المستخلص: |
This paper studies the status of women in the 19th century as illustrated in Jane Austen’s novel (Emma), by focusing on female characters in the novel in an intention to uncover how women are regarded within the society of the 19th century. The paper argues that women social lives in the 19th England, revolving around getting married, preferably to a rich man to secure their social position, a situation that imposed on them according to the society's norm, this paper endeavors to find the answer for two questions; What was the status of women during the 19th century according to Jane Austen's novel (Emma)? And how they were regarded and treated by their societies? It adopted historical research approach, depending on Jane Austen's novel (Emma), as a primary source, and various written and published materials such as books, academic researches, articles, and web pages as secondary sources, together with the analytical approach to analyze the research data. The results of the analysis confirmed the research hypothesis that women at the 19th century were regarded as immature to decide for their own future, this includes the author herself – Jane Austen and her elder sister Cassandra, who had barely finished their basic education only to return home - after their father experienced a financial shortage - to spare more money for the education of their male brothers.
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