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An old essay by Edd Winfield Parks explores the question of how Austen gets us to move on to the next chapter. She doesn't, he points out, use cliff-hanger chapter endings, like a John Grisham novel. What keeps us reading? The question becomes more pointed when we notice that Austen often closes of a chapter with a summary statement, more often a description of the characters than a summary of the plot-thus-far.
Parks argues that Austen keeps us reading by leaving questions of character unanswered. The opening chapter of P&P describes Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's character and mind; Mrs. Bennet's is fixed, and remains so throughout the book. Mr. Bennet’s character, though is "unstable": "The interest which she engenders is in following changes and revelations of character instead of changes in plot."
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 11:55 AM
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