact that novel reading has in both the society in which Austen lived and in the 21st century.
Semester/Year of Award
Spring 2019
Mentor
Susan M. Kroeg
Mentor Professional Affiliation
English and Theatre
Access Options
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
Bachelor Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Scholars
Degree Level
Bachelor's
Department
Clinical Therapeutic Programs
Department Name when Degree Awarded
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Recommended Citation
Rojas, Chloe E. Ms., "More Than a Lady: How Jane Austen’s Works Impacted the Role of Women in English Society in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries" (2019). Honors Theses. 647.
https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/647
