Relações de gênero em Persuasão, de Jane Austen.

Abstract

The social roles of individuals of different sexes are defined by a number of social forces involved around men and women, since these forces are designed by a cultural based structure in many societies. Having this in mind, this work aims at analyzing the gender relations in the novel Persuasion (1818), by the British writer Jane Austen, establishing parallels between the narrative and the English patriarchal society of the 19 th century, once it prescribed distinct functions for each sex, thus, showing important questions defended by Austen in favor of the feminine cause through the use of irony. This research will also debate about the inferior condition of woman in different social scenarios through a chronological line, highlighting the patriarchal cultures that inflicted all this to women, showing their fight in search for equality of rights, as well as a study on aspects of feminist criticism research lines. This work will also provide a history of important episodes about Austen’s life, in order to promote a better understanding of her work, besides dealing with aspects of her poetics. All these points are meant to show the hardness of women’s condition throughout history and it will bring about a context for a better understanding of Austen’s novel, since it presents powerful female speeches that criticize the situation which is imposed on them by the androcentric society in which they are inserted.