Routledge Jane Austen's Civilized Women: Morality, Gender and the Civilizing Process (Gender and Genre)

Jane Austen’s six complete novels and her juvenilia are examined in the context of civil society and gender. Steiner’s study uses a variety of contexts to appraise Austen’s work: Scottish Enlightenment theories of societal development, early-Romantic discourses on gender roles, modern sociological theories on the civilizing process. Review 'This ambitious, meticulously researched and wide-ranging study is likely to be of most use to critically engaged scholars of Austen ... [it] provides some genuinely new close readings, and insightful comments on much-read and discussed novels.' The BARS Review 'Steiner has written a complex but rewarding study of Austen's novels, appraising the role of society, gender, and feminist interpersonal relations. [This is] an informative addition to the Austen library.' JASNA News 'Steiner's text is unique both for its broad-ranging philosophical treatment of Austen's work, and for the sustained feminist reading that carefully links Austen's civilising process to the concerns of contemporary readers.' Cercles