Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2021
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Erin Drew
Second Advisor
Jason Solinger
Third Advisor
Scott MacKenzie
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact and use of sisters and sorority in the novels of Jane Austen, answering the question of how they are shaping the narratives of the stories. Focusing in particular on Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility, I highlight the ways that Austen’s writing crafts plots that rely upon sisters to function. Austen also uses sister figures to reveal the characteristics of her main protagonists and to express the themes she is most concerned about within each story. I also show Austen’s pattern of affirming the value and importance of sisterhood through the descriptions of the happiness each of her heroines finds after marriage, all of which include an emphasis on sustained sorority. I argue that Austen’s novels are so dominated by sisters that these integral characters are the most important figures within these novels.
Recommended Citation
Reid, Morgan Elizabeth, "Story and Sorority: How Sisters Shape the Novels of Jane Austen" (2021). Honors Theses. 1712.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1712
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