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Jane Austen's Liminal Heroines: Rituals Of Personal And Social Growth, Allison V. Juda

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Jane Austen’s six novels all follow a liminal heroine through her journey of personal growth, ultimately concluding with the success of the heroine and her society. In my project I examine how this liminal plot structure works, combining anthropological theories of liminality (most prominently those of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner) with the narrative structure of Austen’s novels. The growth of the heroine through the phases of liminality and eventual reintegration into society is marked by several challenges to the morality of the heroine. Yet, these challenges are, in fact, tests for the society just as much as they …