Research Proposal
Name: Aoife McHenry
Research Option Taken: One Author, Six Novels: An Exploration of Jane Austen’s published Works
Proposed Dissertation Tile: Marrying for Love VS Marrying for Social Status in Jane Austen’s Novels
Description of your proposed dissertation:
My dissertation will explore the theme of marriage in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. I will discuss marrying for love and social status and the importance of both within each text. The plot of Sense and Sensibility revolves around marriage. It determines who will inherit family fortunes and properties, and is of particular importance to women, whose futures depend almost entirely on the prospects of the men they marry. Moreover, it’s often families and parents who attempt to decide engagements as much as any individual husband or wife. Engagements, possible matches, and marriages are the main concern of most the novel’s characters and the subject of much of their conversation. Marriage is an important part of the functioning of the high society in which Austen’s characters live. Mrs. Ferras, for example, cares only about her …show more content…
Marriage isn’t all about love in the world of Sense and Sensibility. In fact, it’s often more about wealth, uniting families, and gaining social standing. Most of the characters in Sense and Sensibility are obsessed with maintaining their family’s place on the social ladder and potentially moving up the ladder through either marriage or simply associating with wealthier, higher class friends. Twenty-three-year-old Lucy Steele, although shrewd, smart, and pretty, lacks any real elegance and grace and never received the benefits of a good education. Lucy certainly approaches her social life like a game she is determined to win as she marries Robert Ferras for financial security despite her four year engagement to his brother
Name: Aoife McHenry
Research Option Taken: One Author, Six Novels: An Exploration of Jane Austen’s published Works
Proposed Dissertation Tile: Marrying for Love VS Marrying for Social Status in Jane Austen’s Novels
Description of your proposed dissertation:
My dissertation will explore the theme of marriage in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. I will discuss marrying for love and social status and the importance of both within each text. The plot of Sense and Sensibility revolves around marriage. It determines who will inherit family fortunes and properties, and is of particular importance to women, whose futures depend almost entirely on the prospects of the men they marry. Moreover, it’s often families and parents who attempt to decide engagements as much as any individual husband or wife. Engagements, possible matches, and marriages are the main concern of most the novel’s characters and the subject of much of their conversation. Marriage is an important part of the functioning of the high society in which Austen’s characters live. Mrs. Ferras, for example, cares only about her …show more content…
Marriage isn’t all about love in the world of Sense and Sensibility. In fact, it’s often more about wealth, uniting families, and gaining social standing. Most of the characters in Sense and Sensibility are obsessed with maintaining their family’s place on the social ladder and potentially moving up the ladder through either marriage or simply associating with wealthier, higher class friends. Twenty-three-year-old Lucy Steele, although shrewd, smart, and pretty, lacks any real elegance and grace and never received the benefits of a good education. Lucy certainly approaches her social life like a game she is determined to win as she marries Robert Ferras for financial security despite her four year engagement to his brother