The Changing Cultural Perceptions of Love and Romance. A Comparative study of Dutch Translations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride and Prejudice does not only claim a universal truth on love and marriage, it also provides insight into the perceptions of love and the norms and values that govern love in the 19th Century, as does the entire novel. However, society and the social-cultural norms governing it have changed immensely since the nineteenth-century world of Pride and Prejudice, it is therefore more than likely that a modern contemporary audience, without any social-historical or cultural background, would not fully understand the social and cultural setting of the novel. Furthermore, the practice of and ideas surrounding translation also underwent great change. This thesis researches whether the changes in socio-cultural norms and perceptions are noticeable in diachronic research of romantic literature in...Show more“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” The opening sentence of one of Jane Austen’s most famous romantic novel Pride and Prejudice does not only claim a universal truth on love and marriage, it also provides insight into the perceptions of love and the norms and values that govern love in the 19th Century, as does the entire novel. However, society and the social-cultural norms governing it have changed immensely since the nineteenth-century world of Pride and Prejudice, it is therefore more than likely that a modern contemporary audience, without any social-historical or cultural background, would not fully understand the social and cultural setting of the novel. Furthermore, the practice of and ideas surrounding translation also underwent great change. This thesis researches whether the changes in socio-cultural norms and perceptions are noticeable in diachronic research of romantic literature in translation, on either a linguistic (stylistic) or cultural level, by conducting a comparative study of Dutch translations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.Show less

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The Changing Cultural Perceptions of Love and Romance. A Comparative study of Dutch Translations of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.