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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Jane Austen ou la caricature littéraire domestique

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Far from the political or literary caricature in vogue in eighteenth-century England, Jane Austen created what could be called domestic caricature. Its targets are all those who feel that they possess superior wisdom or know-how, but also all the empty-headed and long-winded bores who it was a well-brought-up woman's duty to listen to patiently. This article will try to uncover what is specific in Jane Austen's caricature. Basing her work on ordinary social interaction and conversation, she exposes the shape(lessness) of speech and (mis) construction of discourses that characterise this would-be superiority. The article will also try to see how far Austen's work on caricature can be called feminist.