1. Character Growth in Jane Austen’s Literature John R. Harwell Elizabeth M. Owens English 1102

2. Jane Austen 1775 - 1817 Jane Austen was born to George and Cassandra Austen in 1775. They were a close knit family of eight children. Her parents believed in education for both men and women which was unusual for the time. Austen’s romantic fiction is said to be some of the most famous of all time. Although she wrote of romance, she never married. She lived with her sister, Cassandra, for much of her life. Only four of her books were published while she was alive. Despite her renown in our time, she never rose to much fame, because her books didn’t conform to the Romantic and Victorian expectations. She never earned much money from her profession.

3. A character is a distinctive trait, quality, characteristic, behavior typical of a person or group, moral strength, reputation, status, or position. The essence of a character is the qualities or peculiarities an individual has. Austen skillfully and deliberately wrote her stories to develop the characters throughout the novel. Over the course of the narrative, one of the heroines would go through a great personal change. An example of this would be the change Elizabeth Bennett underwent after receiving Mr. Darcy’s letter.

4. Austen believed not only in attention to small details in writing, she believed in the personal development in all young women. She believed self-knowledge, self-discipline, and practicality were the keys to women earning the equality of both sexes. Her strong beliefs and viewpoints that women should improve their educations and attitudes were revealed through her writing. Austen’s Beliefs and Values

5. The Georgian Era Woman’s Accomplishments Women in the Georgian Era were never given many educational opportunities. Female education was held as fairly irrelevant, being more important to make a suitable match. Young women usually viewed their educations satisfactorily when they had “accomplishments.” These were things such as, music, drawing, singing, dancing and modern languages. These accomplishments were solely for the purpose of attracting a husband. They were usually neglected after the woman’s marriage. Austen’s family believed in education for women, so she often wrote of women who were decently educated.

6. “ Reading and play acting were favorite past times of the children, so Jane began her writings at an early age, and at times used them for family entertainment.” She later used her experience in this to write similar circumstances in her novel. In Mansfield Park, much can be learned about the characters while they are arguing about their choice of plays and parts in the play. 18 th Century Play Acting

7. Austen’s Realistic Outlook on Life A theme that flows through her literature, are realistic circumstances. The plots in her novels are reasonable and practical, rather than wild, silly fiction. Her own education shaped her novels as she grew. She understood that children were relatively insignificant in society, and they could improve themselves through education and self-discipline.