A Successful and Realistic Novelist Jane Austen

馬魁梓

If I ask what your favorite English novel is， I am sure that Pride and Prejudice is definitely on your book list especially your high school book list， at least it is true for me. As for its writer， Jane Austen is one of the most famous and successful female writers in the history of English literature. Despite her having lived centuries ago， she commands a legion of fans around the world numbering in millions today. About her writing style， there is a longtime debate： is she more realistic or romantic？ Well， as for me， my answer is realistic without doubt. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. The present thesis is trying to dig the realistic elements in Austens writing from her life experience and famous literary work.

1. The Influence of Jane Austens Life Experience on Her Writing Style

Jane Austen came into the world on 16 December 1775. Born to Reverend George Austen of the Steventon rectory and Cassandra Austen of the Leigh family， she was to be their seventh child and only the second daughter to the couple. Her siblings were made up mostly of brothers， which in some ways forced a close relationship with her elder sister. In 1783， at the age of 8， Jane and her sister were sent off to boarding school for their formal education. Backing home， the rest of Janes education centered mainly on what her father and brothers could teach her and what she could learn from her own reading. For much of Jane Austens life， George Austen served as the rector of the Anglican parishes at Steventon， Hampshire， and a nearby village， which led to Jane Austens most lifetimes in village.

As for Jane Austens 45 years lifetime， the family background mainly has two most deep marks on Austens writing experience.

Firstly， although Austens father was not so rich， he attached great importance to her daughters education. Her family was close and the children grew up in an environment that stressed open learning， creative thinking and dialogue. As Mr. Austen was part of the church， he kept a large collection of literature in his home library， which was open to Jane and her siblings made extensive use of it in both reading and writing endeavor. Generally speaking， the good home education made great contribution to Austens writing technique.

Secondly， the long lifetime in village shaped Jane Austens keen powers of observation to her living surroundings especially the females inner world and values especially towards marriage and money.endprint

2. Take Pride and Prejudice as Example to Analyze Austens Writing Style

In my eyes， Jane Austen is a realistic writer， and I take the Pride and Prejudice which is the most successful and impressive masterpiece of Jane Austen as an example.

This book was written in 1813 and showed the daily life and value of the middle class Englishmen at that time， which was male-centered. Many people simply regard it as a romantic novel about love story， however， in my point of view this book is an episode of the society at that time. Jane Austen perfectly reflected the relationship between money and marriage in females inner world.

2.1 The Realistic Social Problems Reflected in the Novel

In the first beginning of Pride and Prejudice， the author wrote that “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is a typical and realistic portrayal about the society at that time and we can easily find out what marriage means and how important social status is to women.

Then Jane Austen represents three different but so realistic attitudes about marriage through four couples. The first one is for fortune and social status， the second one is for beauty and love regardless of economic conditions. The last one is the ideal marriage for both love and fortune. We can see that all the different attitudes are all the realistic reflection of people especially female at Austens time. In her book， the world is not wide but the small and real living world of herself.

2.2 The Use of Realistic Biting Irony

Jane Austens use of biting irony along with her realism and social commentary has earned her great and historical importance in the history of English literature. As far as I can see， the well use of irony in Pride and Prejudice is another big characteristic of her realistic writing style.

3. Conclusion

From the late eighteen century to the early nineteenth century， the whole English literature field is filled with sentimental and Gothic novels. Only Jane Austen is still trying her best to observe and reflect the local conditions and customs through her literary works， and returns the novel on a “slender thread” to the tradition of Richardson and Fielding for a “realistic study of manners”， which make her novels take an important place in the history of literature. The famous critic Janet Todd writes that “Austen creates an illusion of realism in her texts， partly through readerly identification with the characters and partly through rounded characters， which have a history and a memory.”

References：

[1]Austen，Jane.Pride and Prejudice[M].Oxford：Oxford University Press，1970.

[2]Feifei Pei，Changle Fu，Xiaolin Huang.Jane Austens Views on Marriage in Pride and Prejudice[J].Advances in Literary Study，2014，2，147-150.endprint