Senior Theses
Publication Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis (Open Access)
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in English
Department
English
Faculty Advisor(s)
Katherine Kernberger
Subject Categories
English Language and Literature
Abstract
Jane Austen's novels examine many aspects of society and culture in eighteenth century England. She uses wit and her own knowledge to explore the expectations of society from this time. The aesthetics of the picturesque, a movement in art and landscape design during her lifetime, is a central theme throughout many of her novels. Her love for the picturesque clearly shows through, as what seems to be the ideal Austen heroine can best be associated with the picturesque. In The Language of Jane Austen: A Study of Some Aspects of her Vocabulary Myra Stokes says, “The important place held by landscape appreciation in the whole romantic ethos is reflected in a special sense" (179). Austen uses the landscape as a means of examining the distinctions between generation, class, and gender. She uses the landscape as a reflection of character throughout many of her novels.
Recommended Citation
Casey, Nora, ""A good moral disposition from the aesthetic appreciation of nature": The Importance of the Picturesque Landscape in Jane Austen's Novels and Elizabeth Bennet as the Ideal Heroine" (2012). Senior Theses. 7.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/englstud_theses/7
