Cross-Class Relationships

Paper Summary:

The paper compares cross-class relationships in Jane Austen's novel "Mansfield Park", and Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, "North and South". The paper notes that both novels portray characters from different classes and backgrounds and that cross-class relationships are important in both texts as they represent the struggle between rural and urban living and the clash between the classes and current issues in the 1800s. The paper notes that the two different societies appeared to be in transition and this is represented in both texts through the use of cross-class relationships.

From the Paper:

"Austen seems to be commenting that even though the trading of slaves had been abolished, slaves were still being used. Sir Thomas is shown as a wealthy, upper-middle class man, yet his wealth is rooted in the lowest class - slaves. Austen appears to be questioning the moral correctness of this in the text. The power shown in both of the authoritarian characters represents the power that class had in the 1800's. In North and South language is used to represent the differences in the two classes."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Austen, J. (1814). Mansfield Park. London: The Penguin Group.
• Carlyle, T. (1971). Chartism. In: Shelston, A Selected Writings. London: The Penguin Group. P.149-232.
• Gaskell, G. (1854). North and South. London: The Penguin Group.
• Johnson, C. (1988). Jane Austen: Women, Politics and the Novel. London: The University of Chicago Press.
• Todd, J. (2006).Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen. Available: http://www.myilibrary.com/browse/open.asp?ID=56809&loc=92. Last accessed 24 November 2008.

More papers on Cross-Class Relationships:

• Book Review # 1051 : "The Theme of How Class Differences in Japanese Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 132497 : "The Grand Inter-Cultural Narrative"
• Dissertation or Thesis # 98537 : "Demand-Driven Supply Networks (DDSN)"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: