Pride, prejudice, and pop culture: Representing Miss Jane Austen

This thesis provides an examination of Jane Austen's transformation from a literary genius into a contemporary pop culture icon. Jane Austen's success has ebbed and flowed, but from 1995 (the year the BBC released the Pride and Prejudice mini-series starring Colin Firth) to 2014, she has become something quite substantial in the realm of popular culture. Without a doubt, the commercial manipulation and adaptation of Austen's works and style has fueled her iconic status.;This thesis starts by providing an overview of Austen's historical life and examines how Austen's celebrity culture began. Moving on from the biographic standpoint, this thesis also analyzes the criticisms of Jane Austen with a central focus on Pride and Prejudice, her most popular novel. The examination of these criticisms shows how Austen's literary success propels Austen, and her novel, into the mainstream of popular culture. Through an investigation into the most popular adaptations of Pride and Prejudice within and outside of film and television, this thesis hopes to show how popular culture has immersed itself in Austen, one example being a popular zombie/Austen mash-up titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies , and how this immersion affects Austen's readership, for the better and the worse.;This thesis also provides a look at how Austen's status as a pop culture icon alters her historical identity, as seen in two Austen biographical films, Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets. The overall aim of this thesis is to show how Jane Austen's entrance into the pop culture world has transformed her life, her works, and her identity. With Jane Austen already on Facebook and Twitter, her pop culture future will only grow, spawning new markets for the Jane Austen franchise.