The education of women in Jane Austen's novels

Modern criticism and scholarship on the novels of Jane Austen owemuch to the cumulative body of critical thought which has beenestablished over a period of approximately one hundred and seventyyears. Although in recent times some light has been shed on aspectsof the educative process in Austen's novels, on the whole, the area offemale education has remained in relative darkness, with few criticspaying it more than a cursory tribute. This thesis proposes firstlyto provide a brief survey of the critical literature and trends in thecriticism of Jane Austen from the nineteenth century to the presenttime. It will then examine each novel in the light of the historicalbackground to the question of education for young ladies in theeighteenth century; a question long neglected by many Austenscholars