Thèse de doctorat--Sociétés anglophones--Paris 7, 2008. / Contient un résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. et webliogr. p. 508-538. Chronologie de la vie de Jane Austen p. 539-540. Table des éditions française de Jane Austen p. 541-547. Notes bibliogr. Index.

In the late 18th century, it was not uncommon that a middle class woman had to choose if her marriage should be based on love or money. Since women often depended on either a husband or male relatives to support them, marriage was a way to avoid economic hardship. Pride and Prejudice gives many examples of women in this situation, and it is evident that both men and women are affected by economy and social class in their choice of a partner. The purpose of this essay is therefore to look closer on how the courtships in the novel are influenced by economy and class. Some characters are greedy and believe that wealth and an upper class life equals happiness. The wealthy man Mr. Darcy becomes suspicious of women and believes that they are only after his money. Women are also seen as commodities; wealthy men expect to be able to marry whomever they like regardless of the woman’s feelings.         I will show that there are three main types of marriages in the novel: marriages based on financial considerations, marriages based on infatuation, and marriages combining love and money. Marriages based on financial considerations are not ideal since emotional needs are not often fulfilled. However, in some cases it might be a solution for women who do not have the time to wait for a romantically and economically fulfilling marriage. Marriages that include no financial considerations at all are not ideal since a stable economy is important to live happily. In the essay, I will show that the most ideal marriages are those who combine both love and money, as they ignore neither emotional needs nor economy.

Thèse de doctorat : Littérature et civilisation anglaises et américaines : Nancy 2 : 2002. / Bibliographie. Index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universidad de Valladolid, facultad de Filosofía y Letras, sección de Filología Inglesa, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, p. 737-774).

Jane Austen's novels have often been viewed as realistic portrayals of the time in which she lived. This paper attempts to modify this view by examining her work in the context of the novels of Samuel Richardson, the writer whom she reportedly admired above all others. There are many differences between the two authors, but their subject matter is essentially the same: the hearts and minds of marriageable young women. Richardson's heroines, however, are threatened and harassed while Austen's are free to experience without fear, and to learn without danger. In "Sir Charles Grandison or The Happy Man", a parody she wrote of Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison, Austen satirizes Richardson's timorous heroines and aggressive heroes; in her novels, women are self-assured and men are not frightening. An examination of the social history of the eighteenth ce ntu ry and the letters of Jane Austen, however, demonstrates that the world of her novels is not the one she knew. Her much misunderstood letters, in particular, show that her attitudes towards sexual relationships have much in common with those of Samuel Richardson. In addition, her letters illustrate the source and significance of her celebrated irony. Finally, this study concentrates on Mansfield Park, the novel that appears to contradict Austen's other novels. Mansfield Park is didactic and unironic; it has an oppressed heroine, powerful male characters, and a society that neither appreciates nor defends women. In Mansfield Park the Richardsonian inheritance and Austen's social and sexual views come together and provide insights into her work. Jane Austen's heroines, with the exception of Fanny Price, inhabit a safe place she creates for them. Her rejection of the dangers of women's lives, which Richardson depicts so well, is proof, not of her realism, but of her artistry. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Jane Austen wrote her novels over two hundred years ago. Today many people, especially women, are still affected by them and her characters. She has become famous through her romantic novels where she writes about young women during the late 18^th century who spend their days drinking tea and socializing in order to find a man, marry him and live happily ever after. Even though Austen writes romance and her novels remind the reader of fairy tales, she also focuses on presenting important passages and events that occur in these young women’s lives.</p><p>Many of the novels Austen has written have features of a so-called Bildungsroman; a</p><p>novel about education which refers to a character’s growth and self-development. The structure of a Bildungsroman often includes the main character, the protagonist, going on a long journey or quest in search of the meaning of life. In this essay I will analyse the heroine’s education in Austen’s two novels <em>Northanger Abbey </em>and <em>Mansfield Park</em> and how Austen educates the reader with these novels.</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to show that the heroines in <em>Northanger Abbey</em> and <em>Mansfield Park</em> under a long period of time receive moral education through different people and events during their lives. However, it is not only the characters that are educated, my opinion is that the reader is educated as well. Both the reader and the heroines are taught that happiness can only be achieved by good education and high moral standards. I will use some of the features of a Bildungsroman, such as journey, self-development, obstacles and maturity and by examining these features in the novels, I will support my thesis.</p>

Jane Austen wrote her novels over two hundred years ago. Today many people, especially women, are still affected by them and her characters. She has become famous through her romantic novels where she writes about young women during the late 18th century who spend their days drinking tea and socializing in order to find a man, marry him and live happily ever after. Even though Austen writes romance and her novels remind the reader of fairy tales, she also focuses on presenting important passages and events that occur in these young women’s lives. Many of the novels Austen has written have features of a so-called Bildungsroman; a novel about education which refers to a character’s growth and self-development. The structure of a Bildungsroman often includes the main character, the protagonist, going on a long journey or quest in search of the meaning of life. In this essay I will analyse the heroine’s education in Austen’s two novels Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park and how Austen educates the reader with these novels. The purpose of this essay is to show that the heroines in Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park under a long period of time receive moral education through different people and events during their lives. However, it is not only the characters that are educated, my opinion is that the reader is educated as well. Both the reader and the heroines are taught that happiness can only be achieved by good education and high moral standards. I will use some of the features of a Bildungsroman, such as journey, self-development, obstacles and maturity and by examining these features in the novels, I will support my thesis.

Adaptation from literature to film has always been a much criticized enterprise, with fidelity criticism, or an attempt to discredit fidelity criticism, often driving the critical discussion. However, this type of thinking is somewhat limited, becoming circular and going nowhere productive. Instead, taking into account what has come before, this thesis attempts to settle on a method of examination that moves away from fidelity criticism and towards an approach that aligns itself with cultural studies. Adaptations, then, can be seen as products of the historical, cultural, political and general socio-economic framework out of which they emerge, owing perhaps more to their context of production than to their source material. In order to provide a case study that reflects this idea, this paper looks to an author who has been adapted on multiple occasions, Jane Austen, and examines her as a cultural construct. Looking at Austen’s most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, and using Robert Z. Leonard’s Pride and Prejudice (1940), Cyril Coke’s Jane Austen ‘s Pride and Prejudice (1980), Simon Langton’s Pride and Prejudice (1995), Andrew Black’s Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy (2003), Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice (2004) and Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice (2005), the thesis argues that the appeal of Austen is a result of her cult status and economic viability, and also the malleability of her text, which allows filmmakers to use it in a number of different contexts, while still embodying the source material.

Adaptation from literature to film has always been a much criticized enterprise, with fidelity criticism, or an attempt to discredit fidelity criticism, often driving the critical discussion. However, this type of thinking is somewhat limited, becoming circular and going nowhere productive. Instead, taking into account what has come before, this thesis attempts to settle on a method of examination that moves away from fidelity criticism and towards an approach that aligns itself with cultural studies. Adaptations, then, can be seen as products of the historical, cultural, political and general socio-economic framework out of which they emerge, owing perhaps more to their context of production than to their source material. In order to provide a case study that reflects this idea, this paper looks to an author who has been adapted on multiple occasions, Jane Austen, and examines her as a cultural construct. Looking at Austen’s most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, and using Robert Z. Leonard’s Pride and Prejudice (1940), Cyril Coke’s Jane Austen ‘s Pride and Prejudice (1980), Simon Langton’s Pride and Prejudice (1995), Andrew Black’s Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy (2003), Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice (2004) and Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice (2005), the thesis argues that the appeal of Austen is a result of her cult status and economic viability, and also the malleability of her text, which allows filmmakers to use it in a number of different contexts, while still embodying the source material.

For us to appreciate Austen's work it needs to be altered. We are only comfortable with it if it mirrors our expectations of it; the picturesque English countryside, elegant males and beautiful women in period clothing, living in impressive stone mansions. We want stories of strong, feminist ladies, who throw the men into raptures with their beauty and their ability to engage in passionate, snappy verbal exchanges. We want the held-back emotions, the intimacy of the near touch, the relief of liberating, emotionally charged confessions of admiration and love. The purpose of this essay is to examine two of Jane Austen's popular novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility with their respective latest film adaptations. When Jane Austen is interpreted in modern film her point-of-view is altered into our own. These changes celebrate, not Austen’s social writing, but our modern idea of romance. The themes in her novels are themes that are timeless and they are themes which our modern lives are filled with as well.