本論文將檢視珍‧奧斯汀的小說來探索、比較和對比在小說中的紳士角色，進一步證明她小說中的男性角色在她所有小說內容的社會建構上男性的重要性和女性一樣重要，而非僅止於女性的陪襯。
    同時，我也將展示奧斯丁的小說對於男性陽剛的社會及文化歷史上扮演著重要的聲音來源。在她的寫作生涯，這些男性陽剛的建構和發展反映出整個主宰浪漫時期英國文化和社會的男性陽剛之改變，而這時期對於期待和不被期待的男性陽剛辨證也高度地被政治化和複雜，並透過不同的文學領域加諸於其文化中。

This thesis will examine Jane Austen’s novels in an attempt to explore, compare and contrast the figure of a gentleman throughout her works, and prove how these male characters are equally important in the whole sociological construction of Jane Austen’s novels rather than just a merely reflection on the female character. 
Also, with this thesis, I will demonstrate that Austen’s novels are indeed a source of important voices in the history of social and literary masculinities. These constructions of masculinities and their development throughout her writing career reflect changes in the social and literary masculinities that dominated the English public domain throughout the Romantic period, the same Romantic period that was characterized by a complex and highly politicized debate on desirable and undesirable masculinities, were culturally reinforced through different literary genres.

Table of Contents




Introduction											 1
											  	  

Chapter One:  Inheritance and Marriage in the Regency Era	14

i.	Rules of Inheritance								17

ii.	Rules of Engagement								28


Chapter Two:  The Path to be a Gentleman in Nineteenth 
Century British Society		                                                       38

i.	Public and Private Schools							41

ii.	The Genteel Professions							43

iii.	Being a Clergyman								       46

iv.	The Law: A Serious Work for the Gentry				55

v.	The Military:  A Changing Social Order					60


Chapter Three:  The Good and the Bad Gentleman			66

i.	The Heroes’ Final Confession						69


Conclusions											76

Works Cited											80

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