Northern California Region: Austen's Forgivable Rakes (VIRTUAL)

Austen's Forgivable Rakes

What do Austen’s novels tell us about attitudes toward rakishness? This talk by Rachel Gevlin will consider Austen’s most famous rakish figures—John Willoughby, Henry Crawford, and George Wickham—and explore each novel’s narrative handling of these men’s sexual transgressions. Rather than excoriate rakish behavior, Austen’s novels present these characters with various forgiving conclusions—conclusions that appear to promote sympathy toward men’s sexual missteps that are not afforded to women.

Gevlin is an assistant professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on 18th-century literature, literary theory, and women writers. Her book project explores representations of marital disunion in the 18th-century novel, and her writing on Austen has appeared or is forthcoming in English Literary History, Persuasions, and Persuasions On-Line. She has given many presentations on Austen to  JASNA regions and was a breakout speaker at the 2023, 2024, and 2025 AGMs. In 2025, she was the JASNA International Visitor.

Register now for this free event!