Love, scandal, jealousy, and confession: a thematic examination of the place of letters in Jane Austen’s six published novels

Horne, Beverley (2024). Love, scandal, jealousy, and confession: a thematic examination of the place of letters in Jane Austen’s six published novels. University of Birmingham. M.Eng.

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Abstract

This thesis examines Austen’s use of letters within her six published novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Letters were an essential part of Regency everyday life, and because they were a daily form of communication, they were inevitably an important part of Jane Austen’s personal life and her fiction. This thesis traces the role of letters within her novels by analysing them according to four main themes: love; scandals and secrets; jealousy and envy; and confession. Through close reading of the letters, and analysis of their contexts, this thesis provides an original approach to Austen’s letters and the integral role they play in her novels. I argue that, although Austen’s novels are not epistolary in form, the letters within these novels underpin their plots and characterisation. Letters both enable the plots of the novels and bring the naturalness and complexity of their writers and readers to life.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Eng.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Eng.

Supervisor(s):