Selected Writers: Jane Austen

3 units

In this course, we will read all of Austen's novels -- "Northanger Abbey," "Sense and Sensibility," "Pride and Prejudice," "Mansfield Park," "Emma," and "Persuasion" -- as well as selections from her juvenilia and minor works, including the uncharacteristically wicked "Lady Susan" and the epistolary burlesque "Love and Friendship." Since Austen was one of the earliest women writers to achieve both popular acclaim and canonical status, we will look closely at the evolution of her literary reputation. Was she a "lady novelist" who knew her place and limited her material accordingly? Or was she an uncompromising critic of her society who punctured its pretensions with her satirical pen? Of special interest in our investigations will be the following: family feuds and domestic relationships; gender and social roles; imitation and parody; sentimentalism and radicalism; Austen and the romance novel; and Austen's humor. We will also view an Austen film adaptation. Satisfies the Eighteenth Century requirement.