Questions on JANE AUSTEN (2)

3. What is her style like?

Her novels are well planned and balanced. The characters are carefully described even in their psychology. The use of words is clear and exact. The author does not intrude upon the story with personal opinions or comments but keeps the role of pure observer. The author's criticism of the characters in fact, does not lie in what she says about them but in the way they are presented. Dialogue plays a preponderant part in her works and gives them dramatic vivacity.

4. What are the main themes of her works?

The most typical themes of Jane Austen's works are: love, marriage (and its link with money) relationships between individuals and society, ordinary life, happiness based upon a balanced combination between reason and feeling, respect of the social conventions of the gentry.

5. What do you know about her masterpiece Pride and Prejudice?

It deals with the life of the Bennet family and their neighbours. Mrs Bennet is seen working hard to secure good marriages for her five daughters. Love is the main source of action, while pride is seen as a form of social behaviour. Darcy and Elizabeth are the main characters of the story. They fall in love but their union is initially impossible because they are guilty of an unbalanced relationship with society. Darcy's fault lies in an excess of conformity to social conventions which leads him to judge Elizabeth's family as inferior; on the other hand, Elizabeth refuses to conform to the rules and to accept other people's opinions. Their marriage becomes possible only after life has educated both of them: in the end, Darcy becomes more independent and Elizabeth learns to compare her opinions with other people.