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'A Dead Silence': Reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park pt1

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Richard De Ritter from the University of Leeds discusses the different ways of reading Jane Austen's 'Mansfield Park' as a modern reader. Paying particular attention to the issue of slavery, which appears in frequent veiled allusions throughout the text that are never fully discussed within the narrative of the novel itself. De Ritter asks several questions including: how do we interpret this silence? Does Austen as a writer have an obligation to discuss slavery? Is Austen's silence indicative of compliance with the slave trade or does it suggest the beginning of a critique?

Date Published: 13 July 2012
Contributors:
Richard De Ritter
Writer:
Richard De Ritter
In Collection(s): Jane Austen
Keywords:
jane austen, Mansfield Park, Slavery, ways of reading
Source:
The English Faculty
Cite: 'A Dead Silence': Reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park pt1 by Richard De RitterRichard De Ritter at http://www.theenglishfaculty.org/a-levels/item/324-a-dead-silence-reading-jane-austens-mansfield-park-pt1 via http://writersinspire.org/content/dead-silence-reading-jane-austens-mansfield-park-pt1. Published on 13 July 2012. Accessed on 08 November 2024.

If reusing this resource please attribute as follows: 'A Dead Silence': Reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park pt1 (http://www.theenglishfaculty.org/a-levels/item/324-a-dead-silence-reading-jane-austens-mansfield-park-pt1) by Richard De RitterRichard De Ritter, licensed as Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (2.0 UK).