Jane Austen’s Epistolarity in Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen’s letters contain insights into her practice or philosophy as a writer. While she is credited with embarking on her literary maturation by slowly abandoning epistolary tradition in the eighteenth century, Austen adopts this technique again and naturally weaves her series of letters into a dialogue and description of events. Pride and Prejudice is a notable instance, in which letters are used to tell the story, develop the characters and build the exposition of themes. Thus this paper delves into the role, purpose, and significance of letters in the novel. It is noted that the letters play a great part in revealing the characters, presenting the natural emotions, and enforcing the structure. The paper also explores Austen’s choice of literary technique to declare the writer’s intention to the audience. Austen’s resurgent use of letters in Pride and Prejudice hints at her aesthetic preference for epistolarity, instead of rejection.