Gender Roles
_ During Jane Austen’s era, which was in the late 18th/early
19th century, the roles for each gender were very simple. All that woman looked for were husbands
(especially of a good fortune), and nice, secure homes. Almost every mother’s
goal was to have her daughters married. Men had to be well off and presentable
as well. The most important thing during this era, where one would be
recognized socially and economically, was marriage. Both genders wanted to get
married. Jane Austen even says this in the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth
universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must
be in want of a wife."
Men were supposed to have good fortune, while women were supposed to have good manners. Another example from Pride and Prejudice on marriage and gender roles would be Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Even though she didn’t really have a thing for Mr. Collins, Charlotte married him essentially for social-economic purposes. She was thought of to be past "marrying age," and he said he could care for her. So, not only did he offer her the name of being "married," but he offered her security economically by promising to support and provide for her.
Gender roles today are much different from how it was back in Jane Austen’s era, so it would be viewed much differently to modern audiences today than to the ones in the late 18th/early 19th century. To modern people, what the characters did would be strange and off-base. Everybody now has different thoughts on the basis of gender. Women, these days, don’t sit at home, dependent on their parents until a man comes along to marry them. In today’s society, women look for a lot more than just a husband. Now women are looked at as equals; they want jobs, an education, and to aim high. Men would also look at former gender roles with ridiculousness, because modern men do not have to conform with the quote from the start of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; a man in possession of a good fortune does not have to want a wife. Marriage today is now mainly about love. It’s hardly ever acknowledged for the purpose of social status or economic reasons. Elizabeth Bennet seems to foreshadow modern womanhood today; she refused to sacrifice her self-respect and happiness for money, marriage, or a man.
Men were supposed to have good fortune, while women were supposed to have good manners. Another example from Pride and Prejudice on marriage and gender roles would be Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Even though she didn’t really have a thing for Mr. Collins, Charlotte married him essentially for social-economic purposes. She was thought of to be past "marrying age," and he said he could care for her. So, not only did he offer her the name of being "married," but he offered her security economically by promising to support and provide for her.
Gender roles today are much different from how it was back in Jane Austen’s era, so it would be viewed much differently to modern audiences today than to the ones in the late 18th/early 19th century. To modern people, what the characters did would be strange and off-base. Everybody now has different thoughts on the basis of gender. Women, these days, don’t sit at home, dependent on their parents until a man comes along to marry them. In today’s society, women look for a lot more than just a husband. Now women are looked at as equals; they want jobs, an education, and to aim high. Men would also look at former gender roles with ridiculousness, because modern men do not have to conform with the quote from the start of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; a man in possession of a good fortune does not have to want a wife. Marriage today is now mainly about love. It’s hardly ever acknowledged for the purpose of social status or economic reasons. Elizabeth Bennet seems to foreshadow modern womanhood today; she refused to sacrifice her self-respect and happiness for money, marriage, or a man.
Education/ Accomplishment
_ “All of Jane Austen’s novels, and many of her minor works, unfinished works and juvenilia, are about education.” – D.D.Devlin, Jane Austen and Education
To understand better how education was treated in Jane Austen’s time, we should first understand how society worked economically speaking, and what the roles of men and women were. Since the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the dominant order in England was based on agrarian landed property. These properties were developed by capitalist practices, such as investments and improvements in the land. In the upper classes and the gentry, the first son would inherit his father’s property, the second may inherit his mother property, if she had any, and being so they would be part of the landed gentry. The other sons, though, would have to join the army, the navy, the clergy, or to become a lawyer. Gentlemen could also become surgeons and physicians – apothecaries and attorneys were lower class – and sometimes a banker or rich merchant. Women had no profession in Jane Austen’s time, but they had also an important role in society. They were necessary in the transmission of property in three ways: biological reproduction, capital investment, and social culture. The women were responsible for providing a male heir, and they were educated not to produce any illegitimate child. They were also important as a way to bring capital or property to marriage, if they had any fortune. Cultural capital was also a way to contribute to the marriage and society in general. It was also necessary that women should know how to behave in society, not using money recklessly, nor taking part in improper entertainments or in illicit amours. They should be moral and able to supervise the education of their children.
Men and women started their education at an early age, learning literacy and numeracy. They were usually taught at home by a governess or a tutor. After that, the education was different for boys and girls. Boys would usually go to a preparatory school from 8 to 13 year, and them they would go for 5 years to a public school, and sometimes continue their studies at a university, in case they did not join the navy or the army. They were offered knowledge of Greek and Latin, History, Geography, Science, Mathematics and Theology.
Women education was mainly divided in four areas: schooling, household management, religious instruction and accomplishments. All these areas were taught either by a governess – lived in the family for a small salary, bed and board –, a tutor – visited the family and were pay per lesson –, or attendance in a day or boarding school. Schooling consisted on the early phase of learning literacy and numeracy. Household management was the ability of participating or simply supervising food preparation, washing, needlework and care of the sick, young and the aged. Religious instruction consisted of participation in the family’s church. Accomplishments would include the knowledge of dancing, singing and playing music – important to display the woman’s body – and also knowledge of drawing, painting, modern languages (French and Italian, mainly), decorative needlework, and the knowledge of ‘belles-lettres’ (the better sort of reading, such as essays, drama, poetry and travelogues) and “books of the day” (contemporary publications) – accomplishments that would demonstrate taste and cultural distinction. An accomplished woman would also know the social arts of conversation and letter-writing.
If a woman was not accomplished, she could be either merely “notable” – a women who knew little more than domestic economy – or “learned” and “bluestocking” – a women who had knowledge of male education, which was unfit for a woman. Mary Wollstonecraft is an example of a “learned” woman, and in her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), she criticizes the education of women through accomplishments. One of her arguments was that men could never know if women were not really capable of leaning the subjects they did, because women were never given a chance. Besides that, she argued that women could be more useful to society if men stopped to treat them as weak and incapable. Society would have much to gain and little to lose with the improvement of 50% of the population’s mind. Another of her arguments was that of women being denied the use of God-given reason, which would consequently bar them from spiritual salvation.
Jane Austen once wrote to her niece Fanny Knight: “Pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked”. Therefore, she did not create heroines that were perfectly educated. She wanted to illustrate her belief that good or bad education guarantees nothing, and that either a poorly or perfectly educated young woman are apt to make mistakes. Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse and both of the Dashwood sisters are examples of well educated heroine that made mistakes by judging people wrongly. Unlike to her contemporaries, Austen also did not usually talk about “fallen” women and did not emphasize the ruin of the ones who made great mistakes. She mentions fallen women in Sense and Sensibility - Colonel Brandon’s first beloved and her daughter born out of wedlock, who is also pregnant and unmarried – and also in Mansfield Park, through the elopement of Maria Rushworth, a married woman, with another man, but the theme is not usually highlighted in her novels. By creating characters that are prone to make mistakes regardless of their good or bad education, Jane Austen is also trying to educate her own readers and alert them about the dangers of the real world.
Education and Accomplishments in Modern Days
It is difficult to find out what it means nowadays to be an accomplished woman. There is no convention about it, and different people value different things in the other. We may say that some men still value the women who know how to take care of the house, cook, look after the children, but others value more a high-educated woman, with a major degree, for example. Some men would look for more independent women, the ones that were called “bluestocking” in Jane Austen’s time, but some still prefer the submissive kind of wife. When it comes to what would be the equivalent for a “bluestocking” nowadays, it is also hard to find. A few years ago we could say that there was prejudice against women working as engeeners or drivers, for instance, but nowadays there is scarcely any prejudice left.
“[Miss Bingley speaking]‘A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.’ ‘All this she must possess,’ added Darcy, ‘and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.’” (Pride and Prejudice, p.27)
To understand better how education was treated in Jane Austen’s time, we should first understand how society worked economically speaking, and what the roles of men and women were. Since the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the dominant order in England was based on agrarian landed property. These properties were developed by capitalist practices, such as investments and improvements in the land. In the upper classes and the gentry, the first son would inherit his father’s property, the second may inherit his mother property, if she had any, and being so they would be part of the landed gentry. The other sons, though, would have to join the army, the navy, the clergy, or to become a lawyer. Gentlemen could also become surgeons and physicians – apothecaries and attorneys were lower class – and sometimes a banker or rich merchant. Women had no profession in Jane Austen’s time, but they had also an important role in society. They were necessary in the transmission of property in three ways: biological reproduction, capital investment, and social culture. The women were responsible for providing a male heir, and they were educated not to produce any illegitimate child. They were also important as a way to bring capital or property to marriage, if they had any fortune. Cultural capital was also a way to contribute to the marriage and society in general. It was also necessary that women should know how to behave in society, not using money recklessly, nor taking part in improper entertainments or in illicit amours. They should be moral and able to supervise the education of their children.
Men and women started their education at an early age, learning literacy and numeracy. They were usually taught at home by a governess or a tutor. After that, the education was different for boys and girls. Boys would usually go to a preparatory school from 8 to 13 year, and them they would go for 5 years to a public school, and sometimes continue their studies at a university, in case they did not join the navy or the army. They were offered knowledge of Greek and Latin, History, Geography, Science, Mathematics and Theology.
Women education was mainly divided in four areas: schooling, household management, religious instruction and accomplishments. All these areas were taught either by a governess – lived in the family for a small salary, bed and board –, a tutor – visited the family and were pay per lesson –, or attendance in a day or boarding school. Schooling consisted on the early phase of learning literacy and numeracy. Household management was the ability of participating or simply supervising food preparation, washing, needlework and care of the sick, young and the aged. Religious instruction consisted of participation in the family’s church. Accomplishments would include the knowledge of dancing, singing and playing music – important to display the woman’s body – and also knowledge of drawing, painting, modern languages (French and Italian, mainly), decorative needlework, and the knowledge of ‘belles-lettres’ (the better sort of reading, such as essays, drama, poetry and travelogues) and “books of the day” (contemporary publications) – accomplishments that would demonstrate taste and cultural distinction. An accomplished woman would also know the social arts of conversation and letter-writing.
If a woman was not accomplished, she could be either merely “notable” – a women who knew little more than domestic economy – or “learned” and “bluestocking” – a women who had knowledge of male education, which was unfit for a woman. Mary Wollstonecraft is an example of a “learned” woman, and in her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), she criticizes the education of women through accomplishments. One of her arguments was that men could never know if women were not really capable of leaning the subjects they did, because women were never given a chance. Besides that, she argued that women could be more useful to society if men stopped to treat them as weak and incapable. Society would have much to gain and little to lose with the improvement of 50% of the population’s mind. Another of her arguments was that of women being denied the use of God-given reason, which would consequently bar them from spiritual salvation.
Jane Austen once wrote to her niece Fanny Knight: “Pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked”. Therefore, she did not create heroines that were perfectly educated. She wanted to illustrate her belief that good or bad education guarantees nothing, and that either a poorly or perfectly educated young woman are apt to make mistakes. Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse and both of the Dashwood sisters are examples of well educated heroine that made mistakes by judging people wrongly. Unlike to her contemporaries, Austen also did not usually talk about “fallen” women and did not emphasize the ruin of the ones who made great mistakes. She mentions fallen women in Sense and Sensibility - Colonel Brandon’s first beloved and her daughter born out of wedlock, who is also pregnant and unmarried – and also in Mansfield Park, through the elopement of Maria Rushworth, a married woman, with another man, but the theme is not usually highlighted in her novels. By creating characters that are prone to make mistakes regardless of their good or bad education, Jane Austen is also trying to educate her own readers and alert them about the dangers of the real world.
Education and Accomplishments in Modern Days
It is difficult to find out what it means nowadays to be an accomplished woman. There is no convention about it, and different people value different things in the other. We may say that some men still value the women who know how to take care of the house, cook, look after the children, but others value more a high-educated woman, with a major degree, for example. Some men would look for more independent women, the ones that were called “bluestocking” in Jane Austen’s time, but some still prefer the submissive kind of wife. When it comes to what would be the equivalent for a “bluestocking” nowadays, it is also hard to find. A few years ago we could say that there was prejudice against women working as engeeners or drivers, for instance, but nowadays there is scarcely any prejudice left.
“[Miss Bingley speaking]‘A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.’ ‘All this she must possess,’ added Darcy, ‘and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.’” (Pride and Prejudice, p.27)
Class Consciousness
_
In Jane Austen’s time the English society was mostly based
on a social hierarchy. People knew their place or their rank and acted
accordingly. Everything that one did back then was a reflection of how others
perceived them in their social class. Whether one was brought up in a wealthy
part of society, their schooling, the land they owned and the family they
married into were the main things that determined what their rank in society
would be. Even things as simple as the way you dress, the way you address
others, or whether or not you courtesy/bowed to others would show what your
social class status was. People in Jane Austen’s time had to be very careful of
how they acted, otherwise their social status would take a downfall because of
it.
When we think of class consciousness in Jane Austen’s time, we basically think of rank in terms of birth and family. This means that a person’s class was already determined for them based on the family they were born into. After marrying it could change depending on if you married up or down. People seemed to be accepting of the class rank back then and didn’t give much resistance to it, but if you were of a lower class status/rank then you definitely would try and marry into a higher rank to better the chance of survival for yourself and family. According to Jane Austen’s site (http://janeausten.org/rank-and-class.asp), there are three major ranks among classes. The first and most important is Royalty. This class consisted of the king, queen, prince, and princess. When addressing people of this rank you would call them “your majesty” or “your highness.” These were the people that were more than likely born in to the social class standing and were to be treated with the utmost respect and would never consider marrying down because it would ruin the family’s rank. The second rank was Nobility. This class consisted of the duke marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. When you address these people you would use “Lord/Lady.” These were the people that were well off but they could stand to marry up in order to increase the social status. They worked alongside the people of royalty but they were still considered beneath them. The third rank would be the Commoners. This class consisted of the baronet, knight, and landed-gentry (land-owners). When you address these people you would call them “Sir/Lady” or “Mister/Mrs.” These people had more to work towards because they were not born into a family with wealth, they didn’t own much land, and their education was limited. So if they have the chance to marry into a family of higher social class they were definitely encouraged to do so. The fourth rank was of other Gentleman. This rank consisted of affluent businessman, navy and army officers, and clergymen. They were to be addressed as “Mister” or the rank of their title, i.e. “Colonel, Captain, etc.” It was a very important thing to address people of different rankings accordingly because it showed a sign of respect.
Jane Austen’s novels showed a great deal of class consciousness and how one was either born into wealth or they married into a wealthy family. In Sense and Sensibility we get a glimpse of class when she tells us that when Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, his estate would be left to his one and only son by his first wife, John Dashwood, but from his second marriage his three daughters were only left a small amount of income, so they had to think more towards marrying into a wealthy family. Since his two daughters, Elinor and Marianne, were not left much they were expected to marry men with a higher status. Another example of class status would be in Pride and Prejudice where Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth because of her lower class status and her looks. “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men...” (Austen, Pride and Prejudice). After having attended another ball, Darcy started to take notice of Elizabeth despite her class standing. He noticed that she was more like him than he initially thought because he actually started to listen to her talk. As noted by Gray, the editor of the 2001 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc . edition of Pride and Prejudice:
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. […] His sense of her inferiority – of its being a degradation – of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. (Gray (Ed.), 2001, p. 125)
Also, in Emma, the social class was brought up at the beginning of the novel as opposed to being a theme throughout. Emma was financially well off and didn’t have the need to marry into a wealthy family, but her being of a higher class made her more of a nuisance to others because she treated others of lower class differently. She befriended Harriet, a girl of lower class status, because she admired her beauty and the fact that she adored and listened to everything she said. “She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance, and introduce her into good society; she would form her opinions and her manners” (Austen, Emma). She kept Harriet from being with her true love because she thought that she could fix her up with Mr. Elton who would increase her class status. He didn’t want Harriet, he wanted Emma, and the fact that she didn’t realize this turned her away from him even more. In Persuasion, Anne was the victim of persuasion because she was expected to uphold her familial duties by refusing to marry her fiancé Captain Wentworth. She was of a higher class rank than he was and her family didn’t see the match between them being a good one.
She was persuaded to believe the engagement a wrong thing- indiscreet, improper, and hardly capable of success and not deserving it. But it was not a merely selfish caution, under which she acted in putting an end to it […] The belief of being prudent, and self-denying, principally for his advantage, was her chief consolation, under the misery of a parting – final parting; and every consolation was required, for she had to encounter all the additional pain of opinions, on his side, totally unconvinced and unbending, and of his feeling himself ill-used by so forced a relinquishment. – He had left the country in consequence. (Austen, Persuasion)
Anne was persuaded by Lady Russell to let go of the one she loved and Anne let him go for her own reasons. But after getting a chance to see each other seven years later and him learning of her good character, they ended up back together. He earned enough money from victories in the Royal Navy and prize money for capturing enemy ships to make him wealthy enough to be acceptable in her family’s eyes. Class consciousness was a big part of how people were seen, how relationships formed, and how the family turned out in the end.
I think that for the modern audience class consciousness still exists and will probably always exist. We have the President and his family who would probably be considered part of the Royalty ranking. They only interact with people of higher status unless they are doing something to promote peace among other people, then they may interact with the commoners. We have celebrities who would be considered nobilities. They are also well off but they are not of the same class rank as the president and would probably not marry down in class standing because they would have to worry about their spouse taking their money in the case of a divorce. Sometimes they may marry a person that they have known since before they became famous only because they have history. Then we have the common people who still find themselves in a class ranking order of upper, middle and lower class. They tend to separate in terms their jobs, education, and the type of housing they own. People tend not to look for the good inside of others anymore; it is more or less about what they can gain from the connection to the person that they are with. It may not be the case for everybody, but it still stands to be true that class consciousness is a thing of the past, present, and future.
When we think of class consciousness in Jane Austen’s time, we basically think of rank in terms of birth and family. This means that a person’s class was already determined for them based on the family they were born into. After marrying it could change depending on if you married up or down. People seemed to be accepting of the class rank back then and didn’t give much resistance to it, but if you were of a lower class status/rank then you definitely would try and marry into a higher rank to better the chance of survival for yourself and family. According to Jane Austen’s site (http://janeausten.org/rank-and-class.asp), there are three major ranks among classes. The first and most important is Royalty. This class consisted of the king, queen, prince, and princess. When addressing people of this rank you would call them “your majesty” or “your highness.” These were the people that were more than likely born in to the social class standing and were to be treated with the utmost respect and would never consider marrying down because it would ruin the family’s rank. The second rank was Nobility. This class consisted of the duke marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. When you address these people you would use “Lord/Lady.” These were the people that were well off but they could stand to marry up in order to increase the social status. They worked alongside the people of royalty but they were still considered beneath them. The third rank would be the Commoners. This class consisted of the baronet, knight, and landed-gentry (land-owners). When you address these people you would call them “Sir/Lady” or “Mister/Mrs.” These people had more to work towards because they were not born into a family with wealth, they didn’t own much land, and their education was limited. So if they have the chance to marry into a family of higher social class they were definitely encouraged to do so. The fourth rank was of other Gentleman. This rank consisted of affluent businessman, navy and army officers, and clergymen. They were to be addressed as “Mister” or the rank of their title, i.e. “Colonel, Captain, etc.” It was a very important thing to address people of different rankings accordingly because it showed a sign of respect.
Jane Austen’s novels showed a great deal of class consciousness and how one was either born into wealth or they married into a wealthy family. In Sense and Sensibility we get a glimpse of class when she tells us that when Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, his estate would be left to his one and only son by his first wife, John Dashwood, but from his second marriage his three daughters were only left a small amount of income, so they had to think more towards marrying into a wealthy family. Since his two daughters, Elinor and Marianne, were not left much they were expected to marry men with a higher status. Another example of class status would be in Pride and Prejudice where Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth because of her lower class status and her looks. “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men...” (Austen, Pride and Prejudice). After having attended another ball, Darcy started to take notice of Elizabeth despite her class standing. He noticed that she was more like him than he initially thought because he actually started to listen to her talk. As noted by Gray, the editor of the 2001 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc . edition of Pride and Prejudice:
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. […] His sense of her inferiority – of its being a degradation – of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. (Gray (Ed.), 2001, p. 125)
Also, in Emma, the social class was brought up at the beginning of the novel as opposed to being a theme throughout. Emma was financially well off and didn’t have the need to marry into a wealthy family, but her being of a higher class made her more of a nuisance to others because she treated others of lower class differently. She befriended Harriet, a girl of lower class status, because she admired her beauty and the fact that she adored and listened to everything she said. “She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance, and introduce her into good society; she would form her opinions and her manners” (Austen, Emma). She kept Harriet from being with her true love because she thought that she could fix her up with Mr. Elton who would increase her class status. He didn’t want Harriet, he wanted Emma, and the fact that she didn’t realize this turned her away from him even more. In Persuasion, Anne was the victim of persuasion because she was expected to uphold her familial duties by refusing to marry her fiancé Captain Wentworth. She was of a higher class rank than he was and her family didn’t see the match between them being a good one.
She was persuaded to believe the engagement a wrong thing- indiscreet, improper, and hardly capable of success and not deserving it. But it was not a merely selfish caution, under which she acted in putting an end to it […] The belief of being prudent, and self-denying, principally for his advantage, was her chief consolation, under the misery of a parting – final parting; and every consolation was required, for she had to encounter all the additional pain of opinions, on his side, totally unconvinced and unbending, and of his feeling himself ill-used by so forced a relinquishment. – He had left the country in consequence. (Austen, Persuasion)
Anne was persuaded by Lady Russell to let go of the one she loved and Anne let him go for her own reasons. But after getting a chance to see each other seven years later and him learning of her good character, they ended up back together. He earned enough money from victories in the Royal Navy and prize money for capturing enemy ships to make him wealthy enough to be acceptable in her family’s eyes. Class consciousness was a big part of how people were seen, how relationships formed, and how the family turned out in the end.
I think that for the modern audience class consciousness still exists and will probably always exist. We have the President and his family who would probably be considered part of the Royalty ranking. They only interact with people of higher status unless they are doing something to promote peace among other people, then they may interact with the commoners. We have celebrities who would be considered nobilities. They are also well off but they are not of the same class rank as the president and would probably not marry down in class standing because they would have to worry about their spouse taking their money in the case of a divorce. Sometimes they may marry a person that they have known since before they became famous only because they have history. Then we have the common people who still find themselves in a class ranking order of upper, middle and lower class. They tend to separate in terms their jobs, education, and the type of housing they own. People tend not to look for the good inside of others anymore; it is more or less about what they can gain from the connection to the person that they are with. It may not be the case for everybody, but it still stands to be true that class consciousness is a thing of the past, present, and future.
Country vs. City Life
The emergence of the industrial
revolution led to an influx of people into cities all over Europe. Consequently a huge rift was placed between
the urban and rural lifestyles. Jane
Austen highlights this dynamic between country and city life in many of her
novels, particularly in Northanger Abbey.
Catherine Morland, a small-town native, vacations in Bath with her
neighbors and is exposed to a more intense and pretentious standard of living,
which is hinted at in Mr. Tilney’s disregard for formal introductions and/or
conversations. Henry is therefore
Austen’s outlet, by which she expresses her satirical commentary on the era’s
standard of propriety and its sometimes tedious and unnecessary attributes.
Courtship/Standards of Behavior
Courtship in Jane Austen’s time was in most cases
about climbing up the social ladder.
Women during that time had one goal: to find a husband. There is a quote
from Jane Austen that expresses a common viewpoint of the time: "It
is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Austen uses this quote in Pride and Prejudice, as something Mrs.
Bennet would probably say to her daughters.
During Austen’s time it was very hard to get to know a person during courtship, because there were rules to courtship. These rules included: Formal means of address, discreet conversations, no intimate touching, no correspondence, and no gift-giving. Unrelated and single males and females were not allowed to be left alone together. Since conversations between the two individuals had to be discreet, they had to interpret each other's facial expression in order to understand how they felt about one another; they couldn’t openly come out and say it. If the two individuals wanted to talk to each other, they would have to be chaperoned. The most physical contact two individuals would have with each other would be through dancing. Dancing was an important function during Austen’s time, allowing couples to come together, converse, and even touch. We can see that Austen includes this in her novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
Since correspondence and gift-giving were prohibited, any form of exchange between two individuals would cause people to think that they are a couple, including private letter writting, which can be seen in Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. In Sense and Sensibility, both Marianne and Elinor exchange letters with Edward and Mr. Willoughby. Also, when Marianne accepts a horse from Willoughby, Elinor assumes that a secret engagement has been made, although at that point it is unclear what is going on between Willoughby and Marianne. If a man were to propose, the proper way to go about it was to ask the lady’s parents, that way they would be allowed to be alone together so the proposal could be made. Otherwise as stated before, the couple was not allowed to be alone together. Courtship in Austen’s time was very different, but thanks to her many novels, we as readers get a little understanding of what courtship was like back then.
In modern times, courtship is completely different. In today’s society, dating would be the equivalent to courtship. But even dating is different than courtship because there really aren’t any universal rules for dating. If there are any rules, it is made up between the two individuals and possibly their parents and/or society/culture. In today’s society, most couples are allowed to date openly and have contact with each other, with the exception of some cultures. Couples are allowed to be known as couples whether there is an intent to get married or not. They are allowed to see each other whenever they please without any kind of restriction or chaperoning. In today’s society, two people exchanging promise rings would be like the private letters which were exchanged by Willoughby and Marianne. Both of these acts show that the two individuals are seriously committed to each other. When it comes to proposals, it’s not mandatory for the guy to ask the girl’s parent’s like it was in Austen’s time, but it is a tradition that many people still follow today.
During Austen’s time it was very hard to get to know a person during courtship, because there were rules to courtship. These rules included: Formal means of address, discreet conversations, no intimate touching, no correspondence, and no gift-giving. Unrelated and single males and females were not allowed to be left alone together. Since conversations between the two individuals had to be discreet, they had to interpret each other's facial expression in order to understand how they felt about one another; they couldn’t openly come out and say it. If the two individuals wanted to talk to each other, they would have to be chaperoned. The most physical contact two individuals would have with each other would be through dancing. Dancing was an important function during Austen’s time, allowing couples to come together, converse, and even touch. We can see that Austen includes this in her novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
Since correspondence and gift-giving were prohibited, any form of exchange between two individuals would cause people to think that they are a couple, including private letter writting, which can be seen in Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. In Sense and Sensibility, both Marianne and Elinor exchange letters with Edward and Mr. Willoughby. Also, when Marianne accepts a horse from Willoughby, Elinor assumes that a secret engagement has been made, although at that point it is unclear what is going on between Willoughby and Marianne. If a man were to propose, the proper way to go about it was to ask the lady’s parents, that way they would be allowed to be alone together so the proposal could be made. Otherwise as stated before, the couple was not allowed to be alone together. Courtship in Austen’s time was very different, but thanks to her many novels, we as readers get a little understanding of what courtship was like back then.
In modern times, courtship is completely different. In today’s society, dating would be the equivalent to courtship. But even dating is different than courtship because there really aren’t any universal rules for dating. If there are any rules, it is made up between the two individuals and possibly their parents and/or society/culture. In today’s society, most couples are allowed to date openly and have contact with each other, with the exception of some cultures. Couples are allowed to be known as couples whether there is an intent to get married or not. They are allowed to see each other whenever they please without any kind of restriction or chaperoning. In today’s society, two people exchanging promise rings would be like the private letters which were exchanged by Willoughby and Marianne. Both of these acts show that the two individuals are seriously committed to each other. When it comes to proposals, it’s not mandatory for the guy to ask the girl’s parent’s like it was in Austen’s time, but it is a tradition that many people still follow today.