This book argues that there are recurrent spatiotemporal patterns and structures in six Jane Austen novels which constitute a source of enduring, if unconscious, pleasure. More precisely, the book contends that there are overlapping natural and cultural cycles which co-exist in a constantly transmuting space-time and which are counterpointed with the linearity of pivotal events that drive the plot forwards. This work examines the psychological relations to these space-time patterns of the characters, principally the heroines, focusing on the transformations of their emotional states which prompt linear leaps.
"In The Architecture of Space-Time in the Novels of Jane Austen, Ruta Baublyté Kaufmann moves away from conventional studies of the chronology of events or physical locations in literary works and brings forth an analysis of time and space in Austen's finished novels ... . Kaufmann provides insight into the way the cyclicity ... . These cycles interlock and each one marks important moments in the stories." (Layla Ferrández Melero, The British Society for Literature and Science, bsls.ac.uk, January 24, 2024)