The Architecture of Space-Time in the Novels of Jane Austen

Beschreibung

This book argues that there are recurrent spatiotemporal patterns and structures in six Jane Austen novels which constitute a source of enduring, if unconscious, pleasure. More precisely, the book contends that there are overlapping natural and cultural cycles which co-exist in a constantly transmuting space-time and which are counterpointed with the linearity of pivotal events that drive the plot forwards. This work examines the psychological relations to these space-time patterns of the characters, principally the heroines, focusing on the transformations of their emotional states which prompt linear leaps.

Argues that there are recurrent spatiotemporal patterns and structures in all six of Austen’s major novels which constitute a source of enduring, if unconscious pleasure Uncovers hitherto unnoticed features, such as, the fact that Mr. Woodhouse (Emma) stirs from home only twice during the narrative, on Christmas Eve and on Midsummer Eve, thus exhibiting a regular, if very slow rhythm of ‘every solstice' Draws on a broad range of Austen's work

Autor*in

Ruta Baublyté Kaufmann

Themen in »The Architecture of Space-Time in the Novels of Jane Austen«

Spatiotemporal cyclicity Stylistic Narratological Historical Space Jane Austen British and Irish Literature

Stimmen zu »The Architecture of Space-Time in the Novels of Jane Austen«

“In The Architecture of Space-Time in the Novels of Jane Austen, Ruta Baublyté Kaufmann moves away from conventional studies of the chronology of events or physical locations in literary works and brings forth an analysis of time and space in Austen’s finished novels … . Kaufmann provides insight into the way the cyclicity … . These cycles interlock and each one marks important moments in the stories.” (Layla Ferrández Melero, The British Society for Literature and Science, bsls.ac.uk, January 24, 2024)
()

Details

Link teilen