Prevalent elements in Jane Austen's novels

• Displacement. In Sense and Sensibility, the Dashwood sisters and their mother are stripped of their inheritance and must leave their family home.
• Feeling trapped by familial friction, and walking to feel liberated. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett strives for freedom by walking about the countryside to get peace away from her family life.
• Imperfect families. Austen pioneered the way she showed families as flawed. Before that, parents were shown as perfect and harmonious.

Austen's heroines are often required to persevere. Elinor Dashwood wrongly believes Edward Ferrars has married another. "I will be calm, I will be mistress of myself" is inspiring a strength of character.

The emotional growth of Austen's characters is anot...