psychological reformation of jane austens heroines: pride and prejudice and mansfield park

this study focuses on jane austens representation of her heroines in two of her novels: pride and prejudice, and mansfield park. i have concentrated only on a single idea: how jane austen takes her heroines through a course of psychogical reformation to which almost everything else in her novel is subsidiary. although i have discussed only pride and prejudice, we can trace austens carefully planned scheme in her other principal novels (of course, expect mansfield park) in which she is always systematically furthering the psychological development of her heroines toward a definite point she has in mind. this is the specific road that i have taken in chapter ii which analyzed how in pride and prejudice austen uses the plot, the setting, even the characters other than the heroine herself in order to further the heroines psychological development. chapter iii explores mansfield park in which austen deviates from her basic plan for her heroine. fanny price seems to be a faultless character, therfore she is unlike elizabeth bennet and other develoing heroines. and this is an important point. in chapter iv i compare elizabeth benna as a sample of austens developing heroines with fanny price, austens exceptional faultless heroine. the major theoretical claim of this thesis is to reveal how austens well-ordered plan to taken her heroine through a course of psychological reformation-which requires certain plot, characters, sethings and events at certain times- is changed fundamentally in mansfied park. this deviation costs austen a lot, she must ignore her characteristic artistic devices: psychological reformation. developing character, and irony.