Must We Mortify?: Jane Austen, Gender, and the Uses of Shame Public

Abstract

Gendered shame pervades Jane Austen’s canon. This thesis investigates Austen’s representations of gendered shame in three novels and their three respective heroines: the pedagogical relationship between Catherine and Henry in Northanger Abbey, the humiliating upbringing of Mansfield Park’s Fanny, and Emma’s perceived shamelessness in Emma. As Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick notes in “Jane Austen and the Masturbating Girl,” misogyny taints Austen criticism in that critics seem to take satisfaction in the shaming, punishment, and moral instruction of Austen’s heroines. At times, critics even argue that Austen herself is deserving of shame. Extending Sedgwick’s inquiry, this thesis combines textual analysis with critics’ and readers’ responses, as well as the insights into shame’s function provided by Silvan Tomkins’ affect theory. I examine these three novels to argue that, while shame is central to Austen’s work, the novels themselves actively criticize patriarchal ideals, namely the right of men to morally instruct and humiliate women.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….1

Chapter One: The Pupil Shamed………………………………………………………………….9

Chapter Two: A Crying Shame………………………………………………………………….28

Chapter Three: Shameless, Clever, and Rich……………………………………………………54

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….83

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………...85

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, English Gender Studies Women's Studies
Mot-clé	Jane Austen
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Kelleher, Paul, Emory University
Committee Members	Otis, Laura, Emory University Miller, Judith, Emory University

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