Morals, Values and Ethics in the Novels of Jane Austen
Keywords:
Jane Austen, literature, values, morals;, ethics;, virtueAbstract
The role of the literary artists in shaping the public opinion is vital and their writings exhibit the moral, the religious and the ethical trends which purposely lay sound foundations of any society. The English novel is concerned immensely with standards of conduct and informed often with profoundly moral purposes. Literature has an important but indirect role in moral education, it helps readers develop and practice the central ethical skill of empathizing with other peoples’ lives and perspectives. The focus of study of this research paper is an attempt to consider the moral and ethical issues in Jane Austen’s fiction.
References
Austen, Jane. Emma London: John Murray 1816.
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility, London: Thomas Egerton, Whitehall, 1811.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, London: Thomas Egerton, Whitehall, 1813.
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park, London: Thomas Egerton, Whitehall, 1814.
Collins Australian Dictionary. 6th ed. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
Fielding, Henry. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, London: Andrew Millar, 1749.
Fielding, Henry. Amelia, London: Andrew Millar, 1751.
Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables, France: A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Cie.1862.
Jackson, Karin. “The Dilemma of Emma: Moral, Ethical, and Spiritual Values”, A publication of the Jane Austen Society of North America, Persuasions On-line, vol.21, no.2 (Summer 2000).
Kettle, Arnold. “Emma.” Watt 112-123. Rpt. of “Jane Austen: Emma (1816).” An Introduction to the English Novel. New York: Harper, 1951.
Rodham, Thomas. “Reading Jane Austen as a Moral Philosopher” Philosophy Now 94:6-8, 2013.
Styron, William. Sophie's Choice US: Random House, 1979.
Webster’s Dictionary. http://www.webster-dictionary.org/
Wright, Andrew H. Jane Austen’s Novels: A Study in Structure. 1953. London: Chatto.