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Jane Austen's Liminal Heroines: Rituals of Personal and Social Growth Allison V

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Jane Austen's Liminal Heroines: Rituals of Personal and Social Growth Allison V Lawrence University Lux Lawrence University Honors Projects Spring 6-3-2015 Jane Austen's Liminal Heroines: Rituals of Personal and Social Growth Allison V. Juda Lawrence University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Literature in English, British Isles Commons © Copyright is owned by the author of this document. Recommended Citation Juda, Allison V., "Jane Austen's Liminal Heroines: Rituals of Personal and Social Growth" (2015). Lawrence University Honors Projects. 74. https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp/74 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by Lux. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lawrence University Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Lux. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! 1 JANE AUSTEN’S LIMINAL HEROINES: RITUALS OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL GROWTH By Allison Juda I hereby reaffirm the Lawrence University Honor Code. Allison!Juda!! ! 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS!....................................................................................................................................!5! ENTERING AUSTEN’S WORLD!.....................................................................................................................!6! LIMINALITY IN THEORY AND REALITY!.....................................................................................................................!7! Victor Turner’s “Betwixt and Between”!.......................................................................................................................!8! Carolyn G Heilbrun’s Women’s Lives: The View from the Threshold!...........................................................!12! JANE AUSTEN’S PERSONAL LIMINALITY!.............................................................................................................!14! Austen’s life!...........................................................................................................................................................................!15! AUSTEN’S CHARACTERS!...............................................................................................................................................!19! David Monaghan and understanding society!...........................................................................................................!20! The liminal heroine!.............................................................................................................................................................!22! PART 1: PERSONAL GROWTH!...................................................................................................................!25! SENSE AND SENSIBILITY!...............................................................................................................................................!27! One social world and two views!....................................................................................................................................!28! Loss and exceptional growth!..........................................................................................................................................!41! Reactions to Sense and Sensibility!................................................................................................................................!49! PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!................................................................................................................................................!53! The Bennets’ liminality!.....................................................................................................................................................!54! The mature yet flawed hero and heroine!....................................................................................................................!58! A time for growth!.................................................................................................................................................................!64! Personal growth acknowledging social flaws!..........................................................................................................!76! PART 2: MORAL BASE IN IMMORAL SOCIETY!.................................................................................!79! NORTHANGER ABBEY!....................................................................................................................................................!80! Allison!Juda!! ! 3 Making a choice!...................................................................................................................................................................!82! Personal growth!...................................................................................................................................................................!91! An exploration of liminality and social change!....................................................................................................!100! DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES!...............................................................................................................................!101! MANSFIELD PARK!.........................................................................................................................................................!103! Finding her place!.............................................................................................................................................................!104! Finding her voice!.............................................................................................................................................................!110! Struggling to keep morality!..........................................................................................................................................!115! The landed gentry’s strength and weakness!..........................................................................................................!125! PART 3: A NEW KIND OF LIMINALITY!...............................................................................................!128! EMMA!...................................................................................................................................................................................!130! Privilege without responsibility!..................................................................................................................................!132! Intrigue with Frank Churchill!.....................................................................................................................................!147! Love and realizations!......................................................................................................................................................!151! Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley!..............................................................................................................!159! PERSUASION!....................................................................................................................................................................!162! A new complication!.........................................................................................................................................................!165! Demonstrating worth!......................................................................................................................................................!180! Anne’s challenge!..............................................................................................................................................................!189! Anne’s choice in an altered society!...........................................................................................................................!194! THE FINAL NARRATIVES!............................................................................................................................................!199! THE POWER OF WRITING AND RITUAL!............................................................................................!201! RETURNING TO TURNER AND MONAGHAN!....................................................................................................!202! THE LIMINAL AUTHOR!...............................................................................................................................................!204! JANE AUSTEN’S STICKINESS!...................................................................................................................................!206! Allison!Juda!! ! 4 WORKS CITED!................................................................................................................................................!210! WORKS CONSULTED!...................................................................................................................................!214! APPENDIX A: JANE AUSTEN TIMELINE!.............................................................................................!217! Allison!Juda!! ! 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Austen’s life and works are simultaneously so complex and so simple that it is, in fact, very difficult to capture all that she has done and the incredible impact she has made on literature and pop-culture even today. Throughout this work I have endeavored to do Austen the justice I can within the context of my topic, yet there
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