English Language and Literature Commons^™

Jane Austen's Powers Of Consciousness, Diane M. Counts

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis incorporates information from recent biographies, feminist studies, and scholarly interpretations focusing on Jane Austen's narrative strategies. Such incorporation of material provides a context for understanding the significance of Austen's contributions to the novel form and illuminating the development of the female narrative voice. It focuses on Emma, Austen's last novel published during her lifetime, as an exemplification of Austen's enunciation of a feminine perspective of life and vocalization of a growing female self-awareness - her powers of consciousness - through Emma. Of primary concern is Austen's use of narrative techniques enabling the reader to become intimately acquainted and …