Jane Austen's Heroines: A Critical Study

This is a research submitted to the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts to be awarded by the University of Sanaa. The nature of this work is analytical. It is an in-depth study of two well-known heroines of two famous novels by Jane Austen, namely, Pride and Prejudice and Emma. The thesis consists of seven chapters.The first one provides an introduction to the topic, the second one investigates realism in the heroines' characterization, the third one sheds light on the heroines' values, qualities, and accomplishments that attract the heroes to adore the heroines and finally marry them. Chapter four traces up the heroines' gradual self-knowledge, self-illumination, and disillusionment; chapter five reveals the sense of irony in the heroines' characterization. The penultimate chapter explores the autobiographical elements in the heroines' characterization, while the last one gives concluding observations and research findings.