The following notes, suggestions and questions will help you to study Jane Austen's novel more effectively and enjoyably.

Jane Austen has described her work as 'a little bit of ivory, two inches wide, on which I work with so fine a brush as to produce little effect after much labour.' What does she mean by this? The following questions will help you find out.

Background

Where does Jane Austen set her novels? Is there any common pattern, ie. a region. What is the historical period?

Plot

What devices does Jane Austen use to provide suspense and background action. How does Jane Austen tell the reader what happened to Wickham and Lydia?

Themes

Look for the following themes in the novels:

* marriage - what happens, for instance, in Pride and Prejudice, to the five Bennet sisters? Why do you think marriage is so important to Mrs. Bennet?

* how important are money and property. Why cannot Jane Bennet inherit her father's property?

* social position and class. Do you think these are very important in the novels? Think about the main characters in the novel? Are they rich people? Are any of the characters poor people? Why is this? Concentrate your thinking, perhaps, on Elizabeth Bennet, Mrs Hurst and Georgiana Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. How are Mr and Mrs Gardiner regarded by the Bingley sisters? Why are Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins such figures of fun? Can you find any other examples in Pride and Prejudice?

* What do we mean by morality? First find a definition in a dictionary, then see if Jane Austen is concerned with morals in her novels. Do the main characters have to make choices and do they have responsibilities and obligations? If so, who to? What part does religion play in her novels?

* Do you think Jane Austen, when she wrote her novels, ignored the wider world? If so, why is this. Do you know what happened in the world during her lifetime? Find out the dates of Jane Austen's birth and death and see from a dictionary of dates what events took place in the world. Can you find out the dates when Jane wrote Pride and Prejudice?

* What does Jane Austen tell us about her women characters' education and 'accomplishments'? (Can you find out those for Elizabeth Bennet, Miss De Burgh and Georgiana Darcy?) How does this shape their character?

* What do her women characters do? Think of, for instance, Mrs Bennet and Charlotte Lucas.

* Location\setting. List the places mentioned in the novel you are studying. Are they villages or cities? Does Jane Austen like cities? What does Jane Austen think about nature and the countryside?

* Travelling. How did people travel in the period in which Pride and Prejudice is set? For example, think of the means of travel used by Elizabeth when she visits Jane at Netherfield - was any comment caused by this? Also, how did Elizabeth and her uncle and aunt travel to go on holiday?

* What are the main amusements for the characters in the novel, such as Lydia and Wickham?

Characterisation

How greatly does Jane Austen describe characters and how much of our understanding of characters grow from dialogue?

* Eccentric characters - what eccentric or comic characters can you find in Jane Austen's novels.

*Does Jane Austen make fun of the conventions of the day or of people's follies and foibles - or both?

* Are the heroines and heros and other main characters in Jane Austen's novels perfect? In other words, are they idealised or real?

Literary Styles

Jane Austen's novels are regarded as some of the finest witty and humorous writing in the English language. Look for examples of humorous writing - *comjc characters - who are the main comic characters in Pride and Prejudice.

* humorous situations and events - what are the funniest events in Pride and Prejudice.

Do you know what irony means? Find a definition of it in a book on English literature? How does Jane Austen use irony? Find examples in her novels.

How are loose endings in the plot 'tied up'?

What do you think is more important in Jane Austen's novels - plot or characterisation?

How is dialogue used in Pride and Prejudice?