An Interpretation of Jane Austen’s Novels as Female Bildungsroman

Zhu Lei

【Abstract】Although Jane Austen wrote only six novels，all of her novels paid much more attention to female characters and treated the love and marriage of them as the theme.Her heroines with certain flaws were not idealized and perfect.So their growing-up with the development of the story had been focused on.This thesis pays attention to the treatment of her novels as female Bildungsroman and the analysis of the transition of her heroines from the immature to the mature.

【Key Words】Bildungsroman； Jane Austen； grow-up； heroine

1.A general introduction of Bildungsroman

Growing-up is a wonderful process mixing with pain and pleasure.So the novels which deal with it as their theme have their special charming.This kind of novels have been called Bildungsroman （The German “bildung” means “education”，“roman” is a French word meaning “novel”） which were popular especially in Germany from the 19th century on.Samuel Butlers The Way of All Flesh and Dickenss Great Expectations are good examples.Bildungsroman comes from a basic opinion that people could self-cultivate themselves and then create their own lives in order to develop their potential endowed by nature.Bildungsroman on the one hand describes the process in which the protagonists strive out of hardship to recognize and develop themselves，on the other hand narrates their turning back from rebellion against social norms to melt into society after finding out their limits and defects.

2.The heroines in Jane Austens novels

The life of Jane Austens heroines，who spend much of their time at balls，dinners and on extended visits，should not，therefore，be considered trivial.Essentially，they are engaged in receiving an education in manners.By undergoing this process，they become themselves.Austens characters real punishment or reward is just being themselves.Some succeed being mature，some not.Jane Austen works easily and freely within the widest limits of type and role，and believes her characters to be ultimately restored to their true selves.The characters may experience education or improvement through humiliation or painful self-recognition，but in the end they will grow up.

3.An interpretation of Jane Austens novels as female Bildungsroman

“There is nothing doctrinaire in Jane Austen not a trace of a womans ‘mission； but as the most truthful，charming，humorous，pureminded，quick-witted，and unexaggerated of writers，female literature has reason to be proud of her.”[1]To some extent，all of Jane Austens novels could be regarded as Bildungsroman.And because all of them treat female characters as protagonists，her novels could be seen as female Bildungsroman.

All of her six novels put women characters as protagonists and the whole stories were unfolded with them.In her fictions，Jane Austen eulogizes the wisdom and ability of women； all of her heroines belong to the “genteel” class and are young，single and attractive.The main heroines—Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Emma Woodhouse in Emma are good representatives.They all have to try their fate in the marriage market.Besides the common virtues of young ladies，they have the special rebellion spirit to contempt the social norms which restrict women too much，although they also have to follow the social rules to find an ideal husband.However，she didnt idealize them as perfect ladies without any blemish.She analyzes their flaws and defects calmly and profoundly.

4.The growing-up of her heroines

According to E.M.Forster，characters can be grouped as round characters and flat characters by the degrees of their development.Round characters are fully developed while flat characters are not.It means round characters grow while flat characters do not.Most heroes are round characters who grow emotionally or spiritually.[2]Both Elizabeth and Emma are typical round characters who grow from prejudice or innocence to self-knowledge and maturity.So this kind of narration could help us learn all sides of the heroines under Jane Austens pen.They are so vivid and colorful that they could be remembered by all the readers of different generations.

The theme of all of Jane Austens novels especially Pride and Prejudice and Emma could be seen as the genuineness of heroines reformation and the felicity of her marriage to a wealthy gentleman.Mistakes are acknowledged，transgressions are forgiven，and conflicts between love and duty are resolved.The marriages are suitable to all society and based on love.No one turns out，has been permanently harmed.The novels have a comic educational plot.The heroine errs as a result of her faults，suffers as a result of her errors，grows as a result of her suffering，and achieves happiness as a result of her growth.So，its safely to say that all of her novels could be understood as female Bildungsroman.

References：

[1]Lewes，G.H.The Lady Novelists[A].ed.Parrish，M.S.Emma：An Authoritative Text[C].New York：Norton，1972：370.

[2]卲锦娣，白劲鹏.文学导论[M].上海外语教学出版社，2002.

作者简介：朱蕾（1983-），女，汉，甘肃兰州人，安康学院助教，硕士研究生，主要研究方向：英美文学。