Instructor: Heller | Th 12:30 PM – 03:20 PM
One of the most famous British authors, Jane Austen is also one of the most perennially popular, captivating a fandom obsessed, not only with her novels, but with the world in which she lived. In this seminar, we will address the influence of Austen’s world—in particular, of its literary history and competing ideologies—on her writing, while also considering why her fiction continues to appeal to modern readers. A focal point of both endeavors will be our examination of a key paradox of Austen’s work: although her novels are structured by, and apparently celebrate, the marriage plot, they often paint a grim picture of women’s domestic experience. Analyzing this paradox in fiction by Austen that includes her juvenilia, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park, we will situate these texts in such historical, and literary historical, contexts as late eighteenth-century feminism, the rise of the Gothic genre, and British controversies over slavery. At the same time, our attention to Austen’s ambivalent portrayal of domesticity will allow us to explore why her novels attract diverse groups of contemporary readers, inspiring, for instance, feminist and queer interpretations of her work.