Later in her life Jane had to decide if she wanted to marry for money. She chose not to, this is quite a main point in the novel as the Bennet’s are trying to marry their daughters off so that they can get some money.
“A single man of large fortune – What a fine thing for our girls!”
Mrs Bennet after she heard that a new man had moved into the local area. It seems that she already wants one of her daughters to marry Mr Bingley.
It was very important for women to marry as women did not have an income as they did not have jobs, so they had to marry a man with money.
“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance”
Charlotte says this when talking about Jane getting married, it relates to Jane Austen’s experiences. Jane Austen chose to marry for money but the marriage did not last.
Marriage was important for young women, as the laws of inheritance meant that women could not inherit money or the house etc… So they must get a husband if they can inherit anything. Also women could not bring in an income either so they needed to marry a man who could support the women.
“A single man of large fortune, four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”
This is said by Mrs Bennet when she finds out about Mr Bingley moving in. She thinks that it would be a great chance for her daughters.
The dances that the women attended to were probably the best way of meeting potential husbands.
It says in the novel that Mrs Bennet’s “business of her life was to get her daughters married”. This shows the importance of marriage to Mrs Bennet, as she really wants her daughters to get married and have a good life. This is also similar to Jane Austen’s experiences as Jane’s mother was desperate for her to marry a man who had plenty of money so that Jane did not have to worry about her future.
Manners were very important as people were judged on their manners. When Mr Darcy refuses to dance with anyone, the other women find this appalling as this means that their will be a woman who will have to sit out for the dance. The rules governing dances based on Beau Nash’s ‘Rules to be observed at Bath’ say that partners had to be changed after 2 dances, same sex partners were not allowed to dance. This means that Darcy’s behaviour is considered very unfriendly.
Women in the late 18th century did not have much power as they couldn’t vote. Very few women had a job to bring in their own income. Women usually spent their time doing things such as knitting, needlework, copying out phrases in their neatest handwriting, attending dance and many other things. The women may not have has status but they did have power in other ways, like when they gossip to other women they can make everyone else think the same. An example of this is when the women are gossiping about Mr Darcy’s saying that Elizabeth is just tolerable. They are demonstrating prejudice towards Darcy. The women say things such as “Mr Darcy is not so well worth listening to” which is trying to get all the other women listening to turn against him. All of the women agree except for Jane who suggests that he is just shy. Lots of girls were sent away to boarding schools when they were young, but only if the family could afford it, Jane Austen was sent away when she was a young girl.
In the novel Jane and Elizabeth’s close relationship is very similar to the relationship that Jane Austen had with Cassandra her sister. Elizabeth and Jane would tell each other everything and could trust each other, just like Jane Austen and Cassandra.
“When Jane and Elizabeth were alone – expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.”
This means that Jane and Elizabeth would share things between each other that they wouldn’t tell to anyone else. They are talking about Mr Darcy, when the other people were with them everyone was saying that Mr Darcy was disgusting but once it was just Jane and Elizabeth alone they told each other how they really felt.
