Dec 26, 2009

Pride and Prejudice | Techniques

Jane Austen's novels have been described as a blend of the novel of sensibility popularized by Samuel Richardson and the comedy of manners (David Lodge, Jane Austen's Novels, Form and Structure). Another critic has pointed out that she goes beyond both of these conventions because she makes finer distinctions among characters who have polite manners; decorum alone does not the measure their worth (Fergus; he also notes that the better examples of the comedy of manners, like William Congreve's The Way of the World, presage Austen's achievement). Wickham, for instance, has...