Jane Austen and Animals

In her study of animals in Jane Austen, Seeber situates the author’s work within eighteenth- and nineteenth-century debates about human-animal relations. She shows that Austen associates the domination of animals with that of women, challenges readings that identify Austen’s depictions of nature as benign celebrations of England’s imperial power, and demonstrates that Austen links meat consumption to a human-nature dualism that objectifies not only nature, but also the women who serve men.