Jane Austen on Nature

Wild nature is as important to Jane Austen's heroines as picturesque, altered landscapes. Her heroines respond to the power of the natural world, seeking comfort in nature's calm or referencing "verdure," meaning fresh greenness and fertility, in relation to their awakening sexuality. By transforming elements of pastoral literature, an ancient genre, Austen makes nature integral to the development of her characters. She draws from pastoral tropes, motifs, and structure to depict realities of early nineteenth century life for young women.

A study of the pastoral techniques in all of Austen's major works, this book focuses on the interactions between Austen's heroines and the uncontrollable, wild world. As Austen depicts these relationships, her unconventional use of pastoral literature reveals their complexity. Femininity and nature are interwoven; male characters often exploit nature as they exploit women. In the fragment Sanditon, Austen satirizes resort developers who commodify both nature and women. This book demonstrates Austen's transformation of the courtship novel by using pastoral language to illuminate themes of human greed, the inequality between men and women, and the emotional development of young women in the early nineteenth century.