»To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.«

Abstract

Focussing on the double meaning of the concept of »movement« as both physical and emotional movement within the interdisciplinary frame of literary and dance studies, this paper examines the complex connections between the representation of emotional and dance movements in Jane Austen’s novel ‚Pride and Prejudice‘ (1813) by tracing an aesthetics of restraint, reticence and control (in compliance with the code of conduct promoted by contemporary dance treatises) in Austen’s writing: in the depiction of emotions in her text, in (the delineation of) her characters’ physical and emotional behaviour, and in the almost complete absence of references to dance per se and to dancemovements in her dance scenes. Dance scenarios are mainly used to provide implicit kinetic and cultural information for the representation of her characters’ sentiments.