The peculiar style of Jane Austen's novels is studied in this essay through
an analysis of two of her works: Emma and Northanger Abbey. In the case of
Emma the process of "sentimentalization" is tackled, focusing on aspects of
social conventions and social ethics, paying particular attention to the
construction of a community and the role played in it by affections, love and
marriage. In the case of Northanger Abbey the emphasis of the analysis is put
on the influence of the Gothic novel and on its nature as a satire.
