Austen’s fools in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility

Abstract

The thesis aims to outline the works of fools in Jane Austen’s works, with special focus on the role of her fools or comic characters for developing rising action, falling action, exposition and denouement presented on her two novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen’s fools create a comic delight among the readers. She had displayed a comic exuberance and fertility of invention through her fools in her novels. Austen has presented both male and female fools on her novels. This study aims to determine how Austen’s fools create troubles in her romantic plots. The purpose of the thesis is to show that how Austen’s fools are quite significant than her protagonists for creating a twist, humor and pun in her love plots. By many aspects, the thesis particularly examines the role of shame and triviality of mind for making her fools minds sufficient with sympathetic imagination, by applying New-historicism method, this study aims to determine both male and female fools’ role for developing her plots’ . This study shows her fools’ representation for representing 19th century English society, values and norms through her works. This study has used Susan Miller’s ‘concept of shame’ and Peltason’s ‘triviality of mind’ along with Jennie Hann’s novel of manners theory and John Lauber’s concept of fools. This purpose of this study is to show how her fools have given a humorous insight among her readers and how her fools and characters minds are independent. This study shows how her fools’ have psychological impacts because of being humiliated by Austen’s protagonists. Therefore, this thesis shows how her fools represent the patriarchal society, values, norms and laws during Jane Austen’s era.