So Odd a Mixture
eBook - ePub

So Odd a Mixture

Along the Autistic Spectrum in 'Pride and Prejudice'

  1. 208 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

So Odd a Mixture

Along the Autistic Spectrum in 'Pride and Prejudice'

About this book

Autism was not a recognised disorder in Jane Austen's lifetime, nor for well over a century after her death. However there were certainly people who had autism, and Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer proposes that Austen wrote about them, without knowing what it was that she was describing.

So Odd a Mixture looks at eight seemingly diverse characters in Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, who display autistic traits. These characters - five in the Bennet family and three in the extended family of the Fitzwilliams - have fundamental difficulties with communication, empathy and theory of mind. Perhaps it is high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome that provides an explanation for some characters' awkward behaviour at crowded balls, their frequent silences or their tendency to lapse into monologues rather than truly converse with others.

This fascinating book will provide food for thought for students and fans of Austen's classic novel, and for anyone interested in autism spectrum disorders.

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Yes, you can access So Odd a Mixture by Phyllis Ferguson-Bottomer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Criticism for Women Authors. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Of Related Interest
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword By Tony Attwood
  7. Foreword by Eileen Sutherland
  8. Acknowledgements
  9. Introduction
  10. 1. Characters, Caricatures and Conversations
  11. Part One: Background
  12. 2. Autistic Spectrum Disorders for Janeites
  13. 3. Pride and Prejudice for Autism Specialists
  14. Part Two: The Bennet Family
  15. 4. Mr Collins
  16. 5. Mary Bennet
  17. 6. Lydia Bennet
  18. 7. Mr Bennet
  19. 8. Mrs Bennet
  20. Part Three: The Fitzwilliam Family
  21. 9. Anne De Bourgh
  22. 10. Lady Catherine De Bourgh
  23. 11. Fitzwilliam Darcy
  24. Part Four: Conclusion
  25. 12. Happily Ever After?
  26. 13. How Did Austen Know?
  27. References
  28. Index