Confidence Men: Transmitted Dialogues between Men – Virtual Meeting

Jane Austen rarely represented dialogues between men when no woman is present, opting instead to have male characters report such interaction. This presentation considers how the novels construct grounds for belief in such transmissions of male conversation, situating credibility in alignment with character and context. After discussing recounted dialogue in Emma, Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice, this talk turns to the one sustained unmediated exchange between men — a pair of letters in Lady Susan — to come to speculative conclusions about Austen’s choice not to represent private masculine dialogues.

Presented by Tara Ghoshal Wallace, Emerita Professor of English at George Washington University

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