El estereotipo de la solterona: Literatura y constructión social en la Inglaterra de Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Abstract

In the patriarchal society of the late Modern Age, marriage had a high popularity and idealization, begging the question as to the role of unmarried women. This interdisciplinary work, combining History and Literature, seeks new perspectives to approach the study of single marital status and single women s role in society. One of these perspectives, very important in England and most of Europe, is the model of woman taken from Jane Austens life and works (1775-1817). The paper looks at the construction of the spinster stereotype, the image of single women in Austen;s work, the ideological processes underway by the end of eighteenth century, and the "new domestic universe". Furthermore, this methodology allows us to trace the individual itineraries of characters, reflecting the social trajectories at a time of change and transformation.