Based on a variety of social and cultural confinements regarding the depiction of certain parts of the female body in literature, 19th century British novelists had to concentrate on those bodily attributes of women which were considered proper and decent to be displayed in writing. Answering the social rules prohibiting the public exhibition of female passions and feelings, such as sexual arousal, love or wrath, authors turned to methods of substituting the direct reference to those very emotions, thereby employing the parts of the female body they could with a clear conscience depict in their interpretations. This method of illustrating the female body in connection with women’s emotional state is going to be discussed on the basis of Jane Austen’s novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Brontё’s Jane Eyre and the short novel Daisy Miller by Henry James.
A prominent feature of 19th century literature, used to demonstrate the interdependency of mind and body, is illness. The body suffering from physical as well as mental diseases is frequently instrumentalized by novelists as a messenger delivering information about a person’s emotional condition. Additionally, 19th century authors tend to use illness as a starting point for character and plot changes as well as romantic relationships between men and women, and refer to a character’s sickness as his or her lawful punishment for improper conduct.
One of the most important tools for novelists in revealing their characters’ thoughts and emotions is the female complexion. Frequently subject to blushing or turning pale, the female face functions as an apt communicator of a woman’s mind and heart. A blush can uncover a character’s romantic affections, embarrassment, guilty conscience, excitement or anger, and can be seen as an indicator of a woman’s awareness of incorrect conduct. Paleness often reflects a character’s shock or despair and is attributed to poor health.
Amongst others, these factors, supported by a thorough introduction to the social, cultural and political backgrounds of the three concerned novelists, shall be discussed and interpreted in the course of this thesis.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Social, cultural and political background
1.1. A woman’s role in 19th century society
1.2. 19th century society’s opinions on courtship and marriage
1.3. Illness in the 19th century
2. Looks in the 19th century novel
2.1. Beauty and its consequences
2.2. The decline of beauty
2.3. The correlation between looks and character
3. The body in illness
3.1. Nervous illnesses – hysteria and hypochondria
3.2. Illness as the consequence of hysteria and grief
3.3. Illness – a token of change
3.3.1. Change of character
3.3.2. Change of plot
3.4. Illness as matchmaker
3.5. Illness affecting others
3.6. Illness as a means of punishing improper behavior
3.7. Fainting
3.8. Insanity
4. Revealing complexions
4.1. The blush
4.1.1. Revealing romantic feelings
4.1.2. Awareness of (in)correct conduct
4.1.3. Embarrassment
4.1.4. Guilty conscience
4.1.5. Excitement
4.1.6. Anger
4.2. Blanching
4.2.1. Psychological reasons for blanching and paleness
4.2.2. Paleness as a sign of physical illness
5. The body in motion
5.1. Demonstrations of the body
5.2. Moving (un)gracefully
5.3. Movement reflecting inner restlessness
5.4. ‘Moving together’
6. Proofs of sentiment
6.1. Caresses, kisses and tears
6.2. Looks
6.2.1. Expressive looks
6.2.2. Inquisitive looks
6.2.3. Inability and unwillingness to look
6.3. Smiles
6.4. Handshakes
6.5. Varieties of the voice
6.5.1. The voice as a means of proving a character’s emotional state
6.5.2. The voice as a sign of power(lessness)
6.5.3. The interrelation between voice and personality
6.5.4. The importance of the voice for the blind Mr. Rochester
6.6. Tokens of affection
Research Objectives and Topics
This thesis examines how 19th-century British novelists used the female body as a narrative tool to circumvent social constraints regarding the explicit depiction of female passion. By focusing on the works of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Henry James, it explores how authors utilized bodily attributes—such as appearance, illness, complexions, movements, and gestures—to communicate a character’s inner life, emotional state, and moral standing, thereby navigating the strict codes of Victorian propriety.
- The role of the female body as a surrogate for forbidden expressions of desire and emotion.
- Illness as a narrative mechanism for character development, plot progression, and moral judgment.
- The "language" of the complexion: interpreting blushes and paleness within social contexts.
- Physical movement and gestures as indicators of character, status, and power relations.
- The symbolic function of bodily tokens, such as locks of hair, in romantic narratives.
Extract from the Book
2.1. Beauty and its consequences
According to Gorman, “beauty […] marks not an unchanging ideal but a relative standard” (Gorman, 172). For this reason we do not find a generally accepted, detailed list of bodily attributes decisive for a character to be legitimately called a beauty. Blond, curly hair for example frequently ranks among the features of stunningly beautiful women in the novels of our interest, as for example in the case of Georgiana Reed in Jane Eyre; however, this scheme cannot be applied to all female characters who are referred to as handsome, which proves that it is by no means essential for a woman to have such hair in order to be considered a beauty. There are of course factors which are to be found in the appearance of every female character who is validly referred to as pretty, as for example a fine complexion, a certain regularity in her features or a tall and fully formed, womanly figure. Still, as one can well discern from this enumeration, these attributes are formulated rather vaguely, leaving the authors a lot of space to impress their own personal sense of beauty upon their characters.
Jane Austen, whose female heroines – in agreement with the marriage plot – are usually depicted as personifications of everything that is beautiful and charming, uses a variety of different methods to make her characters’ beauty obvious to the reader. In Sense and Sensibility, Elinor’s and Marianne’s looks as well as the appearances of their rivals are referred to in great detail by the narrator.
Summary of Chapters
Social, cultural and political background: This chapter contextualizes 19th-century British literature by examining the social codes, the domestic confinement of women, and the specific Victorian understanding of health and illness.
Looks in the 19th century novel: This section explores how beauty standards were constructed by the authors and how physical appearance was used to mirror character traits and moral integrity.
The body in illness: This chapter analyzes how physical and mental health were used as literary devices to manipulate plot outcomes, signal character growth, and enforce moral codes.
Revealing complexions: The author investigates the role of blushing and blanching as non-verbal communication, serving as markers of romantic affection, shame, guilt, or excitement.
The body in motion: This part interprets physical movement and the "demonstration" of the body in social settings as significant indicators of social awareness, freedom, and inner restlessness.
Proofs of sentiment: The final chapter examines voluntary gestures like caresses, tears, smiles, and the use of the voice to convey emotions, highlighting how authors circumvented social taboos to depict intimacy.
Keywords
19th century British novel, female body, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Henry James, narrative construction, illness, blush, complexion, social propriety, marriage plot, gesture, emotion, power relations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this thesis?
The thesis explores how 19th-century British novelists utilized the female body as a narrative instrument to express emotions and character traits that could not be stated explicitly due to the strict social and moral codes of the time.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
Key themes include the social background of the era, the representation of beauty and illness, the communicative power of facial expressions, the significance of body movements, and the use of physical tokens to express sentiment.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The primary objective is to demonstrate that 19th-century authors did not neglect the body but instead developed sophisticated narrative techniques to use physical attributes—like blushing or illness—as subtexts for the characters' internal emotional lives.
Which scientific methods were applied?
The work employs a literary and cultural studies approach, analyzing primary novels by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Henry James, supported by historical context and contemporary secondary literature regarding the representation of the body in literature.
What is covered in the main body?
The main body is structured into thematic chapters analyzing the narrative functions of the body: from the social implications of looks and beauty, through illness as a plot device and punishment, to the "language" of complexions and physical motion in courtship.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Core keywords include "narrative construction," "female body," "19th-century British novel," "social propriety," "illness," and the "blush" as an index of emotion.
How does the author characterize the role of illness in these novels?
Illness is described not just as a medical condition, but as a "messenger" or "coping device" used by novelists to signal character transitions, create romantic opportunities, or reflect the moral judgments the authors applied to their characters.
What role does the blush play in the interpretation of the novels?
The blush functions as a "hidden truth" that betrays a character’s internal thoughts or feelings. It serves as a visual indicator of a character's awareness of social codes and their internal struggles between their desires and societal expectations.
- Quote paper
- Dagmar Hecher (Author), 2007, The narrative construction of the female body in the British novel of the 19th century, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/71722
