JaneAusten,ATransitionalWriterin&nbs【摘要】简奥斯汀是英国文学史上18世纪末新古典主义过渡到19世纪初浪漫主义的重要代表作家。本文重点从两方面探讨她的过渡性：一方面从作品的主题看，大部分奥斯汀的小说都反映了人们对婚姻态度及观念的变化；另一方面，从写作风格上看，她的作品以喜剧的形式讽刺社会，令人深思。【关键词】简奥斯；过渡时期Asweallknow,itisnotuntilthesecondhalfofthe18thcenturythatwomennovelistsbegantoappearinEngland.Andsomegiftedwomenfromtheendofthe18thcenturyto19thcenturymadesomecontributionstothedevelopmentoftheEnglishnovel,whichevenwontheirplacesinthefrontranksofsomerealistslikeCharlesDickens,WilliamMakepeaceThackeray,etc.JaneAusten(1775-1817)wasjustsuchagreatwomanwriterinthisperiod.ShebroughttheEnglishnoveltoitsmaturityandhersatiricalfictionsmarkedthetransitionfromthe18th-centuryneoclassicismtothe19th-centuryromanticismintheEnglishliterature.JaneAustenwasbornatSteventonandtheseventhchildofacountryclergymanfamily.Shewaseducatedathomeandpassedallherlifeindoingsmalldomesticdutiesinthecountryside.Shewrotesixcompletefamousnovels,includingSenseandSensibility(1811),PrideandPrejudice(1813),MansfieldPark(1814),Emma(1816),NorthangerAbbey(1818),andPersuasion(1818).Shelivedandworkedattheturnofthecentury,whichwitnessedagreatchangeoftheEnglishsociety.SincetheIndustrialRevolutioninthesecondhalfofthe18thcentury,theEnglishsocialstructureunderwentrapidchanges.Theindustrialcapitalistsbegantocontrolnotonlytheeconomicbutalsothepoliticalpowerandthusthestrugglebetweentheworkersandcapitalistsalsobecamemoreandmoresharp.Consequently,peoplestartedtodoubtandevenlosehopetotheenlighteningthoughtsthatwaspopularinthefirsthalfofthe18thcentury.Literature,asa“barometer”ofthesociallife,alsoexperiencedgreatchange.Oneofthemostremarkablechangeswasintheliterarytaste.Thatistosay,peoplestartedtodislikeSwiftsbrutality,Defoesfrankrealism,andevenFieldingsmasculinesatire.Sotheworkswiththerationaltonebegantogivewaytotheworksfullofsentiments.Undersuchasocialandliteraryenvironment,JaneAustenexertedhertransitionalroleinEnglishliterature.Wecanseeitfromtwoaspects.Andtheheroandtheroinearetheverysensiblepeople.Mr.Darcy,fromanoblefamily,hasastrongsenseoffamilystatusandturnsuphisnoseatthevulgarityofBennetfamily.AndElizabethBennetisalsoverysensitivetoherfamilybackgroundandbecomesinstantlyprejudicedagainstMr.Darcy,despitehisgoodlooksandgreatwealth.However,withthegradualdeepintercourseandunderstandingbetweenthesetwopeople,theyfallinlovewitheachotherandfinallysmashthebondsoftherationandsocialpressureandmarry.Sothisnovelshowsthevictoryofthesentiment,foritisjustthankstothedeeplovethatmakesthesetwopeoplefromdifferentclassstatussuccessfullymarry.ThisreflectsthatJaneAustenscreatingthoughtsbeginstochangefromtherationalismtotheromanticism.HerlastnovelPersuasionalsodisplayssuchachange.Therefore,wecansaythatitisjustthroughtheconflictbetweentherationandsentimentinthenovelsthatJaneAustenaccomplishesthetransitionfromtherationalliteraturetotheromanticliterature.1Firstly,intheme,mostofJaneAustensnovelsreflecttheprocessofthechangeoftheattitudetowardsthemarriage.Asweallknow,inAustensnovelSenseandSensibility,oneoftheheroine,ElinorDashwood,isquitesensible.Shethinksveryhighlyofamanwhoseworthinessinhereyesonlyincreaseswhenshelearnswhyhecannotmarryher.However,anotherheroine,MarianneDashwood,isverysentimentalatthebeginning.Soshetrustshersensesandfallsinlovewithamanwhointruthisnotasgoodasheseemsandfinallyisabandoned.Throughthedifferentfatesofthesetwosisters,JaneAustenshowsusherearlyattitudetowardsthemarriagethattomarryaccordingtosensewillendinfailurewhilewithrationwillsucceed.SuchathemereflectsthatatfirstJaneAusteninheritsthetraditionalenlighteningthoughts.However,hermindschangeinherlaternovels,especiallyinhernovelsPrideandPrejudiceandPersuasion.Inthesenovels,sentimentbecomesupperhandandattainssuccessintheend.Forexample,attheverybeginningofthenovelPrideandPrejudice,JaneAustenwrote,“Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledged,thatasinglemaninpossessionofagoodfortunemustbeinwantofawife.”Moreover,herdevelopmentfromrationalismtotheromanticismalsoreflectsinhernewconceptofmarriage.Thatissheadvocatestheonlybaseofmarriageshouldbethetruelove,notthefamilybackgroundsandeconomicbase.ThisvividlyreflectsinthesceneofElizabethBennetrefusingMr.Collinsproposal.WhenMr.CollinsproposestoElizabeth,sheanswers,1“Ithankyouagainandagainforthehonoryouha