Last Impressions

Jane Austen's Endings

AvTheresa M. Kenney

Häftad, Engelska, 2025

341 kr

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Beskrivning

Jane Austen’s conclusions have often perplexed her readers, who at times perceive her novels’ endings as hasty or overly simplistic. However, a closer examination reveals that her final chapters are meticulously crafted, serving as critical touchstones that redefine the entire narrative. Last Impressions offers an in-depth analysis of the literary strategies Austen employs to conclude her novels. This work explores recurring techniques, such as securing parental consent, the absence of dramatized scenes, and the use of rhetorical devices like Socratic irony and metalepsis, uncovering meaningful patterns that highlight Austen’s artistry. By illuminating the intentionality behind the endings of all six of Austen’s major novels, as well as her epistolary novella Lady Susan, this book provides valuable insights into her narrative architecture. In a literary landscape that has frequently dismissed Austen’s conclusions, Last Impressions asserts that her final chapters demand critical engagement, challenging readers to reconsider their interpretations and appreciate her enduring complexity.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-05-28
Mått:140 x 216 x 25 mm
Vikt:1 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:400
Förlag:University of Toronto Press
ISBN:9781487559878

Utforska kategorier

Genusvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur

Mer om författaren

Theresa M. Kenney is a professor of English at the University of Dallas.

Recensioner i media

“Last Impressions’ continual engagement with Jane Austen’s texts, through Theresa Kenney’s deep structural awareness and her close reading, are beautifully buttressed with the rich background of the classical and Christian tradition as well as her knowledge of narrative theory. There’s one acute interpretive point after another in this work. In fact, Last Impressions does something rare, which is to elevate the state of the conversation about what Austen has achieved through integration of the near and far gaze.”

Innehållsförteckning

AcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1. Austen’s Telos: Speeding Truth into the World2. "Abjuring All Future Attachments": Teaching the Reader to Desire the Right Object in Lady Susan3. Parental Tyranny and Filial Disobedience: Socratic Irony and Metalepsis in Northanger Abbey4. Forced Retrospection in Sense and Sensibility: Willoughby’s Desire for "Something Like Forgiveness" on "More Reasonable Grounds"5. "The Happiest, Wisest, Most Reasonable End": Silence, Spatial Dislocation, Secrets, and the Sublime in Pride and Prejudice6. "As Nearly For Ever as Possible": Apophasis in Mansfield Park7. "The Perfect Happiness of the Union": Undeceiving Mr. Knightley and the Reader in Emma8. The Oracles of Kellynch and Uppercross: Predicting the Future in PersuasionConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex