Realism in the Portrayal of Women in 18th Century English Fiction

FAIN: FT-13460-77

Elizabeth B. Brophy
College of New Rochelle (New Rochelle, NY 10805-2330)

To explore the relationship of the actual life led by ordinary middle-class women in the 18th century to the depiction of their contemporaries in 18th century British fiction. PI will study contemporary manuscript material written by ordinary women to determine just how realistic the portrayal of women is on 18th century novels; 2) if novelists seem to have emphasized some qualities more than others, to assess this selectivity; 3) to compare the characterization of women by the major novelists of the period against the background of both actuality and contemporary minor fiction.