4-1 Final Project Milestone 2

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Anna-Nicole Doucette ENG 350 4-1 Final Project 25 September 2022 An Analysis and Critique of the Linguistic Features of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women 2.1 Analysis from Semantic Perspective The word let conveys the semantic shift between the publishing of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Alcott’s Little Women. For instance, Austen used the word let as a verb, meaning “to rent, put to rent, or hire (Let (v.),”) to indicate that a room was available for rent in Netherfield Park (Austen, p. 1.) This definition was more common in Europe and did not transition to American works as seamlessly. This contrasts Alcott’s use of the word let, which was used as a verb meaning “to allow; to leave behind, depart from; leave undone; bequeath. (Let (v.)” This difference in semantics can be observed when Laurie proposes to Jo. He explains that he tried to show Jo he loved her, “… but you wouldn’t let me…(Alcott, p. 415.)” In this case, let means to allow and Laurie is explaining that Jo would not allow him to make his affections clear due to her resistance. 2.2 Register Levels Generally, Austen writes her novel from a formal register, but there are exchanges between characters in which the register shifts to be more intimate and casual. For instance, when Mr. Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth, the register of the narrator is very formal while the conversation between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is quite intimate. Austen builds up to the proposal as the narrator, writing, “…she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In a hurried manner, he immediately began an inquiry after her health…She answered him with cold civility…After a

silence of several minutes he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began. ‘In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you, (p. 141-142.)” Austen narrates once again from here, describing Mr. Darcy’s confessions of his affections that left Elizabeth surprised. Finally, she rejects him and sparks an argument between the two. This exchange is intimate and emotional, drawing readers into their situation and allowing them to become part of the moment. The switch between registers of formality and intimacy carries the novel, distinguishing Austen as the narrator from the characters within the novel. In contrast, Alcott generally writes her piece from a more casual and intimate register throughout that draws readers into her story and allows them to connect with the coming-of-age themes of the novel. Alcott relies heavily on dialogue for her storytelling purposes and many exchanges between characters are more casual and intimate in register due to the nature of their relationships. For instance, Laurie’s proposal to Jo carried an intimate register and because of Alcott’s writing style, there was a casual register included too that allowed readers to personally connect with the characters and story. Alcott builds up to the proposal in a way that allows readers to feel the torment Jo was facing, writing, “Something in his resolute tone made Jo look up quickly to find him looking down at her with an expression that assured her the dreaded moment had come… (p. 414.)” Laurie opens his heart to Jo, saying, “It’s no use Jo, we’ve got to have it out…I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you…” but Jo does not reciprocate these feelings and attempts to reject him carefully, as she loves him too but in a very different way (p. 414-415.) This exchange is so intimate and private, but readers get to be a part of these characters breaking each other’s hearts. Alcott’s choice in register keeps readers invested in her storytelling, needing to know what happens to these characters in the end.

2.3 Dialects Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, but was raised in Boston, Massachusetts (“Louisa May Alcott.”) Boston was settled by immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Eastern Europe, China, and other countries, eventually leading to the development of the Boston accent. Traditionally, a Boston accent is characterized by the cot-caught merger, meaning that speakers do not distinguish the vowel phonemes in “cot” and “caught,” resulting in a sound change (Labov.) Alcott chose Massachusetts as the backdrop for her story. Most of the characters within the novel do speak with a New England accent based on the grammatically correct structure of their sentences. Most of the characters also do not drop letters from words, but many do speak with clitics, which conveys the acceptance of prescriptive grammatical rules (Denham, 2012, p. 151.) However, one character that speaks with a different dialect is Hannah, the March family’s servant that has lived with them for many years. Originally from Ireland, she retains her Irish accent, often dropping the last letter of certain words, such as “a-beggin’,” “givin’,” and “firin’” (Alcott, 16.) This conveys the integration of cultures within the Boston area. In contrast, Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire, England in 1775 and lived in Hampshire for her entire life. Because of this, Austen had a Southeastern British accent, which is defined by received pronunciation (“Accents in Britain.”) Austen did not specifically distinguish this dialect within her novel, but her characters did speak with a formal, grammatically correct speech pattern throughout. 2.4 Stylistics Elements Both Austen and Alcott use stylistic devices to strengthen characterizations and themes of their novels. Austen distinguishes the narrator from the characters within the novel through her use of polymorphemic words in her sentences, such as, “imputing,” “inclination” and

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