Abstract

The paper tends to focus on contextualizing Austenistan (2018) by considering Jane Austen’s popular novels. The way Austen, through her novels, engages with the world today establishes the breadth and endlessness of her narratives that surpass physical and social barricades. A memorable exemplar of her pervasive need reveals in the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan in South Asia, which made-up Austen’s cherished protagonists as contemporary Pakistani (socially upper class) ladies in a variety of stories entitled Austenistan. The paper compares Austenistan with Austen’s writings, espying the associations, variances, and endowments between them. The appearance and nonappearance of current social concerns in Austenistan and Austen, commensurately calls the review of the amounts of societal duty and motivation in these writings. Lastly, distinguishing visibly about colonisation, I look at the effect of Jane Austen’s novels in empire formation.

Highlights

  • In colonisation, “European culture often, if not always, characterised itself in such a way as simultaneously to validate its own preferences while advocating those preferences in conjunction with distant imperial rule” (Said, 1994)

  • Seven affiliates of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan co-authored an assortment of short stories titled Austenistan, which re-envisions Jane Austen’s protagonists as contemporary Pakistani, socially upper class, women

  • By comparing Austenistan to Austen’s original novels, we find how much psychologically does really Pakistani parents enter into the process of finding perfect matches for their daughters, and how much deception and frustration along with the obsession with marriage is employed?

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Summary

Introduction

“European culture often, if not always, characterised itself in such a way as simultaneously to validate its own preferences while advocating those preferences in conjunction with distant imperial rule” (Said, 1994). Seven affiliates of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan co-authored an assortment of short stories titled Austenistan, which re-envisions Jane Austen’s protagonists as contemporary Pakistani, socially upper class, women. By comparing Austenistan to Austen’s original novels, we find how much psychologically does really Pakistani parents enter into the process of finding perfect matches for their daughters, and how much deception and frustration along with the obsession with marriage is employed?. The ultimate resolution and expectation of rich women is equivalent to those of Austen’s female characters i.e., wed a rich man of the similar or higher position and resources. This is where the Aunties in Austenistan emanate into performance. In the social phase recognised as the “December wedding season” (which is usually a time period from December to March), the elderly ladies aka Aunties

Khan DOI
Dancing
Education
Imports
Sexuality
Conclusion
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