Jane Austen Derived from the Latin novellas meaning ‘a little new thing’
Crawford called it a ‘pocket theatre’
Used in the fourteenth century by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio for his prose work Decameron (1348-53)
Picaresque story popularised in Spain in the sixteenth century (Lazarillo de Tormes)
Cervantes’s Don Quixote de la Mancha was the first great novel in Europe First emerged in the eighteenth century Novel was democratised, was taken out of the aristocracy to cater to the need of the common man
Contributing factors: i. Elizabethan prose tales (Thomas Nashe’s The Unfortunate Traveller) ii. Picaresque stories iii. Character-writers of 17th century (Bishop Hall, Sir Thomas Overbury, John Earle) iv. Periodicals of Addison, Steele (concerned with people in real life) v. Narrative style of Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) vi. Defoe (Robinson Crusoe) and Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) i. Sir Samuel Richardson ii. Henry Fielding iii. Tobias Smollett iv. Laurence Sterne
Pamela (1740), the first novel Richardson – introduced psychological realism through epistolary style; sought to improve the morals of his age i. Pamela or Virtue Rewarded (1740) ii. Clarissa (1748) iii. Sir Charles Grandison (1754)
Henry Fielding – comic epic-in-prose i. Joseph Andrews (1742) ii. Jonathan Wild the Great (1743) iii. Tom Jones (1749) iv. Amelia (1751)
Both Richardson and Fielding took a break from the old- fashioned romances and concentrated on ‘realism’ Tobias Smollett – presents human idiosyncrasies and social criticism in picaresque style i. Roderick Random ii. The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751) iii. Ferdinand, Count Fathom (1753) iv. Humphrey Clinker (1771)
Laurence Sterne – sentimental comedy, introduced impressionistic method of story- telling i. Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy ii. A Sentimental Journey into France and Italy (1768) Oliver Goldsmith – moral Rousseau Henry Mackenzie Dr. Johnson
Gothic Novels: i. Horace Walpole (The Castle of Otronto) ii. Miss Clara Reeve (The Old English Baron) iii. Mrs. Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho) iv. Matthew Gregory Lewis (The Monk) v. Charles Maturin (Melmoth the Wanderer) vi. William Beckford (Vathek) Historical Novels: i. Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe, Waverly)
Regional Novels: i. Maria Edgeworth (Castle Rackrent)
Novels of Manners/ Domestic Novels: i. Jane Austen ii. Fanny Burney (Evelina)
Bronte Sisters/ Stormy Sisterhood: i. Charlotte Bronte ii. Emily Bronte iii. Anne Bronte (imparted romantic note of imagination and passion, poetised the English novel, chiefly study the feminine heart) Condition of England Novels: i. Charles Dickens ii. Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell iii. Charles Kingsley iv. Benjamin Disraeli
Children Fiction: i. Robert Louis Stevenson ii. Lewis Carroll
Newgate Novels: i. Thackeray (Catherine) ii. Defoe (Moll Flanders) iii. Dickens (Oliver Twist) iv. Fielding (Jonathan Wild the Great) Other major novelists: i. William Makepeace Thackeray ii. Thomas Hardy iii. Anthony Trollope iv. George Eliot v. George Meredith No comic-epic-in-prose of Fielding, No moral purpose of Richardson, only object was to entertain her readers by a truthful presentation of the ordinary social scene Had penetrating insight into man as a social animal Her personal familiarity with the world of social pretention, of balls and visits, of marriages etc provided the raw material The world she presents in her novels is essentially eighteenth-century England in its tastes, habits and appearances Money and the notion of gentility are made immensely important Wrote just before the Industrial Revolution, hence the serenity of the unspoiled countryside is well presented Wrote during the Napoleonic Wars but mentions soldiers only as attractions for the girls The last voice of a happier age Simplicity of style Chiefly about the young people Attainment of self-knowledge by the central figures is her main theme Began as ‘Elinor and Marianne’ in 1795, was redrafted and was the first publication of Austen as Sense and Sensibility (1811) Drafted in 1796-97 as ‘First Impressions’, rejected by the publishers, later became Pride and Prejudice (1813) Mansfield Park (1814) Emma (1816) Persuasion (1818) Sandition (unfinished) ‘Susan’, drafted in 1798-9 was published posthumously as Northanger Abbey (1817) No formal education No professional freedom Tutored at home, if the family can afford Engaged in learning domestic chores such as embroidery, knitting etc. No economic rights No inheritance rights
‘A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, dancing, drawing, and the modern languages, …she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions….’ (27) It “is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade’’ Presents well the contemporary society Mannerisms and leisure Pretentions Social status Property rights Status of middle class women Parameters for women (25)
‘We are not rich enough, or grand enough for them…’ (87) ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ (1) Rich man, the most sought-after match, ‘the rightful property’ (1)
Marriageable daughter was the main concern of the parents ‘The business of her life was to get her daughters married’ (3)
‘If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield, and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for’ (5) Marriage, the best vocation for women – ‘the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune’ (90)
They need not be romantic or indulge in any kind of fancy, all that is needed is ‘a comfortable home’ (92)
‘A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.’ (19) ‘Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.’ (15)
Collins eyed Jane, shifted his focus to Elizabeth, on being refused, very casually turned to Charlotte
Mr. Bennett confines himself to his study after becoming a victim of a beautiful face, hence the advice ‘My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life.’ Mr. Bennet Mrs. Bennet Jane Elizabeth (Lizzy, father’s favourite) Mary Catherine (Kitty) Lydia 5 sisters Mrs. & Mr. Hurst (sister & brother-in-law) Ms. Bingley (sister) Mr. Darcy (friend) Georgiana (Miss Darcy) Sir William Lucas Lady Lucas Charlotte, Maria
Mrs. Philip (aunt at Meryton) Mr. Gardiner (brother of Mrs. Bennet)
Mr. Collins Mr. Denny Mr. Wickham Lady Catherie de Bourgh (aunt to Darcy) Unexpected disclosures and ironic reversals Stateliness of money and rank appears in full parade Shame and breach of conduct (Lydia’s elopement), the fallen woman Marriage as business for social security The Napoleonic wars are ignored but not the spirit of time: Mrs Bennet with her army of daughters declares war against the eligible. Mr Collins’ proposal misses its target. Love is like war, all minds are tensed with it. Elizabeth and Darcy are well armoured. Lady Catherine moves blatantly to attack.