I felt further away from the men of P, than other JA novels. Without turning this into an "Austenuations" post, there are men who have more of a narrative presence in P&P amd S&S, etc. Most of you, I'm sure, can draw examples from the other works of male near-bonding, male comraderie, and male-female emotional intimacy. But I get little in P. Admiral Croft, at times, is more of a presence than FW, and Mr. Eliot's sociability has such an impact because the other men seem ghostly (exception, the foppery of SW).

In this, her last novel, JA has moved farther away from the male consciousness than ever before. Granted, JA perhaps has had had as her primary interest the exploration of the female consciousness in a world where power is held by men. All well and good. But she seemed more interested in the male make up in earlier novels. This is not to disparage P -- I've enjoyed it, umm, for the most part. But P is Anne's show all the way. JA spends more time in Anne's head than maybe any other character in the Austen universe. I can't think, off the top of my head, of any block of time where JA is anyone else's head.