Jane Austen’s Emma and the Interactive Aesthetics of English Humor in the Eighteenth Century
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This study is a theoretical and critical explication of the possible connection between Jane Austen’s humor and the tradition of “good-natured” humor and the related theories circulated through the long eighteenth century. It examines the concept of “humour” in Austen’s Emma with a synchronous perspective on philosophical, cultural and moral implications of humor theory, with reference to the theoretical views of eighteenth century essayists such as Joseph Addison and Francis Hutcheson. They distinguish between upper-class witticism, which is elitist and exclusive, and middle class humor, which is democratic and does not engage in derision of the subject. Hutcheson’s idea in particular leads us to the relational scope of humor as he develops the epistemological and aesthetic implications of the subject. This Irishman ascribes humor not merely to a moral sense, but also to a creative and interactive quality of human virtue. I then examine how Jane Austen harnessed and explored her contemporary norms and views on humor through her use of peculiar characterization in what is perhaps her wittiest work – Emma. In so doing, I argue that the benevolent humor in the Austen’s text, which is prominently illustrated through the character of Mr. Knightley, is directed toward promoting amiable and even aesthetic relations within society regardless of its imperfections and ironical disparities.
Abstract
This study is a theoretical and critical explication of the possible connection between Jane Austen’s humor and the tradition of “good-natured” humor and the related theories circulated through the long eighteenth century. It examines the concept of “humour” in Austen’s Emma with a synchronous perspective on philosophical, cultural and moral implications of humor theory, with reference to the theoretical views of eighteenth century essayists such as Joseph Addison and Francis Hutcheson. They distinguish between upper-class witticism, which is elitist and exclusive, and middle class humor, which is democratic and does not engage in derision of the subject. Hutcheson’s idea in particular leads us to the relational scope of humor as he develops the epistemological and aesthetic implications of the subject. This Irishman ascribes humor not merely to a moral sense, but also to a creative and interactive quality of human virtue. I then examine how Jane Austen harnessed and explored her contemporary norms and views on humor through her use of peculiar characterization in what is perhaps her wittiest work – Emma. In so doing, I argue that the benevolent humor in the Austen’s text, which is prominently illustrated through the character of Mr. Knightley, is directed toward promoting amiable and even aesthetic relations within society regardless of its imperfections and ironical disparities.
참고문헌 (27)
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