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This lecture is the first of two on Jane Austen, the most beloved of all English novelists. In this lecture, we will focus on the sociological dimensions of Austen’s work, noting her responses to larger historical forces and commenting on her use of comedic endings. Although Austen’s work is often described as timeless, it is actually rooted in a specific time and place. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen comments on the phenomenon of social mobility. In addition, Austen wonders how traditional elites can be protected from their own worst impulses, and in arranging her comedic endings, she uses marriage as a metaphor for political and social regeneration. The happy couple at the end of Pride and Prejudice serves as an example of how wealth and privilege can be combined with a sense of duty and humility. Although earlier writers had tried to create similar effects, none of them had managed the task as skillfully as Austen. As a result, her novels would become classic expressions of the emerging comedic tradition in English fiction.
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