Such letters, such entertaining letters: the epistle in Jane Austen's novels

Despite her early experiments with the epistolary form, none of Jane Austen's published novels are in the epistolary form. However, all of Austen's novels contain letters, many of which are crucial to the development of the story. This paper will explore the role and function of letters in Austen's novels. Looking closely at each letter, we will see how Austen uses letters to reveal character and advance plot. We will also see how writing letters gives Austen's characters a rhetorical voice, and how letters forge communication when it is otherwise impossible (not only physically, but socially and emotionally as well). Finally, we will explore how letters can lead characters to self-knowledge. By looking at how letters function in Austen's novels, we will not only have a better understanding of her characters, but we will also have a better understanding of the role and significance of letters in Austen's time.