Date
9-19-2024
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree
Master of Arts in Literature (MA)
Chair
Brenda Ayres
Keywords
Jane Austen, Courtship, Love, Marriage, bildungsromans, Regency, Religion, Christianity
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Amick, Mary, ""Where the Heart is Really Attached": Partner Compatibility in the Works of Jane Austen" (2024). Masters Theses. 1222.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/1222
Abstract
This thesis discusses the works of Jane Austen and how the author depicts marriages throughout her novels. It examines the values that Austen recommends to attain a happy marriage and argues that these values were shaped by Austen’s Christian heritage. Austen encourages people to marry but cautions them to choose their partner wisely. She makes it clear that an unwise choice would lead to future strife in the relationship. Austen claims that the traits necessary for a healthy and happy marriage relationship are a partner that encourages intellectual stimulation, a partner that is compatible both morally and temperamentally, and a partner that stimulates personal and moral growth. These qualities were vital to the establishment of fulfilling marriages in Austen’s time and are still relevant today.
