Prior to a reading of Jane Austen, I feel that it is imperative to secure an insight into the social context in which she writes. Without which, it is impossible to acquire a full appreciation of her work. After the French Revolution there was a danger that Britain would be faced with a similar threat. Consequently, there became a huge emphasis placed upon the importance of property and the need for good manners and morals' among the propertied class of late eighteenth century England. For Austen, was the belief that the fate of the landed classes depended on their ability to preserve the system of manners which buttressed their moral authority. Given that they did not rule by police or force, it was vital that a rigid system of deference and obedience was withheld . Restraint, control and propriety were vital if society was not to blow up in their face' (Roy Porter, England in the Eighteenth CenturyBurke). In effect, and as Burke states manners are of more importance than laws'. This is inexorably reflected via Austen's incessant strive to establish and demonstrate the correct code of conduct, in all areas of social behaviour. I will examine Austen's Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice, observing the use of manners and the significance attached to its literary convention.
As we follow our young narrator, Catherine Morland, through the social rituals which ultimately test the quality of her polite performance, we are able to witness Northanger Abbey's obvious interest in conveying the connection between proper manners and a healthy society. Catherine's greatest concern has little to do with the improvement of her own manners, which is always motivated for what was due to others' (p89), but with her ability to read the manners of others. Throughout the novel, we are able to observe Catherine's failure to correctly judge people. She tends to determine people according to the claims they make for themselves, rather than trust in her actual observations of their behaviour.
