Critical Analysis Of Disarming Reproof By Priscilla Gilman

Response to Pride and Prejudice Critical Essay I read a contemporary critical essay entitled Disarming Reproof by Priscilla Gilman, which is about Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. The article provides information about the time or era in which Austen was alive and wrote her well known novels, this is what drew my attention to this analysis rather than the ones incorporated in the novel. The essay states that the 1800’s, were known as the “age of criticism” specifically when it came to literary forms of expression like novels (Gilman, 219). The idea of criticism or others critiquing their works scared many authors and altered the way in which they wrote and in some cases caused them not to publish their works. It also points out that the idea of criticism did not scare Jane Austen who had just released her first successful novel Sense and Sensibility and was in the process of finalizing Pride and Prejudice (Gilman, 219). I found that information intriguing because Jane Austen was a female in a male dominated world and industry in a time period where women were not highly regarded, and they had very little rights or freedoms, including the way that they express …show more content…
It also convinced me that Austen made a conscious effort not to follow the beaten path and to do things her own unique way despite the backlash and possible consequences, which could have been sever or life altering. That being said, I’m curious to know if all the characters in her novels are based on people in her life or if they are solely a figment of her imagination. There is a lot of realism in her novels which make me wonder just how much of her novels may be based on her own reality and which portions are