Publication N°3 : Jane Austen and Hypocrisy
Introduction on:
Hypocrisy in
Austen’s novels: a way to criticize different aspects of society or an
analysis of people.
Before discussing the theme of hypocrisy in Austen’s novels, it is important to establish the structure of her novels. The first impression the reader can have about the genre of Austen’s novel can be discussed. It has become common knowledge that some novels of Austen are concealing their genre. The most obvious one is Northanger Abbey, which appears to the reader as a parody of the gothic novel. One can wonder if some of her other novels are also hiding their genre. Pride and Prejudice appear at first as a romance novel, a novel made for women, defined as “. Yet, many literary critics agree to say that there is more than romance in the novel, and the issue at stake is a social satire of the rural life of the upper-middle classes in England, at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
This novel can
also be seen as a pastiche or a parody of the Cinderella story, where the
protagonist marries the rich landowner. Sense
and Sensibility can be viewed as didactic, as Austen makes the implicit
point of learning to go beyond simple appearances. Furthermore, through the representation of
Marianne’s character, her choices, and her behaviour, which are pushed to
extremes, and her failure to respect some of the social conventions of her
time, the novel can be seen to some extent as a satire of the sentimental
romance genre. The novel Persuasion
can be perceived by the reader as a criticism of the superficial high society
life, and a critic of the power of persuasion that some people have on others.
Austen underlines the importance of social ranks in her society, the mistakes
people made because of the duty they owe to their rank (Anne Elliot did not
marry Frederick Wentworth at the beginning of the novel because he did not
belong to the same social class). Austen’s novel can be viewed as didactic and
as a study of human beings facing the social customs, the flaws, and virtues of
their time.
In the writing of the novels themselves, Austen uses
duplicity, especially in the narrative aspect of her novels. According to E.M
Halliday:
The narrator seems to be standing outside the story,
not yet observing the characters but gazing off into the middle distance for
some reflections on life in general. But this impression does not last. [1]
The novel Pride and Prejudice begins
with a statement: “It is a truth
universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune,
must be in want of a wife.[2]
This quote makes the reader think that the narrator is omniscient, as if God
was commenting on the lives of the characters of the novel. Yet, with this
omniscient narrator and the uses Austen makes of the free indirect speech that
is mixed with the thoughts of the protagonist, the narrator appears as biased,
as he always gives their point of view through the eyes of the characters. The
omniscient narrator does not tell the truth about the reasons for the actions
of some characters, like Mr. Willoughby or Mr. Wickham. If the narrator is
truly omniscient, he uses duplicity to conceal facts from the reader. The point
of view Austen used in her novels is biased, as the use of free indirect speech
is always linked to the vision of the world of the female protagonist.
An analysis of the different forms of hypocrisy is going to be made, to
understand the social criticism Austen makes through the various forms of
hypocrisy she described. One of the most striking forms of hypocrisy concerns
the aristocracy, whether it comes from someone belonging to the aristocracy or
someone who belongs to an inferior social class, which would make social
hypocrisy. In addition to this social hypocrisy, there will be a focus on
religious hypocrisy, which will end with the analysis of moral hypocrisy
especially when it comes to money.
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