Comments on: Jane Austen, Feminist Author

By: cathyallen

cathyallen — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:22:29 +0000

Of course, this all depends on one’s definition of feminism. In my view, in Jane Austen’s time and society, she wrote about women who could, and did, take care of themselves. In my opinion, that is an example of early feminism.

By: cathyallen

cathyallen — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:54:54 +0000

Oh yes, Catherine Morland got herself home, in the middle of the night! Who’d have thought she could do that at the beginning of the novel? A strong woman, too.

By: cathyallen

cathyallen — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:14:35 +0000

You said it was a small section of the broadcast, and I hope that I heard it all. Only a couple of minutes, toward the beginning; am I right? That was all I had time to listen to, anyway. I DO think that Jane Austen can be considered a feminist writer. I think she wrote rather subversively, actually, as a vicar’s daughter should have done in that time period, but her women, the heroines, I mean, were strong ladies who pretty much lived their lives on their terms, within the system.

Well, maybe not Fanny Price so much (but she didn’t given in when she believed in herself), but certainly, in my opinion, Elizabeth Bennet, Emma, Anne Elliot (not so much, I guess, but she did stand up to her father and her sister when she had to) Elinor Dashwood, who took over raising the family after her father’s death, Catherine Morland (Hmmm… have to think about that one some more.) Yeah, she was an early feminist.

This was interesting, thanks Julie.