One word from you will silence me on this subject forever": Jane Austen and the Culture of Consent

This essay analyzes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in dialogue with consent discourse through her nuanced examination of marriage and courtship, considering how she critiqued sexually inappropriate behavior through characters like Wickham and Collins and modeled behaviors for cultivating con...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pennsylvania literary journal 2022-10, Vol.14 (3), p.154-268
Main Author: Marinaro, Francesca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Austen, Jane (1775-1817)
Behavior
Consent
English literature
Feminism
Literary characters
Marriage
Novels
Personal relationships
Sexual harassment
Women
Womens literature
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This essay analyzes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in dialogue with consent discourse through her nuanced examination of marriage and courtship, considering how she critiqued sexually inappropriate behavior through characters like Wickham and Collins and modeled behaviors for cultivating consensual relationships through couples like Elizabeth and Darcy. Though published two centuries ago, Austen maintains a foothold in the literary and cultural canon because her work, which helped carve a niche for women in the literary marketplace, has crafted enduring models of both heroic and toxic masculinity that still resonate with women's experiences of sexual misconduct. Examining how Pride and Prejudice engages with consent discourse challenges readers to consider how her heroines continue to amplify women's voices as agents of consent.
ISSN:2151-3066