In the novels Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, Jane Austen employs characters in order to convey the complexities of relationships and societal expectations. In both of Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, the characters in each novel have deep rooted social and personal values. These embedded layers in the characters reveal their ideologies on the cultural and societal norms within their time frame. The main female characters in these novels oppose societal norms, and have contrasting personalities. Austen highlights and comments on the traditional roles of women, marriage, and social class in England through her characters.

In Pride and Prejudice the two main character in this novel, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, are prime examples of Austen’s complex characters. Both of these characters undergo rapid character development and growth through hardships of high ego, biases, and self-awareness. Elizabeth Bennet initially judges Mr. Darcy because of her personal biases regarding social class. Her biases are based on her values of marriage and wealth, and Elizabeth feels that one should not marry a person for their wealth, but rather compassion. This is why she rejects Mr. Darcy’s initial proposal. Mr Darcy is seen as a man who is arrogant and full of himself. However, as their relationship progresses Mr. Darcy grows as an individual and comes to respect Elizabeth for who she is. His internal conflict between his own prejudices and the compassion he feels for Elizabeth leads to his emotional growth, and he begins to recognize his personal flaws. 

Similarly, Lady Susan’s character showcases a woman whose motivations stem from the miniscule options of financial security of her time. Lady Susan is a widow with a daughter who uses deception to achieve her financial needs. She often lies to men about her and her past in order to use them for their social class and money. Lady Susan is presented as a woman who seems manipulative and deceiving, but her true intentions are hinted at throughout the novel. Lady Susan lives in a society where women are not given opportunities to prosper easily by themselves. Austen shows how her deceitful means are due to the limited options that women have in society. 

Austen’s characters in both novels are not easily decipherable. They are complex characters whose choices, actions, and voice reveal their deep issues within their societal norms. These conflicts are due to their wants, but limitations created by their society. These character’s complex traits reveal more than their inner values, but the restrictive cultural expectations that mold their behaviors.

In the novels Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, Jane Austen employs setting in order to convey the complexities of relationships and societal expectations. Austen’s detail focused settings in both novels are not only detailed backgrounds, but they also describe the social world that the characters live in. Many of these settings are described in such detail that the reader can interpret the values and social normaties at the time. 

In Pride and Prejudice, there are many settings that reflect the social statuses of the characters. From modest to flashy homes, the reader is able to inference the social classes of the characters. The Bennet family lives in a modest home in a town called Longbourn, and Mr. Darcy lives in a luxurious house named the grandeur of Pemberley. These two settings show a difference in social class between the two characters. Pemberly is a symbol of Mr. Darcy’s wealth, power, and high class. When Elizabeth visits his resident she is met with elegance and how orderly his estate is. This begins to change her ideas about Mr. Darcy, and her evolving ideas of his character. The difference of the simplicity of Elizabeth’s household, and grandeur of Mr. Darcy elaborates their difference in social class. This also further demonstrates Elizabeth’s journey of growth and self awareness as she adapts to the environment around her. 

In Lady Susan, the setting is also important to the development of the novel.  The settings of this story work to push the themes of deception and social intrigue. A lot of action that happens in this novel occurs in areas such as private rooms and drawing rooms.The intimate rooms that much of the story takes place in create a sense of intimacy. This closeness highlights manipulations and tricks. For example, the atmosphere of the country house is calm and gentle, but inside deception takes place. These conflicts highlight that the facades can seemingly hide personal drama. These domestic settings frame the character’s interactions with others, but these personal interactions also show the societal norms and expectations that shape one’s behavior. 

Ultimately Austen’s use of setting is a tool for taking a closer look at society’s expectations in both of these novels. The use of setting in both novels create areas of character development. Her use of setting in her works are a key factor in reinforcing the recurring themes of social class, marriage, and societal expectations.

In the novels Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, Jane Austen uses plot and structure in order to convey the complexities of relationships and societal expectations. Austen’s intricate structural choices create an amazing narrative with rhythm that builds the emotional impact of the story. The sequence of these vents are also impactful to the story as well. The design and layout of the events are very important to the story’s plot as well. The events help lead to resolution and eventual emotional repair. 

In Pride and Prejudice, there is a eventual unfolding of romance between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are extremely important to the sequence of this novel. This relationship evolution shows the growth that they experienced together. To create tension during the rising action, Austen uses miscommunication and social misunderstandings. This creates dramatic irony because the reader in Pride and Prejudice knows more than the characters. The reader is aware of the emotional connection between the two and the growing compassion even though the characters are not aware. Eventually, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet reconcile and resolve their differences. The end of this structured sequence promotes the character’s self-reflection and their overcoming of societal and personal biases. 

In Lady Susan, the plot is structured around the series of letters, and these letters make a sense of closeness. These letters themselve show a shift in the relationships between the characters. These shifts elaborate further on the understanding of the characters true motives and their actions. Similarly, this structure of the novel creates dramatic irony because the readers know more than the characters through the letters. The reader knows firsthand how most of the characters of the characters act because they have nothing to hide. However, Lady Susan still remains private in these letters because of her secrets. Lady Susan is still manipulative through her letters, so she doesn’t show her true colors. The plot in this story is not as emotionally driven as Pride and Prejudice. However in this novel, Austen still instills the theme of moral consequences based off of character’s actions and decisions to be strict with social norms. This theme highlights Austen’s dive into independence and social norms. 

Ultimately, in both novels Austen shows how plot and structure of a novel guides a reader through emotional journeys and this broadcasts the novel’s themes of one’s personal growth, character development, and how conforming to society has consequences.

In the novels Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan, Jane Austen uses a speaker in order to convey the complexities of relationships and societal expectations. The role containing a speaker plays a big part in creating the reader’s perception of characters and events in Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan. Different perspectives can change how readers view events in novels. Specifically the perspectives in these novels influences how the reader comprehends and interprets actions and decisions of characters and themes.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen employs a third person omniscient narrator. This type of narrator allows the reader to gain access to multiple characters' inner thoughts and feelings, not just one. Particularly in the Novel Pride and Prejudice the reader is knowing of Elizabeth’s thoughts, and this narrator is ironic and clever. Elizabeth often faces conflict, and the reader becomes known to how Elizabeth will perceive, misjudge, and her realizations. This narration creates a boundary between characters and readers, which allows the reader to form their own opinions about the characters actions and decisions. However, the narrator still slightly guides the readers to come to certain conclusions by their own personal bias. Still, the choice of third person omniscient allows the readers to see the themes of self-awareness and personal growth through Elizabeth’s growth as she goes through her journey of self discovery and self autonomy. 

On the other hand, Lady Susan’s narration is through epistolary form, via letters among the characters, and the plot is constantly changing between multiple characters. Compared to Pride and Prejudice, this narration has an entirely different effect on the story. This form creates an unfolding of events that are fragmented and subjective due to the lack of a narrator to guide the story. Most of the letters reveal Lady Susan’s ability to deceive other characters, but it also shows other characters as well. Through the narration of letters the reader is able to acknowledge Catherine Vernon and how suspicious she is of Lady Susan, and how naive Frederica is. The letters are a gateway to understanding the character’s personal goals, compassions, and interpretation. The multitude of perspectives collaboratively create the complexity of this narrative because readers have to decipher different perspectives of events. This complexity creates a deeper understanding of the character's motivations. 

Austen uses a narrative perspective in Pride and Prejudice and Lady Susan exemplifies her creative skill in writing. Her ability to create multifaceted characters, exploring tensions, personal bias, and societal norms, all highlight how creative she is as a writer.