The Enduring Power of Class: A Comparative An...

The Enduring Power of Class: A Comparative Analysis of Social Stratification in Austen and Contemporary Literature

Author Name : Susmita das

ABSTRACT This thesis will explore Jane Austen‟s social commentary on class structure and boundaries as they evolved from her writing of novels.In Austen, we view parts of the Regency culture through a microcosm of a handful of families in each village Austen creates. Women married for security (and hopefully, for love). But if there was no love in equation, these women would likely still marry the man (for example, Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice). They sought out someone of their social class. Remember Elizabeth Bennet‟s retort to Lady Catherine De Bourgh: He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman‟s daughter; so far we are equal.” (Ch. 56) Those who were obsessed with high rank are satirized by Austen. The few members of the aristocracy that she includes in her tales are dunderheads, who are consumed with their own consequence. They range from the all-knowing Lady Catherine de Bourgh to the amiable, but dense, Sir John Middleton in Sense and Sensibility to the calculating Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park and the conceited Sir Walter Elliot in .‟Persuasion‟ Speaking of the gentlemen in Austen‟s novels, they are usually wealthy and landed. Even most men “in trade” are treated well in her novels. Look at Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice.