In 1753, the earl of Chesterfield writes to his son that in his whole life, he was never able to meet a woman possessing reason or consideration, or behaving consequently for twenty-four hours. In his view, sensible men do only dally with women as they in truth do only possess two passions: love and vanity.This study examines Jane Austen´s representation of morality and conduct in her two novels Mansfield Park (1814) and Persuasion (1818) by the use of the conduct books read and used by the people of the Victorian time.

Svenja Strohmeier was born in Gehrden, Germany, in 1988. In 2008, she started to study English and History at the University of Hildesheim in order to become a teacher. There, she taught about morality and conduct at the English Institute of Literature and Language, in 2013. In August 2013, she will continue her education as a teacher in a Hanoverian school at the Realschule for English and History.