'A blush invades Anne's cheeks. She couldn't say anything. (JANE AUSTEN, Persuasion)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay “There is a blush for what is not done, and a blush for what is not done – And a blush for having done it.” There is a blush for the thought, and a blush for nothing, and a blush for having begun.' (JOHN KEATS)Jane Austen's novels are famous for their interest in the intricacies of sociability in her world; with a critical emphasis on terms of expression, turn-taking and the particularities of language in general. In fact, many critics of Austen's works note the "performative" nature of this sociability, which has resulted in multiple film and television adaptations of her novels. Gillian Russell, writing on Pride and Prejudice, suggests that the modern concern with Austen's presentation of sociability reveals "the importance of sociability as a performative event, that is, what possibilities or dreams are carried out […] by men and women coming together in a particular place and time.” However, largely overlooked is the role of body language in this sociability, which, as excerpts from Keats and Austen communicate, can be as, if not more, expressive and revealing than verbal communication – as in the case of Anne , for example, where her “blush” communicates a feeling where words cannot. Of course, as John Wiltshire points out, in Austen's realm of polite society, "the latitude of bodily expression permitted to men and women, but especially to women, is reduced", a fact which effectively limits the examples notable “bodily expression”. but conversely, it helps to make these few examples particularly revealing and interesting. In Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which I will discuss, body language, both voluntary and involuntary, plays an important role in the betrayal of feelings, expressions and opinions that are usually repressed verbally by social codes and rigid expectations. Bodily expression in the novel, whether intentional or not, transcends boundaries of class and decorum, providing a subtext of desire and intention that communicates truth where verbal language fails. In Austen's novels, Charlotte Brontë complained of being able to find in them "no look at a luminous and living physiognomy". Indeed, Wiltshire concedes that the presence of the body in Austen is often "merely enabling, transparent, taken for granted", but, he argues, comes into play as a source of "narrative energies" when it becomes "unhealthy ". I would like to extend this point, however, to argue that this does not just apply to the body when it becomes unhealthy or diseased in Austen, but at any time when it performs an action that communicates something that is not expressed verbally. This occurs because of a tension that Monica Lawlor identifies between permissible values ​​around 1800, where "one of the main tensions lay between conflicting attitudes to emotion and the expression of feeling." One valued the calm and apparent security achieved by controlling and regulating emotional expression, the other valued the heightened sense of life brought about by free and even exaggerated expression of emotion. In Pride and Prejudice, this ancient value is abundant, as Elizabeth, for example, after Mr. Darcy confesses his affection for her, pointedly waits until she hears him "open the front door and leave the house" beforeto burst into tears. She then: “continued her very agitated reflections until the noise of Lady Catherine's carriage made her feel how uneven she was when she met Charlotte's observation, and drew her hastily into her room. » The use of the word "uneven" here is particularly telling in revealing the novel's attitude toward intense, outward displays of emotion as somehow demeaning or inappropriate. The "right" way to meet people in the terms of this novel is, as Lawlor writes: keeping one's emotional expression "controlled" and "regulated." Such emotional regulation occurs verbally in the novel, adhering to the rules of conversation and sociability in the presence of others, but this often does not reveal truths about the characters and their interiority. When these latter of the “values” described by Lawlor are removed, the expression of emotion appears unintentionally in the novel via bodily expression and language. The main example of this can be found in the interactions between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. While Darcy verbally insists that his affections for Elizabeth do not exist because she is of lower social status than him, early in the novel his body language suggests otherwise: "Hardly had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had scarcely a handsome feature in her face, that he began to think that it was made unusually intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. This discovery was followed by others equally mortifying. Although he critically detected more than one want of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge that her figure was light and pleasant, and although he asserted that her manners were not those from the fashionable world, he was attracted by their playful and easy side. [26] One of the oddities that Elizabeth repeatedly questions in the novel is the frequent intervals where Mr. Darcy looks at her, his eyes "often […] fixed on her." [56] And here we see for the first time, Mr. Darcy's eye objecting to the verbal assertions made to "himself and his friends," as he "begins to discover," and is " forced to recognize” that despite his verbal assertions, his “eye” strives to communicate his desire for Elizabeth, against the regulations he has created verbally. We also see that body language transcends arbitrary social boundaries as Mr. Darcy finds himself attracted to Elizabeth despite "her assertion that her manners were not those of the fashionable world." And indeed, without such involuntary bodily expression, it would be almost impossible to discern any affection towards Elizabeth on Mr. Darcy's part, due to his coldness in his manner towards her elsewhere, which sets up a "protection » effective feelings that are not necessarily socially appropriate or appropriate. Additionally, the emphasis on verbal sociability and regulation over emotional bodily expression means that character manipulation is reasonably easy in the novel. For example, Mr. Wickham, who turns out to be deceptive, is seen as a kind man for much of the novel. The coherence of this judgment rests almost entirely on the way she presents herself, particularly verbally: “It was not in her [Elizabeth's] nature to question the truth of such a pleasant-looking young man as Wickham . – The possibility that he had actually endured such wickedness was enough to interest all his tender feelings. [95] This moment comes after Wickham claims (falsely) that Mr. Darcy has done him a lot of harm in the past, and his "appearance” completely convinces Elizabeth. Indeed, this notion of Wickham's "good appearance" recurs frequently in the novel, as his good manners and ability to use coherent social conversation and mannerisms convince those around him of his virtue, a tactic so effective that Elizabeth doesn’t even dare “question its substance.” Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, who is portrayed as ill-mannered and rude for much of the novel, is seen as such due to his inability to adequately express his sociability: "He was looked at with great admiration for about half of the evening. , until his manners gave a disgust which reversed the tide of his popularity […] Mr. Darcy only danced once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, refused to be introduced to another lady and spent the rest of the evening walking down the street. room, occasionally speaking to a member of his own group. His character was decided. He was the proudest and most unpleasant man in the world. [10]The imperative tone of “His Character Has Been Decided” once again emphasizes the judgment of character via the means of social etiquette. Yet when we see that the decisive characters of Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy have been conflated, it seems that this type of judgment is inadequate, and indeed, the repeated references to Mr. Wickham's good "appearance" posit the notion of “appearance” as having the potential to be false or artificial. We later see that when Elizabeth realizes this, she tests Mr. Wickham's reactions which are involuntary; the reactions and expressions of her body: “As she spoke, Wickham seemed unsure whether to rejoice in her words or to distrust their meaning. There was something in her face that made him listen with worried and anxious attention […] Elizabeth could not repress a smile at this, but she only responded with a slight inclination of the head. She saw that he wanted to engage her on the old subject of her grievances, and she was in no mood to please him. The rest of the evening passed with the appearance, on his part, of the usual cheerfulness, but without any further attempt to single out Elizabeth[.]' [260-1] Knowing that Wickham had deceived her verbally, the proper Elizabeth's body language reveals this, even if it was unintentional, with her "face" and her inability to "suppress a smile" at his continued pretension. As a result, unable to respond verbally to Elizabeth's nonverbal reactions, her own body language betrays her insincerity, and it finally becomes apparent that her beautiful "appearance" is just a facade. so far there have been reasonably subtle moments of revelation or communication; Yet the "blushing" or "coloring" that occurs so frequently in Pride and Prejudice is perhaps a more immediate visual marker of body language, and again, an unintentional one. Blushing in Pride and Prejudice tends to signal moments of desire that betray feelings normally kept in check through regulated social interactions. Later in the novel, after Mr. Darcy has been rejected by Elizabeth and the affair, in the eyes of social decorum, has been left aside, the two meet again unexpectedly: "They were twenty yards apart one from the other, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight. […] Their eyes met instantly, and the cheeks of each were covered with a very deep blush. He absolutely started and for a moment seemed motionless with surprise; but, soon recovering, advanced towards the group and spoke to Elizabeth, if not with perfect calm, at least with perfect civility. Here we see an example in which bodily expression threatens.