ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that English-medium schooling in postcolonial Pakistani society produces a distinctive schema of romance in women belonging to the elite sociocultural strata, which is largely based upon their keen interest in the novels of Jane Austen. Students educated in English-medium schools are predisposed to draw out similarities between the textual representations of Regency-era England and the prevailing structures of social class in the Pakistani society. The historical literary renderings of patriarchal English society resonate with the women educated in high-end Pakistani schools, creating a distinctive reading taste that sets them apart from their peers educated in Urdu-medium schools. The proliferation of imported Anglophone romance novels in upscale bookshops and the production of Austen-inspired English fiction by Indigenous authors further validates the language-based division of social classes. This study incorporates ethnographic research with Anglophone female readers of Regency-era historical romance novels, a new subculture that has emerged in urban Pakistan. My ethnographic analysis focuses on the significance of the role of English-medium education in the formation of a romance disposition.
