مشخصات پژوهش

In the 21st century Jane Austen (December 16, 1775-July 18, 1817) still attracts more and more readers because her timeless themes can never be outdated and ignored. Her novels provide the readers with instruction as well as pleasure and this is exactly what a good work of art in literature should do. Austen's heroines possess self-consciousness and moral challenges are prevalent in her novels; so by reading her works the readers also increase their self-awareness and think and rethink on the moral values of their lives. All of the critics agree that Austen is a moral philosopher, but they disagree in the ways she performs this duty. From this point of view, the critics fall into two groups: the first group believes that she teaches ethical principles directly and strictly while the second one contends that her instruction method is indirect and lenient. My purpose in this thesis is not arguing in favor of one of these respectful groups and rationalizing against the other; rather, I seek to study the reasons behind the implied hatred of the first group towards the moralists (namely Austen), and the motivation of their resistance against the moral instructions. I have used the theories and studies of Immanuel Kant, Jeanine M. Grenberg, and Adam Smith to provide the reasons and to examine the moral issues in Austen's three novels: Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.