The Study Of Male Characters In Jane Austen’s Works From Liberal Feminist Perspective

Jane Austen, one of the major novelists of English literature, creates six complete novels during her short life:Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1818), and Persuasion (1818). In these novels, Austen presents the real life of the upper-middle class in English country during the late 18th and the early 19th century.As a famous novelist, Jane Austen together with her novels has been thoroughly studied by scholars of different ages in perspectives of all kinds, such as her use of language, narrative techniques, the forms of conversing and manners, view of love, marriage and woman, and so on. But so far, none so much is done on the male characters of all her six novels. This thesis aims at delineating a complete picture of the main male characters with the methodology of liberal feminism. It proposes that there are three kinds of males in the novels:heroes with feminist consciousness, fathers standing for patriarchy and false heroes as productions of patriarchy. The first kind of male characters, heroes, are plain-looking but sensible Brandon, weak but noble Edward, arrogant but warm-hearted Darcy, easy to deceive but warm-hearted Edmund, serious but mature Knightly, sarcastic but humorous Henry, non-aristocratic but loyal Captain Wentworth. They all own virtues of benevolence, rationality and sensibility. The second kind of male characters are fathers, they are Mr. Dashwood who died at the beginning of the novel, Mr. Bennet who retreats from the family into his library, Sir Thomas who is grave but fails in educating his own children, Mr. Woodhouse who is weak and cares for nothing but his own comfort, General Tilney who is selfish and greedy, Sir Walter who is a thoroughly self-centered snob. They are symbols of patriarchy. The third kind of male characters are false heroes who are rivals of the heroes. They are John Willoughby, a selfish, irresponsible seducer, George Wickham, a mean and acquisitive cheater, Henry Crawford, a vicious and irresponsible flirt, Frank Churchill, an immature and insensible cheater, John Thrope, a rude and foolish liar, William Elliot, an insidious and mean opportunist. They pursue success and enjoy superiority, acting as masculine models in the 18th century. They are typical productions of patriarchy. This thesis thus draws to a conclusion that besides heroines with liberal feminism consciousness in Jane Austen’s novels, we can find liberal feminism factor from the description of male characters.