The improvement of the estate : a study of Jane Austen's novels

Originally published in 1994. In The Improvement of the Estate, Alistair Duckworth contends that understanding Mansfield Park is fundamental to appreciating Jane Austen's body of work. Professor Duckworth understands Mansfield Park as underscoring the central uniting theme in Austen's work—her concept of the "estate" and its "improvement." The author illustrates Austen's connection to the values of Christian humanism, which she conveys through the uniting theme of estate improvement. According to Duckworth, the estate represents moral and social heritage, so the manner in which individuals seek to improve their estates in Jane Austen's novels represents the direction in which she saw the state and society moving. Finally, Duckworth underscores Austen's awareness of the importance of a society of individuals whose behavior is socially informed. Cover Contents Preface Introduction: some critical and literary contexts 1 Mansfield Park: Jane Austen's grounds of being 2 Aspects of Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility 3 Pride and Prejudice: the reconstitution of society 4 Emma and the dangers of individualism 5 Persuasion: the estate abandoned Postscript: Sanditon Index Argues that "Mansfield Park" is fundamental to an appreciation of Austen's fiction. Viewing this novel as the basis for a thematic unity in her work, the book explores the novelist's values and her artistic response to the contemporary forces that threatened them. By Alistair M. Duckworth. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.