Nuances imperialista em orgulho e preconceito, de Jane Austen: questões de espaço, raça e classe.

Abstract

This research aims at analyzing the novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) by the English writer Jane Austen (1775-1817) from a postcolonial perspective. This book deals with the social interactions between the Bennet family and the other members of the typical country community to which they all belong. The residents' daily routine is disturbed when Mr. Bingley moves to one of the local properties, bringing his friend Darcy with him. The meeting between the two London gentlemen and the country's people begins a series of events that elucidates cultural differences and prejudiced conceptions related to spacial hierarchies, especially concerning the binarism the country x the city (London, the capital of the English empire and countryside areas), England x nations under its colonization, such as Scotland. This novel registers the imperialist bias adopted by the writer, although it presents little subversive details that erupt against typical English stereotypes, such as the English soldier, since the Army has a cherished place in this novel, while in another novel by the writer, Persuasion (1818), the English Navy is highlighted. Thus, the narrative in focus quietly shows the English power and the alleged inferiority of those under its control. Concerning the theoretical support, the authors Bonnici (1998), Césaire (1978), Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin (2004; 2007), Said (2007; 2011), Spivak (2010), and Fanon (2020), among others, will be used to support the discussions. This analysis will show that the book in focus casually illustrates imperialist thoughts while subverting pillars of English power.