LITERATURA INGLESA II: ILUSTRACIÓN, ROMANTICISMO
Y ÉPOCA VICTORIANA
Answers/Feedback for Self-assessment (Unit 4). “Women Novelists and
the Transformation of Fiction: Feminizing Culture”
I.-“The ‘I’ Altered”, Elegiac Sonnets, Frances (Fanny) Burney.
II.-1) Pride and Prejudice, 2) b, 3) c, 4) d.
III.- Characterisation refers to the presentation of characters as “illusions” of real human beings.
In writing about characters, you should avoid going through the things that happen to them or the
events in which they are involvedyou would be summarising the plot rather than examining
characterisation. A simple and easy way to analyse characterisation is to focus on (i) how a
narrator defines characters (direct definition), (ii) what they say about themselves/others and how
they say it (speech) and (iii) how they behave (action).
The Bennet sisters (Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia, Kitty and Maria) have little to do with one
another (except Lydia and Kitty, portrayed almost as “twins”). In writing about these characters,
you should have touched on some/all of the following aspects:
- The narrator tells us about the personality and physical appearance of certain characters
(direct definition): for instance, in chapter 6, we learn that Jane unites “great strength of
feeling, a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner”; in chapter 9, Lydia
is described as “a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-
humoured countenance”.
- The sisters are also characterised through speech: Mary, the “intellectual” sister, uses
pedantic language; by contrast, Lydia and Kitty’s language is childish and frivolous;
Elizabeth and Jane reveal their contrasting views (and, in doing so, their personalities) in
their frequent conversations.
- Another variety of characterisation through speech is a character’s definition or description
of him-/herself, or of another: in chapter 31, Elizabeth admits that “there is a stubborness
about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others”; in chapter 4, Elizabeth
tells Jane that “you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never
see a fault in anybody”. Mrs. Bennet’s definition of her daughter as “a headstrong, foolish
girl”, in chapter 20, can be said to characterise the speaker, more than Elizabeth.
- Another important means of characterisation is action (what characters “do”): for instance,
Elizabeth’s decision to walk to Netherfield to visit Jane characterises her as an
unconventional young woman, not too concerned on appearances; her behaviour in front of
Lady Catherine characterises her as assertive and dignified. A further example would be
Lydia’s elopement, which characterises her as selfish and irresponsible.
You could have reached the following conclusions:
- The Bennett sisters are mainly characterised by an external narrator, through their speech
and their actions.
- The personalities of Elizabeth and Jane are opposed, yet complementary in many ways
(see also chapters 24 and 40). They are both balanced personalities unlike Maria, Kitty and
Lydia, who are, for different reasons (cynicism, frivolity) flawed characters.
- When contrasted with her sisters, Elizabeth stands out as a more complex character, one
who evolves from initial “pride and prejudice”; a round character, as opposed to her rather
flat (unchanging) sisters.