Jane Austen and Literary Theory

Jane Austen's critics have underestimated her rhetorical cunning and her fascination with the materiality of language, but Jane Austen and Literary Theory reveals how she anticipated the ideas of twentieth-century literary thinkers. This book provides critical methods to appreciate her genius in unusual ways.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Jane Austen, a remarkable intellectual figure of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, emerges as a captivating subject in Jane Austen and Literary Theory. Despite her reputation for being a conservative writer, this book delves into the complexities of her literary resistance, challenging prevailing theories and offering a fresh perspective.

Tracing the political motivations behind Austen's resistance, the book explores the ways in which she anticipated the ideas of influential literary thinkers of the twentieth century, such as Jacques Derrida and Paul de Man. Through detailed interpretations of her works, Jane Austen and Literary Theory guides readers through the significant intellectual achievements of Austen's career, encompassing her teenage parodies, such as Evelyn and The History of England, as well as her accomplished novels, including Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma.

While criticism has traditionally focused on describing Austen's context and influences, this book reveals her profound anticipation of contemporary literary ideas. Austen's texts deconstruct binary oppositions such as gift and exchange, speech and writing, symbol and allegory, stable irony and Romantic irony, employing her dazzling prose to challenge traditional notions of language and meaning.

Despite the recognition of Austen's realism as a significant achievement of nineteenth-century literature, critics have underestimated the rhetorical cunning and material fascination with language that permeates her works. Jane Austen and Literary Theory provides the critical tools necessary to fully appreciate Austen's language, employing methods as ruthless as her irony. By delving into the complexities of her writing, this book offers a unique perspective that enables both her devotees and detractors to engage with her genius in fresh and compelling ways.

Weight: 302g
Dimension: 151 x 229 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367696450