Agonistic Structure in British Novels of the Nineteenth Century, with a Case Study of Jane Austen
What is it about?
We analyze the characteristics of protagonists and antagonists in Victorian novels and then offer a case study of protagonists and antagonists in the novels of Jane Austen. The characteristics include personality factors, preferences in mates, motives. We also correlate those characteristics with the emotional responses of readers. The characteristics are measured on Likert scales.
Why is it important?
The characteristics we measure are abstracted from a model of human nature that includes basic motives, mating strategies, gender differences, and personality characteristics. The idea of protagonists and antagonists is drawn from literary theory and incorporated into the model of human nature. We demonstrate the evolved emotional biases that influence the organization of fictional characteristics. We explain the biases by invoking ideas about evolved human dispositions for forming cooperative social groups.