Jane Austen on Nature

Jane Austen''s heroines respond to the power of the natural world, seeking comfort in nature''s calm or referencing trees and "verdure"--meaning fresh greenness and fertility--in relation to their awakening self-knowledge and, in most, their sexuality.

This book focuses on interactions between Austen''s heroines and uncontrollable forces of nature. Gender and nature are interwoven; some upper...