The ever-changing roles of women
The roles of women have changed radically from the early, conservative women, who’s’ soul purpose was to be married and once married, to look after the children and their husbands, examples of such women are in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen.
‘The business of her life was to get her daughters married…’
The date and reason for the start of the huge change was in 1920, where after the First World War, the women had learned to make decisions on their own and be independent while their husbands had all been fighting in the war.
As well as becoming independent, women’s attitudes to life began to change too. A 1976 survey showed that a woman’s main concerns were love, marriage, husbands and careers in that order. When the same survey was repeated in 1994, the priorities had changed to wanting a good job and to be able to financially support themselves first and the others last. In Pride and Prejudice, finance was a matter for husbands to deal with. One of the main problems of the ‘Bennet’ family in Pride and Prejudice is that Mr. Bennet’s uncle died and in his will left Mr. Bennet’s cousin, Mr. Collins, the Bennet’s house when Mr. Bennet was dead. Contrary to modern ways, this meant that the remaining Bennet’s had to marry a man who possessed a good fortune, instead of getting a job and eventually buying a house for themselves. This shows that women in 1813 relied completely on their husbands in the matter of finance.
