Progress 13

Research Plan

• Statement of purpose (what you hope to show/discover)

The purpose of this textual analysis study will be to describe the three different game theory strategies for Jane Bennett, Elisabeth Bennett and Lydia Bennett to use in marriages in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

• Detailed statement of your research question

It is true that the women characters in Pride and Prejudice use game theory in their marriages, but they use different strategies to manipulate marriages. Therefore, what strategies do Jane Bennett, Elisabeth Bennett and Lydia Bennett in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice engage in game theory in marriages?

• List of the information you need to gather

1.     The definition of game theory

2.     The previous arguments from other scholars which are about game theory in Pride and Prejudice.

3.     The previous arguments from other scholars which are about marriages in Pride and Prejudice.

• A preliminary list of sources.

• Primary sources (the texts you will examine)

Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice

• Secondary sources (what other people say about these texts)

The articles which are about game theory

1.     Jeremey Cagle, in Elegant Complexity: The Presence of Cold War Game Theory in Postmodern American Fiction claims that “[…] Von Neumann’s game theory, a branch of applied mathematics that schematizes human conflict and cooperation” (2). Later, game theory is used in the military in the United States Cold War.

2.     Dr. Michael Suk-Young Chew in his book Jane Austen, Game Theorist states “Game Theory considers interaction among two or more people and is built upon rational choice theory, which looks at the choice of a single individual.”

The article which is about Pride and Prejudice

3.     SUSAN ALLEN FORD analyzes in her book To Be Above Vulgar Economy": Thrifty Measures In Jane Austen's Letters (2008) that Jane Austen applies “birth of consumer society” in this book.

The articles which are about game theory and marriages in Pride and Prejudice.

4.     Daniel J. Kruger in his book Variation In Women's Mating Strategies Depicted In The Works And Words Of Jane Austen states two different attitudes towards marriages. One is active. The other one is passive.

5.     Dr. Chew in his book Jane Austen, Game Theorist (2014) states that women characters in Pride and Prejudice uses game theory in their marriages.

6.     JENNIFER SCHUESSLER in her review paper of Jane Austen, Game Theorist (2013) reinforces Dr. Chew’s opinions.

7.     Stephen Whitley argues in his book Marriage Marketplace: Marx's Theory of use and Exchange Value and the Sphere of Consumption in Jane Austen's "Emma" and "Mansfield Park" that women regards their marriage as a commercial investment.

8.     Sandra L Alagona in Revolution And Improvement In The Writings Of Jane Austin And Margaret Fuller (2011) argues that “To be a middle class white woman in early nineteenth century England and the United States meant that you lived most of your life as someone's financial dependent. (88)”

9.     Mona Scheuermann in her book Women And Money In Eighteenth-Century Fiction (1987) states that “ a man is better than money for keeping a woman socially comfortable, but that without a man, money certainly makes spinsterhood much easier than it would otherwise be. (1)”

10.  M. Zolfagharkhani and H. Ramezani in their book ‘Gaze' and 'Visuality' in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (2012) claims that “he fact that Elizabeth can both desire and be desired challenges the traditional gender roles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because it grants her a level of equality with Darcy. (5)”

11.  Sylvia N. Hamilton states in Constructing Mr. Darcy: Tradition, Gender, and Silent Spaces in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice (2008) Darcy’s personalities are the products of the social construction of gender.

12.  Jemima Khan states in her book named The Marriage Business (2012) that religions leads British Muslim men does not want to marry women in British.

• Who/what you will be studying (for example:. students in a College Composition class, how they think about the comments teachers write on their papers)

1.     Jane Bennett is not actively engaged the relationship. What she does is following Mrs. Bennett’s instructions to pursue Mr. Bingley.

2.     Elisabeth Bennett refuses others’ instructions. She decides what she must do in her relationship with Dr. Darcy.

3.     Lydia Bennett makes troubles all the time to get married George Wickham.

• Where you will collect your information (for example:. in interviews at Kean University)

Kean University’ s online library

• How many subjects you will study

Marriage; Game theory; Strategies; Pride and Prejudice (book)

• What methods you will use to conduct your study (for example:. interviews, textual analysis, discourse analysis)

Textual analysis