Courtship and Dance – a Journey to Self-Understanding in Emma and Pride and Prejudice
Courtship and Dance – a Journey to Self-Understanding in Emma and Pride and Prejudice

Summary/Abstract: This article investigates the importance of dance and other rituals in courtship in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Emma. It also addresses the complex socio-economic relations that come into play in wooing. It provides answers as to whether “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance” (Pride and Prejudice 19) or whether “matrimony, as the origin of change” (Emma 7) is always disagreeable. I propose that in Pride and Prejudice and Emma Jane Austen uses conversations and letters to divulge her characters’ inner feelings and that dancing provides the means by which intimacy is obtained and young people are brought closer. Furthermore, I detail on how courtship proves to be a process of self-understanding. Although it observes rituals, I argue that the courtship process does not presuppose a blind acceptance of a suitor. In both Emma and Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen shows that love does not suffice as maturity and self-knowledge play an essential part in maintaining a relationship going. I argue that compatibility on an intellectual level and mutual respect are key elements meant to secure a successful marriage.

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