JANE AUSTEN's SCRIPT of SISTERHOOD Each of Jane
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ABSTRACT THE PROBLEM OF FEMALE RESERVE: JANE AUSTEN’S SCRIPT OF SISTERHOOD Each of Jane Austen’s novels looks at sisterhood from a different angle, exploring varying versions of sisterhood that all point to its indisputable necessity in the lives of women. At the same time, however, Austen illustrates that female reserve frequently prevents sister relationships from reaching their full potential. Sisterly reserve is often tied to romantic interests, as women succumb to cultural pressure to hide their feelings at all costs. This thesis analyzes the complexities of the sister relationships in Austen’s six novels, tracing the struggles with silence that often result in a temporary or even permanent breakdown of female community. Through her portrayals of sisters, Austen also raises questions about moral development and female isolation, indicating that strong sisterhoods cultivate greater moral awareness, and that women without sisters still benefit from the female communities they create. The complete script that surfaces from an examination of all her novels argues that sisters and women consistently experience stronger female communities and greater participation in the world of rationality and meaning when they are able to overcome these instances of silence and jointly negotiate their experiences. Kristen Akina May 2011 THE PROBLEM OF FEMALE RESERVE: JANE AUSTEN’S SCRIPT OF SISTERHOOD by Kristen Akina A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English in the College of Arts and Humanities California State University, Fresno May 2011 APPROVED For the Department of English: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Kristen Akina Thesis Author Ruth Jenkins (Chair) English Laurel Hendrix English Lisa Weston English For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is a mysterious, frightening world between the moment of saying, “I think I’d like to do my thesis on Jane Austen,” and staring incredulously at the completed project. I owe thanks to those who have walked me through this strange world by helping me develop this project as well as those who have contributed to who I am as a student of literature. I am grateful to all the members of my committee, whose teaching about scholarship has been invaluable to me for this project but has also extended beyond its scope. My chair, Ruth Jenkins, has guided me through this entire process of research and writing, reading multiple drafts and showing me at each step how to broaden and deepen my scholarship. Laurel Hendrix taught me so much about academic writing in my first year of graduate school, and these lessons came full circle as she read and responded to my thesis. Lisa Weston has given me feedback on samples of my work throughout my time here, from my first seminar paper to this project, and she helped me to finish strongly when I felt I had nothing left to say. And my family has also played an important role in my work through their influence and support. My parents helped to create and then nourish my desire for reading, and introduced me to some of my favorite authors, including Jane Austen. My grandma taught me about storytelling and how to view the world through story. My in-laws have encouraged and supported me through each phase of school. And finally, I am grateful to my husband Ben, for our continual conversations about Austen, and for all his personal sacrifices while I worked on this project. This thesis is dedicated to my sister Amy, who is for me the heroine in all our stories. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: THE SILENCES OF “SISTERLY CONSOLATION” IN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE .......................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 3: “WE HAVE NEITHER OF US ANYTHING TO TELL”: SILENCES AND FEMALE COMMUNITY IN SENSE AND SENSIBILITY ............................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 4: “ALL TO HERSELF”: EMOTIONAL ISOLATION AND SISTER RIVALRY IN MANSFIELD PARK AND PERSUASION ........... 64 CHAPTER 5: “SCHEMES OF SISTERLY HAPPINESS”: FEMALE COMMUNITY AND MORAL AWARENESS IN EMMA AND NORTHANGER ABBEY .............................................................................. 93 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 117 WORKS CITED ................................................................................................... 121 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I once thought that to have what is in general called a Freind (sic)(I mean one of my own Sex to whom I might speak with less reserve than to any other person) independant (sic) of my Sister would never be an object of my wishes, but how much was I mistaken! Charlotte is too much engrossed by two confidential Correspondents of that sort, to supply the place of one to me, and I hope you will not think me girlishly romantic, when I say that to have some kind and compassionate Freind who might listen to my Sorrows without endeavouring to console me was what I had for some time wished for… – Jane Austen, “Lesley Castle” Jane Austen wrote the above passage in the 1790s when she was in her teens, as part of an epistolary short story she dedicated to her brother. Although her six novels do not boast the satire, dramatic swoons, and murders of her very early work, they do retain and develop the above concern with sisterhood and female friendship. Each of her completed novels portrays her protagonists’ need for a sister or friend to confide in, to share experiences with, and to negotiate the world with through the exercise of reason. In her novels Austen offers different versions of sister relationships, drawing attention to the importance of sisters in the lives of her female protagonists and illustrating the moral benefits of sisterhood along with the consequences of its absence. Austen’s focus on sisters and women has prompted a wide range of critical response. From her time throughout the first half of the twentieth century, many critics judged that she wrote about women because her narrow domestic circle admitted no other knowledge or experience. In the 1970s, when feminist criticism 2 began to emerge, critics read her cutting indictments of society as repressed anger, and reasoned that her focus on women instead reflected an overt attempt to resist the patriarchal bent of her culture. While every possible middle ground between both extremes has also been covered, the debate has retained a certain sharpness and urgency as critics make varying claims about Austen’s actual opinions. The question of Austen’s feminism in particular has continued to cling tenaciously to the minds of critics. Devoney Looser in 1995 identified five primary viewpoints in the ongoing debate. The first viewpoint belongs to those who answer a resounding, unqualified yes to the question of Austen’s feminism, declaring that to be a female writer during a time when publication exposed a woman to much censure, was by default to be a feminist. The second view holds that Austen’s conservative beliefs and privileging of the traditional marriage plot prevent her from joining the ranks of proponents of true feminism. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, representative of the third view, see subtle feminism and controlled rage in Austen’s measured prose, and the fourth argues that the entire question is moot because the term “feminism” had not yet come into use during Austen’s time (Looser 5). The fifth perspective notes Austen’s focus on female characters and the plight of women in her society, and reasons that her ability to create strong, intelligent women indicates a sense of feminism (Looser 6). More recently, Vivien Jones termed Austen a “postfeminist,” arguing that Austen includes ideas from the women’s movement of the 1790s, but incorporates them into a more conservative, individual agenda (291). Jones’s focus on Austen’s conservatism places her in Looser’s second category of critics who protest over the marriage plot, despite her term “postfeminist.” Looser ends her review of feminist criticism with a call to move away from attempts at labeling Austen and to analyze instead her portrayals of gender, 3 arguing that, “A focus on gender politics is the strength all feminist work on Austen exemplifies – and it’s a strength that one also finds in Austen’s own writings” (8). Jones has claimed that this strength is small in stature and focused on the individual: “Austen’s awareness of gender politics operates at the level of individual choice (or lack of it) rather than fueling any demand for structural social change” (285). Although this is accurate, concerns of gender permeate all of Austen’s texts, and are perhaps made more poignant by their emphasis on characters rather than causes. Women are constantly called upon to negotiate their places in the world in relation to men and other women, and I will be focusing on this within the context of sister relationships. In her emphasis on sisters, Austen automatically shows the importance of relationships between women, and through both dialogue and silences between the sisters, illustrates how their relationships with men can be mediated and understood through their closeness to one another. Therefore, my argument will center on feminist aspects of Austen’s writings and her focus on the stories of sisterhood, while avoiding any attempt to categorize or affix a label on her frequently subtle philosophies.