Jane Austen "Midterm"

What must you do to properly begin speaking to someone, according to Regency etiquette?

Become formally introduced to them by someone they already know

What era encompasses all of Jane Austen's lifetime?

The Georgian (or Regency) Era

What is the difference between aristocrats and landed gentry?

Aristocrats are titled while landed gentry are not (although both do not work and make money off their land)

Primogeniture

right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

Entailment

restricts inheritance of the house and property to one line of the family; the entire estate will typically be passed whole to the eldest son

What are the 5 gentlemanly professions?

Clergy, Army, Navy, Law, Medicine

Living

A position as a clergyman in the Church of England (comes with a good income and a house)

flat character

A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story, but is easily recognized and remembered

round character

A character who demonstrates some complexity and who develops or changes in the course of a story

foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

What could you not do before the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857?

Get a divorce without an act of parliament

Coverture

All rights of a married woman are subsumed by her husband

Marriage Act of 1754

Put in place many specific rules about the way a "regular marriage" was to take place

Gretna Green

The first parish over the Scottish border: associated with irregular marriage

Formal Realism

the idea that the novel is a full and authentic report of human experience

Direct Discourse

Quoted; the narrator gives us access to the character's speech, dialogue, or thoughts; the speech or thought is tagged with quotation marks (or dashes), and / or "he said / she said"

Free Direct Discourse

Reported; the narrator gives the reader direct access to a character's thoughts or utterances as they happen, without any mediation; no tags, quotation marks, or dashes to indicate that someone is speaking or thinking

Free Indirect Discourse

Blended; test represents a character's speech or thoughts without tags, quotation marks etc; blends the (third person) narrator's voice and the voice of the character; the passage can be said to have "dual voice"

Politeness Context: Social Distance

How well do you know the person?

Politeness Context: Power

Are you both on the same level? (class, age, authority, etc.)

Politeness Context: Rank of Imposition

Is it a big favour or a small favour?

Maxim of Quantity

One should not say too much or too little

Romantic Marriage

sexual attraction, mystery, excitement, mobility: "Stranger on a Horse"

Familiar Marriage

known to the bride, safety, friendship, strengthen connections: "Boy Next Door"

Subnarratable

Too boring or banal to relate

Supranarratable

Too emotional or ineffible to relate

Antinarratable

Cannot be related due to SOCIAL convention

Paranarratable

Would not be related due to GENRE convention

Sense

Intelligence, practicality, and soundness of judgement; faculty of perception and sensation

Sensibility

Sensitivity, delicacy, refined emotion; capacity to feel more than most

Cultural Capital

Non-economic social assets (Ex: education and taste)

The Picturesque

Artistic movement emphasizing roughness, variation, imperfection, and irregularity (opposite of Bob Ross)

The Fallen Woman

A sexually impure woman (appearances are just as important as actual deeds)

1857 Matrimonial Causes Act

A husband could divorce his wife just on the grounds of adultery, but a wife had to prove adultery AND cruelty or desertion

1860 Contagious Diseases Act

Female sex workers in garrison towns were subject to medical examination to stop the spread of venereal disease

The Social Season

Period in the spring and summer when aristocracy and landed gentry from the country would come to town to mingle with society

Sickroom

Common plot device associated with connection and contemplation (and often the "fallen woman")