Last Impressions critically examines the conclusions of Jane Austen's novels, uncovering intricate patterns and interconnections among the final chapters that provoke and challenge readers' interpretations of the overarching narratives.
Jane Austen's conclusions have often perplexed her readers, who at times perceive her novels' endings as hasty or overly simplistic. However, a closer examination reveals that her final chapters are meticulously crafted, serving as critical touchstones that redefine the entire narrative. Last Impressions offers an in-depth analysis of the literary strategies Austen employs to conclude her novels.
This work explores recurring techniques, such as securing parental consent, the absence of dramatized scenes, and the use of rhetorical devices like Socratic irony and metalepsis, uncovering meaningful patterns that highlight Austen's artistry. By illuminating the intentionality behind the endings of all six of Austen's major novels, as well as her epistolary novella Lady Susan, this book provides valuable insights into her narrative architecture. In a literary landscape that has frequently dismissed Austen's conclusions, Last Impressions asserts that her final chapters demand critical engagement, challenging readers to reconsider their interpretations and appreciate her enduring complexity.
By:
Theresa M. Kenney
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9781487559861
ISBN 10: 1487559860
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 28 May 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Austen’s Telos: Speeding Truth into the World 2. “Abjuring All Future Attachments”: Teaching the Reader to Desire the Right Object in Lady Susan 3. Parental Tyranny and Filial Disobedience: Socratic Irony and Metalepsis in Northanger Abbey 4. Forced Retrospection in Sense and Sensibility: Willoughby’s Desire for “Something Like Forgiveness” on “More Reasonable Grounds” 5. “The Happiest, Wisest, Most Reasonable End”: Silence, Spatial Dislocation, Secrets, and the Sublime in Pride and Prejudice 6. “As Nearly For Ever as Possible”: Apophasis in Mansfield Park 7. “The Perfect Happiness of the Union”: Undeceiving Mr. Knightley and the Reader in Emma 8. The Oracles of Kellynch and Uppercross: Predicting the Future in Persuasion Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
Theresa M. Kenney is a professor of English at the University of Dallas.
Reviews for Last Impressions: Jane Austen's Endings
“Last Impressions’ continual engagement with Jane Austen’s texts, through Theresa Kenney’s deep structural awareness and her close reading, are beautifully buttressed with the rich background of the classical and Christian tradition as well as her knowledge of narrative theory. There’s one acute interpretive point after another in this work. In fact, Last Impressions does something rare, which is to elevate the state of the conversation about what Austen has achieved through integration of the near and far gaze.” -- Laura White, John E. Weaver Professor of English, University of Nebraska-Lincoln “In this learned and thoughtful book, Theresa Kenney uses rhetorical analysis and the religious tradition Jane Austen inherited to illuminate the moral complexity of her characters and the endings of her novels. Last Impressions scrutinizes Austen’s endings with such rigour and clarity that we see the novels anew. My last impression is that this is a book to which I will return again and again."" -- Susan Allen Ford, author of <em>What Jane Austen’s Characters Read (and Why)</em>, Editor of <em>Persuasions and Persuasions On-Line</em>, and Professor Emerita of English, Delta State University
