ethics of courtship in three novels by Anthony Trollope

Anthony Trollope's novels provide insight into the courtship rituals of the Victorian Era. Three novels in particular, Miss Mackenzie, The American Senator, and The Way We Live Now, are analyzed in this thesis. Primary emphasis is placed on the social and moral repercussions that result when women violate the subtle codes of courtship. Honesty versus lying, the difficulties of the older woman, the creation of individual identity within a restrictive society, the definition of a "lady," and the laws pertaining to marriage rights are my major focal points. Trollope rewards and punishes his female characters based on his version of Victorian moral dogma.