Jane Austen and discourses of feminism

About this book

Received understandings of Jane Austen and her novels have been revised most forcefully in feminist scholarship. Jane Austen and Discourses of Feminism reassesses and furthers this critical project. Grappling with literary theoretical innovations concerning gender, genre, nationalism, class, and sexuality, this collection presents new possibilities for understanding Austen's contributions to literary history. The anthology does not deliver a final verdict on whether Austen was or was not a feminist, but rather explores more broadly the links between her writings and feminist discourses - in both her time and our own. The essays, written by established Austen scholars as well as newcomers, suggest the directions that criticism on Austen might take.