What definition provides the most accurate description of a novel of manners?
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Answer: C. A novel that explores the behavior and values of a particular class of people
Explanation
A novel of manners specifically focuses on the customs, values, behavioral codes, and class expectations of a distinct social stratum. The correct answer accurately captures how these novels scrutinize the social rules governing everyday interactions. Authors in this genre use delicate irony to examine whether characters successfully navigate polite society's strict behavioral codes. The novel of manners gained immense popularity during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in British literature. Jane Austen is widely regarded as the supreme master of this genre, focusing on country gentry and marriage markets. These narratives typically unfold within confined domestic settings where subtle breaches of etiquette carry major social consequences.
Option A is incorrect because the genre satirizes various social strata rather than exclusively attacking the lower classes. Option B is wrong as novels of manners are not geographically restricted solely to eighteenth-century continental Europe. Option D is too broad because the genre emphasizes polite social behavior rather than overt, violent class conflict.
- Subject
- English
- Category
- English Literature
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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