The Print Culture and Female Education in Pride and Prejudice文献综述

 2022-09-08 11:09

The Print Culture and Female Education in Pride and Prejudice

Abstract

Jan Austen was one of the eminent realistic novelists in the history of English literature in the 19th century. She wrote six classical novels in her short life time: Sense and sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1816), Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion (1818). As a realistic writer, Austen rsquo;s works truly reflect the social history and female problems of her time. Her concern about female education and her progressive female consciousness could be found throughout her novels, especially in Pride and Prejudice.

Published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is an internationally popular novel. Austen set the story in the first decade of the 19th century. On the one hand, the progress of the industrial revolution and the development of printing industry made it possible for novels to be produced in great numbers. On the other hand, with the rapid development of economy and fast accumulation of social wealth, the middle-class women had more free time to read novels, which promoted the awakening of female consciousness at that time. By the time of the Victorian era, the female education has received the unprecedented attention and the content as well as the goal of female education has gradually changed. The heroine of Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth, a knowledge girl who likes reading. As a consequence of wide reading, she is quite different from the so-called “elegant ladies” who are usually meek and undemonstrative. Instead, she is confident and independent. Actually, Elizabeth embodies Austenrsquo;s concept of female salvation, that is, education is the only way for women to improve their self-cultivation. Austen believes that education enables people to have a right understanding of themselves and then to surpass themselves. It can be seen that Austen attaches great importance to female education. As a female writer, she realizes the significance of reading for female education. In Pride and Prejudice, some different characters are created to demonstrate the educated womenrsquo;s intelligence and capacity. At the same time, Austen emphasizes equality between men and women in education, which has great realistic significance on modern education.

Key words: Print culture, novel, Victorian era, female education

  1. Introduction

1.1 The background of Jane Austen

Jane Austen, one of the most widely read novelists in English literature, has been highly appreciated by the famous contemporary critics Edmund Wilson, “Since one hundred years ago, there have been several interesting revolutions in the English literature. The change of literary interest affected almost all the writers of reputation, except for Shakespeare and Jane Austen with an enduring popularity.”

Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in the village of Steventon, Hampshire, England, where her knowledgeable father worked as a clergyman. In her all life, Austen never attended a formal school and she was mostly educated at home, benefiting from her fatherrsquo;s extensive library which had a great influence on her later writing. She started writing comic stories, now referred to as the Juvenilia, at a young age and her parents were avid readers.

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