Setting

Setting is essentially the time and place in which a literary text or a play takes place. This includes the time period, the country, the season, and the length of the period of time over which the story takes place. Setting has many properties that can help convey certain moods or tones to a story. For example, if a scene is presented in a stormy setting, the reader can expect a negative event to occur. Likewise, if a scene takes place in a bright, summery day, the reader can expect a positive event to occur. However, sometimes an author or a playwright can set up a dreary scene and present a positive event in that scene to convey irony. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Austen makes very good use of setting. For example, as she places her novel in a season in which it rains, this helps a very key characteristic of Mrs. Bennett come to light. When Mrs. Bennett strategically sends Jane to the Bingley's on horseback in the rain knowing that Jane will fall ill and thus she will have to extend her stay at the Bingley's, just as Mrs. Bennett wants. Another helpful use of setting in the novel is the time period in which it takes place. Since the novel takes place in 18th century England, Austen is then able to amplify the submissive role of women in society since the novel takes place in a society in which women are especially submissive.