E X T E N S I O N THE NOVEL OF MANNERS Jane Austen, together with Charlotte Bront (Jane Eyre, 1847), contributed to what has been called the Novel of Manners, a kind of fiction focused on everyday, routine life and events. Her novels are based on the premise1 that there is a vital relationship between manners, social behaviour and character. They are usually set2 in the levels of society where people do not have to struggle for survival and are free to develop more or less elaborate rules, codes and conventions of daily behaviour. The Novel of Manners explores characters, personal relationships, class distinctions and their effect on character and behaviour, the role of money and property in the way people treat each other, and the complications of love and friendship in this social world. Conversation plays a central role in these novels, and passions and emotions are expressed in an indirect way rather than explicitly. Jane Austen owes much to the 18th century novelists Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson above all. She learnt the endless possibilities offered by the insight3 into the psychology of the characters and the subtleties4 of the ordinary events of life, such as balls, walks, tea-parties and visits to friends and neighbours. However, she restricted her view to the world of the country gentry5 which she knew best. 1. premise: an idea or theory on which a statement or action is based. 2. set (set-set-set): located, situated. 3. insight: ability to understand people and situations in a very clear way. 4. subtlety: fine distinction. 5. country gentry: people of high social class with landed properties in the country. 6. boundary: a real or imagined line that marks the edge or limit of something. 67