Jane Austen Research Paper

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Another woman writer who transformed the ‘definition of women’ in her works during 18th and 19th century Britain was English novelist Jane Austen. Different from the influential women writers who wrote mostly essays, Austen wrote love novels that contained ‘subtle feminism’. Although she never outspokenly exhibited her views of equality for women such as Wollstonecraft did, Austen portrayed women in her novels as intelligent, capable beings who were in fact, equal to men. Austen defied how Gregorian era women were taught to attract men with beauty and modesty, as she wrote female characters who gained respect based on their sharp mind and principled behavior, such as the character of Elizabeth Bennett in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice (Powell, Kat). …show more content…

Additionally, the women characters in Austen’s works were “always reading, always educated, [and] always well-versed in literature” (“Jane Austen: An Influential Woman”). By writing women who were witty and well-educated, Austen supported proper education for women, and believed that knowledge was vital for women to reach their full potential. Furthermore, Austen’s writing techniques were far different from those of other women during her time, as she was one of the first women to have wit, satire, and cynicism in her novels that made them humorous and displayed her intelligence (“Jane Austen: An Influential Woman”). Austen’s writing style demonstrates how she was an example to society that a woman could intellectually write an enjoyable story that was cleverly told. Using her romantic novels to subtly promote the importance of equality and women’s education, Jane Austen played an important role in altering society’s perception of women and encouraging other women to take up the writing