ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
371
TOPIC: SOCIAL VALUES AND CLASS IN AUSTEN’S VISION OF ENGLISHNESS
Hayrullaeva Sofiyanoza Lutfullo qizi
UzSWLU Master’s degree English Literature Faculty 2 year student.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15192290
Abstract.
This paper explores Jane Austen’s literary representation of social values and
class as fundamental elements of early 19th-century English identity. Through her novels Sense
and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, Austen offers a subtle yet profound
commentary on the moral, social, and gender-based expectations that shaped Englishness in her
time. Austen critiques patriarchal inheritance laws, class hierarchy, and the constraints placed
on women, while also presenting a vision of virtue rooted in emotional intelligence and ethical
conduct. By analyzing the contrast between characters, this study highlights Austen’s nuanced
engagement with class dynamics, intellectual independence, and moral development. Drawing
on scholarly perspectives, the paper argues that Austen’s work challenges social conventions
while still operating within their bounds, reflecting a complex and evolving vision of English
society.
Key Words:
Jane Austen, Englishness, Social Class, Gender Roles, Morality, Inheritance,
Marriage, 19th-century Literature, Feminism, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice,
Emma.
ТЕМА: СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ ЦЕННОСТИ И КЛАСС В ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИИ ОСТИН ОБ
АНГЛИЙСКОСТИ
Аннотация.
В этой статье исследуется литературное представление Джейн
Остин социальных ценностей и класса как основополагающих элементов английской
идентичности начала XIX века. В своих романах «Разум и чувствительность»,
«Гордость и предубеждение» и «Эмма» Остин предлагает тонкий, но глубокий
комментарий о моральных, социальных и гендерных ожиданиях, которые формировали
английскость в ее время. Остин критикует патриархальные законы наследования,
классовую иерархию и ограничения, налагаемые на женщин, а также представляет
видение добродетели, основанной на эмоциональном интеллекте и этическом поведении.
Анализируя контраст между персонажами, это исследование подчеркивает тонкое
взаимодействие Остин с классовой динамикой, интеллектуальной независимостью и
моральным развитием.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
372
Опираясь на научные точки зрения, в статье утверждается, что работа Остин
бросает вызов социальным условностям, оставаясь при этом в их рамках, отражая
сложное и развивающееся видение английского общества.
Ключевые слова:
Джейн Остин, английскость, социальный класс, гендерные роли,
мораль, наследование, брак, литература XIX века, феминизм, чувство и
чувствительность, Гордость и предубеждение, Эмма.
Jane Austin investigates the complex interaction between social values, class, and early
19th century English identity. Especially for women negotiating a society built by patriarchal
inheritance rules and strict social hierarchies, the stories' core reveals a great conflict between
societal expectations and personal desires. Austen builds a picture of Englishness not only
defined by class and etiquette but also by interior virtue and moral tenacity by means of her
complex characterizations, acute social observations, and understated humor. Understanding
Austen's perspective requires first thinking about what "Englishness" meant during her time.
English identity throughout the Georgian and Regency periods was tightly linked to
decency, restraint, moral responsibility, and social order. The upper and middle classes
especially the landed gentry reflected these values, and their manner of life was frequently seen
as the norm of national character. Austen's books operate both as mirrors and as criticisms
within this framework: they challenge the justice and logic of the systems supporting current
English values even as they reflect them.
Though Austen knew her world, she was also of her world in a way that questions our
capacity to empathize with her characters and their issues. Austen's novel's prominent ladies run
from an astronomically more privileged place than working-class, poor, or enslaved women. In
the novel Emma, who is smart and wants to dominate her environment, she never understands
that Highbury is not the whole world. Rather, marrying Mr. Knightley allows Emma to merely
become a larger fish in her tiny pond. Readers never hear Emma's views on property rights or
women's exclusion from politics or other arenas in which they may have otherwise advanced
large-scale social change. Emma's driving force is Austen's belief that equality of social
condition is the most certain indicator of happiness in all relationships, which diminishes the
effect of Emma's discoveries about having empathy and sympathy for others less privileged than
herself.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
373
Austen observes that toward the end of the book, the friendship between upper-class
Emma and her socially lower friend Harriet declines to "a calmer sort of goodwill", "was not to
be regretted". (Chowdhury, M. S. A. p3) Though Miss Bates is crucial to the story, she is more
of a warning about why Emma should be nicer than a person in her own right. Austen, thus, fails
to show why greater equality is required in systems running beyond the grasp of Emma and her
friends. This narrow focus keeps Austen from becoming the voice of social justice that today's
readers of the globe require, or, for that matter, that they required in the nineteenth century.
Austen depicts Englishness in Sense and Sensibility as a balance between emotional
restraint and social obligation, personified in the contrast between the Dashwood sisters: Elinor,
who represents "sense" (reason, decorum, and self-control), and Marianne, who represents
"sensibility" (emotion, spontaneity, and passion). This contrast draws attention to the moral
standards set on people, particularly women, in English society. While Marianne's romanticism
and emotional honesty sometimes put her at odds with the standards of her society, Elinor's quiet
personality and commitment to social conventions make her the more socially acceptable person.
Austen questions this disparity by demonstrating how emotional outpouring, as depicted
by Marianne, is not naturally wrong but rather problematic when untempered by social
consciousness.
The final denouement of the book, which shows Marianne mellowed by experience and
Elinor rewarded for her patient endurance, implies that genuine English virtue resides in
moderation: a balance of sense and sensibility. Austen's emphasis on personal authenticity and
emotional truth also helps to subtly support English values—moderation, patience, and decorum,
hence doing so. (Libby, M. M. p 15)
Another basic building block of Austen's concept of Englishness is class. Class
differences in Sense and Sensibility are not only financial but also profoundly moral and cultural.
People are evaluated not just on their riches but also on their methods of obtaining and exhibiting
it. The Dashwood family's descent from financial stability after Mr. Dashwood's death shows
the fragility of women's economic situation in a patriarchal culture. Inheritance laws favoured
male heirs, thus the Dashwood girls and their mother are left relying on the generosity of
faraway relatives, hence underlining the unfairness of a system that linked property to gender
and lineage. Austen distinguishes between "old money" from the landed gentry and an emergent
affluence without breeding or graces.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
374
Middletons have wealth and status but lack refinement and depth. In contrast, restrained
and less flamboyant figures like Colonel Brandon emdiv English gentlemanly characteristics.
Willoughby, who appears attractive and elegant, is morally bankrupt and values fortune
over ethics. Austen criticizes the superficiality of evaluating people by status or appearance and
promotes a picture of Englishness based on ethics, self-control, and duty.
In the universe of Pride and Prejudice, social class is of considerable significance. The
Bingleys, Darcys, and Windhams are classified as English landed gentry, the second-highest
social status that is marginally inferior to titled gentlemen or nobility. Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet,
and Netherfield tenant Mr. Bingley are all members of the landed gentry of the country, despite
the fact that the Bennets do not exhibit the prosperity or breeding that is typical of this class. Mr.
Darcy's fortune is further enhanced by his status as the estate's wealthy proprietor. Darcy's
affluence is derived not only from the estate's operations but also from the "trade" that creates
new state-profitable sources for the landed aristocracy. (Ispriyani, N. pg 36). Darcy's newfound
wealth allows him to vacation in fashionable watering holes and to permit Wickham to continue
to consider money as an underlying factor in the selection of a marriage partner, as it is directly
linked to social prestige and family. In the society of Jane Austen, marital and economic
considerations were inextricably linked. In Pride and Prejudice, Sir William Lucas, an affluent
individual, has elevated his family's social status through a lucrative marriage and the
accumulation of a fortune.
The same is true of Mr. Gardiner, who has attained regent social and financial status. The
rank that a woman would seek in a marriage companion and the equivalent names of "street"
during Austen's era are intricate. The expectation that the connection of a due was "superior" to
the wife's was the result of social superiority, as measured by rank and affluence. The concept of
"match" was of paramount importance in the context of marriage. Selecting a companion from
the female of her station, who was the driving force behind marriages in Austen's era. The irony
of these facts is that they render the examination of marriage more straightforward. (Brodowicz,
M. 24)
In conclusion, Jane Austin’s novels explores Englishness in depth. Austen neither rejects
nor completely supports her time's beliefs. Instead, she envisions a world where morality and
emotional intelligence are valued over riches and pedigree. Her depiction of class and societal
ideals is realistic and ambitious, respecting her world's constraints but promoting justice and
compassion. It depicts a complex Englishness formed by class and social ideals.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
375
Austen criticizes her society's limitations through marriage, gender roles, inheritance, and
morality. Her writing still prompts readers to consider what makes a person good, topics that are
pertinent today as they were two centuries ago.
REFERENCES
1.
Libby, M. M. (2020). Sense, sensibility, sympathy, social class upheaval in Jane Austen’s
novels (Master’s thesis, Bridgewater State University) p15
2.
Chowdhury, M. S. A., Sofi, N. U. D., & Rahman, M. (2024). Representation of social
class, intellectual independence, and gender roles in Emma by Jane Austen. Migration
Letters, 21(S3), 1135–1139. Pg 3
3.
Ispriyani, N. (2008). Social problems and moral values in Jane Austen’s Pride and
Prejudice (Undergraduate thesis). Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim pg 36
4.
Brodowicz, M. (2024, June 11). The role of social class and marriage in Pride and
Prejudice. AiThor.
