While Jane Austen is often recalled for her depictions of passionate and thwarted love affairs, her work is more consistently and enduringly focused on the consideration of social and moral problems as she observed them. Completing six novels before her untimely death, these books survey issues of class, inheritance, logic and reason, and morality, setting her characters in motion under specific conditions and attitudes in order to play the stories out to their logical conclusion. In this way, Austens writing is both entertaining and instructive.1. Sense and Sensibility (1811)Sense and Sensibility title page, 1884. Source: British Library / FlickrAustens first novel, Sense and Sensibility, tells the story of the widowed Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters, Marianne, Elinor, and Margaret. Living previously happy and untroubled lives in the family estate, Norland Park, things are thrown into turmoil upon the death of Mr. Dashwood due to the common practice of entailment, meaning that the property must now pass to the male heir: their unscrupulous and selfish brother, John. As John casts the women out in favor of pleasing his own wife, the Dashwoods must now begin again in a small cottage provided by sympathetic friends.Sense and Sensibilitys charting of the lives of the Dashwood women is saturated with humiliation due to the womens much-reduced circumstances as tenants in a small property. But despite their state of degradation, their spirits are often lifted by stoicism and bravery, marking them as impressively dignified in the face of family betrayal.But while the womens dignity is aspirational, perhaps most resonant are the moments in which they are completely undone by their mistreatment. This cruelty comes not only from their brother, John, but also from Elinors hopeful romantic encounter with Edward and, most shockingly, from serial seducer John Willoughbys careless involvement with the too-trusting Marianne.Protect Your HeartThey Sang Together by Hugh Thomson in Sense and Sensibility, 1896. Source: British Library / FlickrIf there is a lesson beyond morality that Austen intends to impart in Sense and Sensibility, it is the necessity for young women to guard their emotions against men who will play far too casually with their dreams. This theme is repeated across not only the backstory of kindly Colonel Brandons beloved yet sexually exploited Eliza but also through Elinors thwarted relationship with cowardly Edward, who often seems to lie by omission, and most explicitly through poor Mariannes emotional destruction by Willoughby.Younger and less skilled at absorbing the indignity of navigating the world of courtship than her elder sister, Elinor, Mariannes inability to brush off Willoughbys mistreatment of her will chime with any reader who has ever been ghosted, strung along, or used as an ego boost by someone they adored. In this sense, Austen is a master of zeroing in on exactly the desperation, creeping fear, and ultimate humiliation that has unfortunately clouded the experiences of many of us trying to navigate the dating scene.2. Emma (1815)Emma was not sorry to have such an opportunity of survey by Hugh Thomson in Emma, 1896. Source: British Library / FlickrUnusually, for one of Jane Austens novels, the author keeps her protagonist, Emma, out of harms way from beginning to end, and the greatest burden she is endowed with is her own inflated self-belief. The classic Austen themes of compromised circumstances and limited choices for women are still at play; however, in this story, there is also an enhanced focus on class through the presence of two central characters, Harriet and Jane.Despite the tragic loss of her mother at a young age, Emma has still benefited from the skilled instruction of her governess, Miss Taylor, and the rich indulgence of her father, Mr. Woodhouse. Growing up in a small community, Emma is the darling of almost everyone and is quick to form connections with any new members of society. When Emma meets the far less sophisticated Harriet, her attempts at instruction and matchmaking are not unlike Henry Higginss project to civilize Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaws later work, Pygmalion. Much like Pygmalion, Harriets friendship with Emma provides a litany of misunderstandings and errors.Assumptions and MisunderstandingsHe stopped to look the question by Hugh Thomson in Emma, 1896. Source: British Library / FlickrEmma also meets, with far less enthusiasm, a governess-to-be, Jane. In contrast to Harriets charming but unpolished character that Emma is so taken with, Jane has been the beneficiary of an elite education and carries with her a reserved and modest personality. Bristling against Janes accomplishments and temperament, Emma evades her in favor of the far more easily manipulated Harriet. Emmas choice to effectively shun Jane while entertaining Harriet becomes one of her greatest moments for learning, teaching her that human lives are far more complex than she has previously understood and that discretion is infinitely more valuable than charm.Harriet and Jane can be read in Emma as two distinct manifestations of the same circumstances. In both cases, the women lack agency and voice due to their far lower social status and conditional access to the landed gentry, meaning they have little bargaining power or influence in romantic engagements. What is clear from the experiences of both women is the degree of passivity and confusion that tails them as they attempt to make their way through the marriage market.3. Mansfield Park (1814)She said nothing but, Sad, sad girl! in Mansfield Park, 1898. Source: British Library / FlickrMansfield Park tells the story of the classic poor relation, Fanny, cousin to the wealthy Bertram Family, who, unlike her wealthy relatives, has grown up in a household far too full of children and short of money to expect much from life. While the Bertram family could easily gift a little of their fortune to the Price family and lift them out of poverty, they choose instead to offer a new life to a single child and raise them on their own estate, Mansfield Park.Distinctive from Austens other novels, Mansfield Park takes a more complicated route from love to marriage, allocating Edmund, Fannys object of desire, to her in ways that sometimes seem outside of his wishes. Unusual, too, in this novel is the status of our protagonist, Fanny, as less of a heroine and more of an outsider or cuckoo in the nest.Fascinating also are the undercurrents of lust and scandal richly depicted throughout the plot in Mansfield Park. These occur not simply as reported events happening only on the periphery to individuals we would expect nothing less from but as actions and urges that all the characters, excluding Fanny, are unable to resist.A Dark TaleI did not know which way to look in Mansfield Park, 1898. Source: British Library /FlickrNotable Postcolonial and cultural theorist Edward Said brought Austens work under the microscope when he highlighted the background of slavery and plantations that funded the lives of the Bertram family, and that goes unquestioned in the narrative. Reading classic literature through a postcolonial lens is now an expected and often necessary process for the modern reader, and the familys studied innocence when discussing overseas plantations without thinking of the humans who power them is fortunately now at odds with the way we relate to European history.However, this distant plantation, the required and risky sea crossings, and the unknown world beyond the secure walls of Mansfield Park certainly contribute to the novels darkness. So, too, does Fannys initial time with the Bertram family, sequestered in the attic rooms with nothing in the way of comfort or warmth to soothe her upon the loss of her own family. The motif of the attic and the estranged figure occurs often in historical literature, and here it is redolent of work such as Charlotte Bronts Jane Eyre and Emily Bronts Wuthering Heights, endowing the text with a gothic tone unmediated by humor or irony.4. Northanger Abbey (1817)Catherine grows quite a good-looking girl by Hugh Thomson in Northanger Abbey, 1897. Source: British Library / FlickrSpending a significant amount of the plot in the Bath, a city synonymous with Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey later decamps to the property from which it takes its title. As with all of Austens novels, much of the action deals with the complexities of courtship that women experienced at that time and highlights several ways in which women can be degraded through participation in the marriage economy. However, in Northanger Abbey, we also understand how income can influence mens abilities to find a match, much as is also illustrated through the character of Edmund in Mansfield Park.Catherines older brother, James, illustrates not only the centrality of finance to matrimonial matchmaking at the time that Austen wrote but also the limits for individuals to fashion their own paths beyond that which their parents had chosen for them. While James believes he has made a successful match with the glamourous and sophisticated Isabella, upon their engagement, she is revolted to discover the meager living he will be entitled to when he takes up his assigned position as a member of the clergy. The choices Isabella subsequently makes are arguably more damaging to her than James, but Jamess narrow options are also striking and illustrate how personal interests and passions have no influence on the ways in which even the child of a wealthy family might plot their life.Society and SnobsMr. Tilney! she exclaimed by Hugh Thomson in Northanger Abbey, 1897. Source: British Library / FlickrCaught also in a misunderstanding about familial wealth and treated with equal disdain is Catherine. At first, the darling of the Tilney family upon her attachment to their younger son, Henry, and entertained due to their overestimation of her family fortune, Catherine is abruptly and rudely cast out of Northanger Abbey once rumors about her familys destitution spread. While neither poverty nor remarkable wealth accurately describes her family circumstances, the shift from being welcome to unwelcome illustrates exactly how integral ones finances were to parental consent being granted for an engagement. In this sense, both Catherine and her brother James plot courses through the novel in which they are marginalized not due to poverty but due to their lower positions within the gentry.With the narrative frequently referencing the gothic and gruesome literature Catherine and her female friends read, Austen is understood, through her own character and plot development, to follow the basic structure of the gothic novel. But in the case of Northanger Abbey, a romantic heroine confronted by horror is made distinctly pedestrian. Catherine is merely a sensible young woman caught temporarily in delusion before learning that the evil she is witness to is merely the self-serving kind that has seemingly infected all of society.While Austen plays with class and status through her peripheral female characters in Emma, here, the author allows Jamess circumstances to foreshadow Catherines, making a wider statement about society, inheritance, and fortune than one specifically pertaining to women.5. Pride and Prejudice (1813)You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you by C. E. Brock in Pride and Prejudice, 1895. Source: British Library / FlickrPride and Prejudice focuses on Austens probably most lovable character, Elizabeth Bennet, who, despite her judgmental tendencies, is guided predominantly by a love of goodness and fairness and is rewarded for her personal development and growth at the conclusion of the novel. While Elizabeth, often known as Lizzie, charms readers with her quick wit and noble sensibilities, there is a darker background to the plot due to the financial circumstances of entailment, which means that the family home will pass to their dislikable cousin, Mr. Collins, upon the death of Lizzies father.If Pride and Prejudice has a moral lesson, it is that superficial evaluations of goodness often lead to misunderstandings, with Austen instead promoting a more careful search for a quieter and less boastful kind of virtue. This distinction is most apparent in a comparison of the performative morality of Mr. Collins, which contrasts heavily with the quiet diligence of Mr. Darcy. While Mr. Darcy initially fails to measure up to Lizzies exacting standards due to his awkwardness in social occasions being read by her as rudeness, Mr. Collins and his vocal expressions of his goodness and right behavior are equally, and eventually, far more repulsive to her.Virtue as ProtectionI never saw any one so shocked by C. E. Brock in Pride & Prejudice, 1895. Source: British Library / FlickrPresent too in Pride and Prejudice is Austens taste for scandal, in this case, enacted by Lizzies younger and far less moral sister, Lydia, whose mother has failed to effectively teach her right from wrong. As is often the case in Austens fiction, there is the presence of a wolf in sheeps clothing, or undetected rake operating within society, and is so often the case within her plots, a less guarded woman is undone by his seduction, leading to personal compromise and great shame for the family should actions continue unchecked.Despite the turmoil that plagues the characters throughout the novel, ultimately, those who adhere to true morality and goodness are well rewarded, while those who either disregard or only pay lip service to virtue are thoroughly punished. While this pattern gives very little credence to the gray areas and personal freedoms we value more completely in modern literature, Austens skill at building characters and weaving romance and conflict into her plots ensures that the pleasure of the novel endures.6. Persuasion (1817)Placed it before Anne by Hugh Thomson in Persuasion, 1897. Source: British Library / FlickrWhile Pride and Prejudice engages closely and often humorously with the question of true morality, Persuasion considers the consequences of doing the right thing when the right thing is subsequently shown to be wrong. Following the fortunes of Anne, who has previously been convinced to break her engagement to Captain Wentworth, readers first understand her enduring heartbreak at giving up on what she wanted before witnessing the two thrown together once more.Persuasion is interesting in the sense that it challenges ideas of social approval, suggesting that ones own integrity is more valuable than the questionable ideas of those surrounding you. This is seen not only in the case of Anne but in Austens drawing of Annes vain and embarrassing father, Mr. Sir Walter Elliot, who cares little for substance and everything for social status.The Value of Logic and ReasonLooking on her with a face as pallid as her own by Hugh Thomson in Persuasion, 1897. Source: British Library / FlickrAustens criticism of acting against sense and in service of social influence is emphasized in the fate of Louisa, who sustains a serious injury when jumping from the Cobb wall at Lyme Regis. While Wentworth will take this catastrophe as a consequence of his own bad advice to Louisa, in which he suggested one should never be easily persuaded by another, Louisas refusal to take care, despite the imploration of others, reads also as the actions of a woman caught up in impressing those around her, with no concern for safety.In this way, Austen makes an argument not so much for unrestricted willfulness as she does for careful consideration in accordance with what one knows to be right and true. This is not the advocacy of self-serving choices but an argument for the consideration of the unreliability of certain influences and ideas. Themes such as these reflect the dominant cultural ideas that would have influenced Austen, often termed the Age of Reason, and also expressed in the work of thinkers such as Alexander Pope and the author of Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift.