'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' (De Beauvoir 1949) How does Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility reflect this statement?

'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' (De Beauvoir 1949) How does Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility reflect this statement? Simone De Beauvoir's famous quotation 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' comes from The Second Sex (1949), which 'highlights the extent to which the masculine is represented as the positive or the norm, while the feminine is portrayed as the "other"' (Heywood 2003:258). De Beauvoir argues that women's freedom is limited through this 'otherness' and does not allow them to express their full humanity. She used rationality and critical analysis to show how this process takes place in society and aimed to try and give women a feeling of responsibility for their own lives. 'No biological, psychological or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilisation as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine' (De Beauvoir 1949:295). Distinguishing between 'sex' and 'gender' is one of the core concepts of feminism, and as De Beauvoir states 'gender' as a construct is imposed by patriarchal society. Kate Millett notes that there are no differences in personality or behaviour between the sexes at birth and so 'psychosexual personality is therefore postnatal and learned' (1977:30). The majority of feminists agree that gender is

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Elizabeth Taylor's Journey in Life: Analyzed by Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development.

Elizabeth Taylor's Journey in Life: Analyzed by Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development By Theories of Personality December 4, 2003 Elizabeth Taylor's Journey in Life Elizabeth Taylor is one of the most recognized and successful movie stars of our era: violet-eyed, luminously beautiful, although never the most gifted actress, she was the most magnetic; elebrity is her lifeblood; tragedies her life-long struggles, the public eye her constant companion. She knew no moderation - it was all or nothing. Whether good (two Oscars, the first-ever one-million-dollar pay check, and charity work), bad (health and weight problems, drug battles, and other tragedies), or ugly (eight failed marriages, movie disasters, and countless scandals), no triumph or setback was too personal for media consumption. Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in London in 1932 to American parents. Her father came from a family of reasonably affluent midwestern art dealers and had moved to London in the late 1920s to set up an English branch of the business. and moving with him to the centre of his family's gallery business in St Louis. Her mother had enjoyed some success on the stage, so the world of Hollywood and that of a touring actress was familiar to her, but she claimed it up for her marriage and two children, Elizabeth and her older brother.(Morley, 1998). Until she was seven years

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Marriage As A Social Contract In Jane Austen's 'Pride And Prejudice'.

Marriage As A Social Contract In Jane Austen's 'Pride And Prejudice' "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife". With these famous words, Jane Austen launched into what has come to be regarded by many as the greatest romance novel of all time. Written in late 1790's England, in a time of radical social upheaval and political change, 'Pride and Prejudice' presents a mixed bag of social ideas relating to marriage, the meaning of femininity, love and the fluidity of class structure. The time of writing put 'Pride and Prejudice' in the middle of a fictional war of ideas between female writers of the time, arriving as it does at a sort of middle ground between the feminist views of Mary Wollstonecraft and the more rural traditionalist views of Hannah More (Jones, V., 'Introduction to "Pride and Prejudice"', (1996) London: Penguin). This lead to much confusion among critics as to exactly what Austen's views regarding marriage and feminism were, and in many cases continues to do so today. In this essay I will attempt to clear up some of this ambiguity, while closely examining the idea of marriage itself, the nature of the 'social contract', and the social and historical background to the idea of marriage as a social contract. In 'The Sadeian Woman', Angela Carter states that "The marriage bed is a

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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In a continuous essay of not more that 1000 words, analyse this passage, discussing ways in which the narrative voice and dialogue are used.

In a continuous essay of not more that 1000 words, analyse this passage, discussing ways in which the narrative voice and dialogue are used. The passage extracted from Chapter 9 of Pride and Prejudice is, in line with the rest of the novel, written in the third person narrative voice. As is common throughout the Novel, focalization is often through the main character, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Helping to aid the readers' comprehension of the Novel, the narrative voice has a free indirect style which shares commentary with the characters and moves imperceptibly and unobtrusively from character to group, from solitary scenes to social gatherings. The passage opens directly with dialogue between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Dialogue is used to reveal the character of the speaker and it also adds drama to the story. Not only are the words that are spoken important, it is also significant how the words are said. Elizabeth's first line in the passage is spoken "impatiently". Quite ironically she is speaking of a gentleman ending his affection, and thereafter she speaks "knowledgeably" of love. She is neither knowledgeable nor experienced in either of these matters. Perhaps the "impatience" is more pertinent to the encounters she wishes to experience. In this way, Jane Austen uses irony in her narrative as a means of showing the truth about situations and people. In

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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'Examine the ways in which the epistolary structure of Les Liaisons Dangereuses creates drama, intrigue and suspense.'

Colleen Stopforth. Week 1. 'Examine the ways in which the epistolary structure of Les Liaisons Dangereuses creates drama, intrigue and suspense.' The epistolary structure achieves a sense of individual characterisation through writing style and tone that a conventional unilateral narrative form cannot. It allows the authors to reveal or conceal knowledge from other characters, while only the reader is privy to all sides and perspectives of events. Laclos reveals the characters through their literary voice, as an epistolary structure does not allow long character description. The voices of La Marquise de Merteuil and le Vicomte de Valmont are characterised by wit, irony and stylistic adaptability. In Valmont's first letter to Merteuil, already we are shown the irony and humour that pervades much of their correspondence, 'Vos ordres sont charmants; votre façon de les donner est plus aimable encore; vous feriez chérir le despotisme.' The sharp correspondence between Merteuil and Valmont is the driving force of the novel and by positioning Cécile's letters between theirs her naivety and linguistic ineptitude are highlighted. Her letters create a pause in real plot development thereby creating suspense; they are almost inconsequential to the reader, becoming a distraction from the substance of the surrounding letters, just as the seduction of Cécile is a

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Jane Austen's use of irony in Pride & Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion.

SHABNAM ABUBAKER EXTENDED ESSAY 2001 Q: JANE AUSTEN'S USE OF IRONY IN: PRIDE & PREJUDICE, EMMA AND PERSUASION. Irony is a humorous or mildly sarcastic use of words to mean the opposite of what is said. Irony can be used in a satirical, humorous or sarcastic manner. It can be used to indirectly put a message across to someone as a joke. In Austen's books the characters sometimes valued irony because that is how they earn their success and to some it just made their life worse. However the characters are not fully aware of the irony used. This in itself is another aspect of irony. So, the question is why does Jane Austen use irony so much? "To Jane Austen irony does not mean, as it means to many, a moral detachment", (Encarta online encyclopaedia). To her it was all about humour and fun. I have discovered that she uses irony in most of her works. Her mother "had a great sense of humour" (Brodie's notes 1990:7) and it was probably genetically passed on to Jane. The convention within which she lived and wrote demanded a certain code of conduct, and this influenced her writing a great deal. Her way of showing what she thought of this way of living is by being ironic without being cruel, satirical without being complacent. In most of her books I have noticed that quite a lot of the characters are snobbish and their lifestyle is very

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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From Pride and Prejudice, vol II, ch x

From Pride and Prejudice, vol II, ch x Please analyse this passage in no more than 1000 words, discussing ways in which the narrative voice and dialogue are used. This chapter opens with a line from the omniscient narrator confiding or 'telling' us about Elizabeth's unexpected encounters in the park with Mr Darcy. Austen's use of the 'telling' technique here is economical and saves the reader actually having to read through each of these meetings to know that they took place. In the next line the narrator slips into Elizabeth's mode of speaking with the use of free and indirect speech, to convey her feelings about the so-called accidental meetings. The irony can be picked up in the statement: 'She felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought;' was it really coincidental that Darcy was walking there? If we back up to the previous chapter we notice that Mrs Collins had even suggested to Elizabeth that Mr Darcy was possibly partial to her, so did not these encounters somehow arouse Elizabeth's suspicions and confirm this in some way, especially as she had taken care to tell him that this walk was a favourite haunt of hers? Was she somehow lying to herself here when she described the second and third encounter with Darcy as odd? Here the narrator wants us to believe that Elizabeth had no suspicions whatsoever concerning Darcy's

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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An Exploration of D.H. Lawrence's, "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" brings to light the true fragrance of chrysanthemums set in contrast to Katherine Mansfield's, "The Garden Party".

An Exploration of D.H. Lawrence's, "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" brings to light the true fragrance of chrysanthemums set in contrast to Katherine Mansfield's, "The Garden Party", which makes for an interesting discovery into the reality of human class construction and distinction through the depiction of interpersonal human relations and the effect on them of class. "From the mechanical monster terrifying the cantering colt at the beginning, (a brilliant bit of Lawrence this - demonstrating the way that the iron horse may be able to carry more than the animal but that it can't beat it's pace) to the un-weeping widow at the end, we may think that this is just a 'tale'. But hours after the story is finished, the images are still with the reader." - Helen Croom An opposition between nature and society creates the central, juxtaposing theme of D.H. Lawrence's, "The Odour of Chrysanthemums". A verification of this theme is evident in Elizabeth's recognition of the absolute differences between her world and the world of her now dead husband, based on her perceptions. Elizabeth is confronted with the shocking reality that she only knew the body of her now dead husband, but never gained knowledge of his true existence; his soul. "The Odour of Chrysanthemums" functions as a depiction of human relations and the effect on them of class, as portrayed by the third person,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Northanger Abbey

TMA 02 Option (a) Discuss fidelity and betrayal in Northanger Abbey. The use of fidelity and betrayal throughout the novel Northanger Abbey accentuates the social and political unrest in England at the time of its composition. The 1790's were a time of particular unrest, particularly for the aristocratic upper classes who expressed feelings of extreme nervousness about the knock-on effect that the French Revolution might have in England. The consistent twisting and turning, from promises to broken promises, fidelity to betrayal, from gothic themes to sentimental realism, reflect the turbulent times in which the novel was set; and particularly the deliberate shift into a parody of typical gothic conventions helped Austen enhance the difficult, unstable and sometimes horrific experiences for women in this agitated patriarchal society. This essay will highlight how Austen's use of language and structure emphasises the fidelity and betrayal throughout the novel; how the writers bending and merging of the rules of different written genres heightens these two themes, which in turn underlines its contextual anxieties. Throughout the novel Austen offers up gothic situations but then deals with them realistically; an example of this is seen in Catherine's abduction at the hands of John Thorpe, which mirrors the typical kidnap scenes that late eighteenth-century gothic writers would

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

Regina Sloutsky 11/9/03 English C Block Marriage in Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, a novel that aims to emphasize the flaws of a martially obsessed society, Jane Austen depicts various marriages. By contrasting the outcomes of each, Austen reveals her opinion on what constitutes a successful relationship. Through creating characters with extreme characteristics, she classifies each one to stress their traits, and examine their potential for happiness with one another. While Austen views most marriages in this society as superficial and lacking in true love, Austen ultimately approves of only spiritual connections. With insight into the thoughts of each character, Austen is able to reveal their intentions, desires, and reactions to each relationship. She frowns upon the shallowness and flippancy of the Bennet family, and is thus critical of the relationships they form. Austen's view of an ideal marriage is witnessed through Darcy and Elizabeth. While they had unenthusiastic initial perspectives of one another, they overcame these repulsions, leading to their engagement. As the two became more acquainted, they became familiar with each others' flaws, yet developed their relationship regardless. The series of events that led to their friendship was crucial to their eventual reciproctating respect and adoration. Austen incorporates barriers between

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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