From a reading of Jane Austen's short stories what do we learn about women's lives in the late 18th century?

From a reading of Jane Austen’s short stories what do we learn about women’s lives in the late 18th century?

Jane Austen was a major English novelist, whose brilliantly witty, elegantly structured satirical fiction marks the transition in English literature from 18th century neo-classicism to 19th century romanticism.

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775, at the rectory in the village of Steventon, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire. The seventh of eight children of the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, she was educated mainly at home and never lived apart from her family. She had a happy childhood amongst all her brothers and the other boys who lodged with the family and whom Mr Austen tutored. From her older sister, Cassandra, she was inseparable. To amuse themselves, the children wrote and performed plays and charades, and even as a little girl Jane was encouraged to write. The reading that she did of the books in her father's extensive library provided material for the short satirical sketches she wrote as a girl.

At the age of 14 she wrote her first novel, Love and Freindship (sic) and then A History of England by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant Historian, together with other very amusing juvenilia. In her early twenties Jane Austen wrote the novels that were later to be re-worked and published as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. She also began a novel called The Watson’s, which was never completed.

As a young woman Jane enjoyed dancing (an activity which features frequently in her novels) and she attended balls in many of the great houses of the neighbourhood. She loved the country, enjoyed long country walks, and had many Hampshire friends. It therefore came as a considerable shock when her parents suddenly announced in 1801 that the family would be moving away to Bath. Mr Austen gave the Steventon living to his son James and retired to Bath with his wife and two daughters. The next four years were difficult ones for Jane Austen. She disliked the confines of a busy town and missed her Steventon life. After her father's death in 1805, his widow and daughters also suffered financial difficulties and were forced to rely on the charity of the Austen sons. It was also at this time that, while on holiday in the West Country, Jane fell in love, and when the young man died, she was deeply upset. Later she accepted a proposal of marriage from Harris Bigg-Wither, a wealthy landowner and brother to some of her closest friends, but she changed her mind the next morning and was greatly upset by the whole episode.

After the death of Mr Austen, the Austen ladies moved to Southampton to share the home of Jane's naval brother Frank and his wife Mary. There were , where Jane stayed with her favourite brother Henry, at that time a prosperous banker, and where she enjoyed visits to the theatre and art exhibitions. However, she wrote little in Bath and nothing at all in Southampton.

Then, in July 1809, on her brother Edward offering his mother and sisters a permanent home on his estate, the Austen ladies moved back to their beloved Hampshire countryside. It was a small but comfortable house, with a pretty garden, and most importantly it provided the settled home, which Jane Austen needed in order to write. In the seven and a half years that she lived in this house, she revised Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and published them (in 1811 and 1813) and then embarked on a period of intense productivity. Mansfield Park came out in 1814, followed by Emma in 1816 and she completed Persuasion (which was published together with Northanger Abbey in 1818, the year after her death). None of the books published in her lifetime had her name on them — they were described as being written "By a Lady". In the winter of 1816 she started Sanditon, but illness prevented its completion.

Jane Austen had contracted Addisons Disease, a tubercular disease of the kidneys (). No longer able to walk far, she used to drive out in a little donkey carriage, which can still be seen at the Jane Austen Museum at Chawton. By May 1817 she was so ill that she and Cassandra, to be near Jane's physician, rented rooms in Winchester. Tragically, there was then no cure and Jane Austen died in her sister's arms in the early hours of 18 July 1817. She was 41 years old. She is .

Jane Austen writes in her short stories a tremendous amount of information about women’s lives in the late eighteenth century. At time of writing her stories, in the late eighteenth century, the Napolenic War was happening. Jane Austen’s stories were also a shock to the society because children at her age were interested in immediate environment. Jane Austen writing about real lives and the truth in her view was a shock; some people were deeply offended, as they knew they were some of the hysterical characters that Jane Austen created. In most of her stories she is known to be very satirical, which caused arousing thoughts in young women’s minds.

In ‘The Three Sisters’ Jane Austin writes in epistolary form about 1792, and is one of her Juvenilia. It includes some of the irony characteristic of Jane Austen, for example, the reason why Mary Stanhope is the “happiest creature in the world”, but is perhaps less typical in being a rather brutal work.

The Three Sisters is a story based on the importance of social status to women at this time. This book focuses on the lives of young women in the late eighteenth century. It looks at the social cultural society in the eighteenth century. It deals with how women are treated, and what they believe in the terms of marriage, and what is most important to them. We see where priorities lye with women when deciding whether to marry or not. This short story is a proposal of marriage in the late eighteenth century.

Women at this time were seen as second class and they did not have say or many rights. They were property of their fathers and brothers. Women were to be married at an early age, like sixteen to twenty one, this is because they look more attractive and can marry early and support their family. Love didn’t seem to come into the situation, material objects and money only mattered in a marriage. Marriage was more of a business transaction, where the only thing that mattered was money.

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Mary is the oldest out of the three sisters, she has been proposed to by a rich middle age man. Mr Watts, is a rich man in his thirties, Mary is confused and doesn’t know whether to marry him or not. If she doesn’t accept the marriage her sisters have said they will and she will lose out and face a chance of not marrying anyone better.

Her mother believes this is a good offer and she should accept it. There is no sign of love or friendship, as they quarrel to each other about little things even though ...

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Her mother believes this is a good offer and she should accept it. There is no sign of love or friendship, as they quarrel to each other about little things even though they are not married yet. “And remember I am to have a new carriage hung as high as the Duttons, and blue spotted with silver” Mary goes on about wanting all these material objects. But he objects and the quarrelling starts, Mary tries to show Mr Watts she wants everything her way otherwise he will not have her. But Mr Watts doesn’t mind, as he will ask the other sisters who will wilfully accept the offer.

Mary is a sister of three, she is probably about eighteen years old and is the eldest of her sisters. She lives with her mother and sisters, and we presume the father is dead and she doesn’t have a brother. This family is relatively poor and this is why her mother is determined to marry Mary off. They are insecure in financial status and need support so the mother wants Mary to marry into rich.

Jane Austen knows so much about this subject because she was born in 1775 and died in 1817, so she was growing up in this social time and was seeing what was happening all around her. She obviously did not fall in love so didn’t marry just because of financial or social status.

Today it is very different in the lives of women. Women used to try to attract rich men, the wealthier the man the better. The absence of the mention of love is unusual as the book is called ‘Love and Friendship’. She is making fun of women at this time and what they are like, and the sisters are a mouthpiece for her views. Today people fall in love then marry, money is usually second. Only some part is arranged marriages happen.

At first Mary is flattered by the marriage proposal, she is excited about her status and image. Until Mr Watts says he will marry any of the sisters, as they are not that attractive. Towards the end when Mary sees their neighbour has a handsome potential she is jealous and lies to impress. We can relate to this, as this is human nature to impress and try to be better than other people are. She is flighty and capricions, her expectations are laughable.

The comic tone is established almost immediately as we read the first line; “I am the happiest creature in the World”. This is referring to women as creatures, something small and not valuable.

“How I will triumph over the Duttons” this shows the competition over their neighbours, who are obviously competing to see who gets the richest and marries first. “It will be such a triumph to be married before Sophy, Georgiana and the Duttons”

Mary is someone who needs to be firstly, the best and receive only the best and better than the Duttons. Mary is a materialistic woman and is only interested in how much money the man has and hopes he will give her everything she wants. She is superficial and very shallow. She doesn’t care about true happiness because her mother like this has brought her up. She is envious and we see this when she mentions the Duttons. At this time it is very important to be to Financially secure.

Mary wants to marry Mr Watts because she wants to be financially secure, live in luxury and keep her social status high.

She doesn’t though want to marry Mr Watts because he is not attractive and is “quite plain”, large and a mordantly old man.

I think Jane Austen exaggerates Mary’s character. We cannot judge Mary by our contemporary standards because life today is very different from the eighteenth century. She would have been a spinster, becoming a teacher if she didn’t marry. Arrange marriages in India still behave in a grasping way where marriage is concerned, viewing it as an economic and social arrangement.

Mother is taking the role as the father who has died. She takes control of her daughter’s lives; this isn’t normal, as it is usually the father who does this. The mother is especially keen to get one of the girls married off to Mr Watts so she will be financially sorted and secure. People were at this time marrying for financial needs. I think the mother does appear to have a liking for Mr Watts. She would as she is allowing him to marry Mary, if she didn’t she wouldn’t let him marry Mary.

Mr Watts has money and jewels, these are all to his favour, he has a secure financial status and can support Mary and her mother.

The mother does not appear to set much store by romantic love; this is because she probably also married because of social and economic needs.

We can see where the author’s sympathies lie; they are in the sister Sophy, who is Jane Austen’s mouthpiece.

The two sisters Georgiana and Sophy plan to tell Mary that if she doesn’t Mr Watts they will accept his proposal. They believe Mary should marry Mr Watts and are doing this for her own good. This is justified as they are doing this for Mary’s benefit and watching her to be happy.

The comic highpoint in the story is where Mr Watts comes to call and the bargaining ensues. This is where we see the real materialistic Mary come into action, she is really trying to fight for a carriage which represents the power of the two people, if she loses she will be showed as below Mr Watts. She wants to be above him and show him who is in charge, and without him he is nothing, which is not true. The carriage shows the desperation of Mary to have something, which shows her as high status, and rich, if she doesn’t get this carriage the way she wants she has failed.

My feelings for Mary are that I feel a lot of sympathy for her, as she is growing up in this period where women are made to be superficial and feel to love to anyone. I think towards the end a darker not had prevailed from the comic tome, we feel so frustrated and sadden, as women of today are so different. Mary is very weak on the inside but tries to show she is a strong woman on the out; “he ought to ask my pardon; but if he did, I would not forgive him.”

The story Lesley Castle focuses on female friendship and looks at marriage at a different prospective. It looks at how superficial women can be and how not sensitive they are in certain situations. It exaggerates the priorities of women whether married or not. It shows how life is after marriage and if someone has left you or died the different emotions people go through.

This story is about different love relationships and friendships.

There are the Lesley’s; the oldest sister Margaret, the youngest sister; Matilda, the brother Lesley, Lesley’s daughter Louisa and the father Sir George Lesley.

Margaret writes to her friend Miss Charlotte Lutterell, who has a sister Eloisa.

In the Lesley family Margaret’s brother Lesley is going on a trip so he can overcome his grief from his wife leaving him. He has lest his daughter Louisa with his sisters. In this first letter it is biased that the sisters are talking about their brother as “never was there a better young man!” “So good a Husband to so bad a Wife!” His sister makes him out to be a saint. We see the contrast of the brother, who is gay, nice and praised so much. A contrast to his Wife Louisa, who is flighty, a mother and a wife who is criticised badly by the sisters; “the worthless Louisa left him, her child and reputation” at this time she goes against the conventions of this time. “Louisa was naturally ill-tempered and cunning.” It would usually be the husband leaving the wife never the wife leaving the husband; he would feel as if something is wrong with him. This use of juxtaposition wasn’t common at the time when Jane was writing. She is opposing ideas following on closely from each other, to affect a comparison contrast; this is often ironic or satirical.

Louisa, the wife, we are told was poor then married to the wealthy Lesley, who gave her protection.

We see the contrast of Sir George Lesley and his son. The father is fifty-two and the son is twenty-seven, but they act as if the ages are reverse. Lesley has just lost his wife, who has left him with his daughter Louisa. He is going through trauma of his wife leaving him, and embarrassment of his wife leaving which is rarely usual. Other people in society will think she had a disappointing lifestyle and not eating or drinking right.

We see the father doing what the girls should be doing; which is going out and meeting new people after his wife’s death, he is carrying on with his life. Lesley, the son has not done this, and we can see the difference of a relationship with their wives they had. Lesley obviously loved his wife very much, but she didn’t feel the same way about him.

From this first letter we can tell Margaret is very modest, she gives a long list of all the people she visits. She also complements herself; “we are neither dull nor unhappy; on the contrary there never were two more lively, more agreable or more witty girls, than we are.”

This first letter is dramatic and shows a love which is a true love because we see they way he is affected, some relationships were about the money but then the partners actually fell in love.

The second letter is full of gossip and information. We see here that Charlotte Lutterell only cares for victuals. Her sister’s fiancée has fallen back of his horse and has died; she doesn’t care for her sister’s grief only the food she has made the wedding. She acts selfishly, very shallow, and superficial.

We see this when she is told about Hervey’s fractured skull, she replies “Good God! You don’t say so? Why what in the name of heaven will become of all the victuals?”

We see her selfishness and no sense of emotion. I believe because she hasn’t married she hasn’t loved and doesn’t know what is it like to marry. She is very insensitive and has no care for Henry. The only thing this woman cared about is her food going to waste. The sorrow and misery Eloisa is facing shows us the love she had for Henry. This is a difference between other love we have seen, like between Mary and Mr Watts. I’m sure if Mr Watts had died, Mary would not be as much as sadness as Eloisa is in. “Seeing my poor sister fall down to appearance lifeless upon one of the chests” this shows her sadness about the death of her husband, this shows real love.

After this long letter from Charlotte about her trying to save and give away the food, she writes at the very end; “and now let me talk a little of your affairs”. She tells Margaret that her father has remarried someone called Susan who is Charlotte’s friend. This woman may be as young as his daughter may, if they have children all the family will be separate from the old to the new.

This Susan Lesley is spending all of Sir George’s money, and Margaret is worried that she will use him of all his money and he will have none left.

The brother we see is starting to overcome this distraught, he is beginning to act twenty-two. We see that Louisa married Lesley for his appearance rather than his position in society, this is something which is rare in for the eighteenth century it would usually be the position in society and the financial state which comes first into mind for a woman when marrying.

The forth letter is from Miss Charlotte Lutterell to Miss Margaret Lesley. Charlotte is describing Margaret’s new stepmother, Susan. “She is short, and extremely well-made; is naturally pale, but rouges a good deal; has fine eyes, and fine teeth” she is said to be “altogether very pretty.” Although she wears too much blusher she is very pretty and “good-tempered.” But is said to be “naturally extravagant” so she is spending and taking all of Sir George’s money. Miss Lutterell starts to bad mouth Susan and tells Margaret that they are not really friends. “Perhaps you may flatter me so far as to be surprised that one of whom I speak with so little affection should be my particular friend; but to tell you the truth, our friendship arose from Caprice on her side than Esteem on mine.” This just shows the kind of friendship that happens at this time, the friendship is not real, and the people are playing false lives and living in a fake friendship.

Susan is throwing money around in London and will not let Sir George spend it in Scotland. The longer she spends in London the more money will be spent, and the less his children will get. It seems all Margaret cares for is the jewels, which Charlotte believes that “they will undoubtedly be hers.”

We hear Charlotte talk about Mr Cleveland, “he is a good-looking young man”, but we hear nothing about his personality and what he is like, she already has ideas to set Eloisa up with him. “I tell Eloisa that she should set her cap at him, but she does not at all seem to relish the proposal.” This love between Eloisa and her late fiancé tells us she was in love with Henry for who he was not what he has, like many other women did.

Charlotte proves her shallowness when she talks about “Hervey” she calls him “Henry” so she can’t even remember his name.

When Eloisa is crying, Charlotte believes it is about the trifle going to waste.

The sixth letter is from Lady Lesley to Charlotte Lutterell, this letter is more of a comic tone. Sir George told Susan his girls were “beautiful girls” but when she came to the house she was “disappointed and surprised”. She describes the girls as being two “Scotch Girls” and uses a sarcastic tone when saying “these two fair damsels”. It seems that although Susan was acting as if the girls were pretty they both were described as “two great, tall, out of the way, over-grown girls”. The relationship she has with the sisters, Margaret and Matilda, is fake and they act false when together. Before when Margaret describes the daughter Louisa as beautiful and perfect, Susan describes the little girl as “scandal and detest children” and a brat.

We are introduced a new character, William, Susan’s brother. He likes Matilda, for her appearance, which is a great shock to Susan and doesn’t accept the relationship. She thinks, “they are terribly plain”, and admits, “Sir George is horribly ugly”, and agrees the only reason of this marriage is for financial reasons. William stands up and defends the Lesley sisters; “they are taller than you are indeed”. He also makes a remark which Susan says she is not offended by; “if they have but little colour, at least, its all their own”. Sometimes the relationship between the family is the only one where people talk truth. William and Susan are not financial secure, and so Susan doesn’t want William to marry Matilda because Matilda will take all of his money that Susan got back.

So the stories are two very different ones; the three sisters are about a sisterly love. Mary doesn’t realise the extent of love Georgina and Sophia has for her. They believe threatening her is the best and making her feel slightly insecure will only be good, as if she doesn’t accept the offer she will no doubt regret it.

Lesley Castle is a story of friendship, which shows the superficial relationships they all have with each other. There is no deep friendship, which they have, and they all seem to talk about each other so no one has real friends, they are all in competition, like in the three sisters with the Duttons.

We also see what women are really like and how superficial they act, we see what they care for most, Mary and money, Charlotte and her victuals.

Austen seems to enjoy poking fun at women, sending them up through a process of exaggeration; her characters are mostly shallow, vein and lack both self-awareness and the capacity to change.

The common area of women’s lives, which Jane Austen focused on, was marriage, education, social class and economic status, money, appearance and possessions, family, female friendship and emotions.

Marriage in the late eighteenth century was very different to the meaning of why people marry today. The meaning of marriage is a formal agreement between a man and a woman to live together according to the customs of their religion or society. There is no mention of marrying is a symbol of love for two people that are willing to spend the rest of their days together. This meaning is from the eighteenth century when people are marrying and living together in the social ways. But the reasons they are marrying are different; they are for financial, economic and social reasons. The marriage between Mr Watts and Mary was only an agreement and had nothing to do with love, as all they talked about was material objects. The marriage between Eloisa and Hervey was a strong and powerful love; we can tell because of her grieving, this is a shock and even to her sister Charlotte, who thinks she cries about the foods.

The importance of marriage to women’s lives at this time was to prove to others how rich a man they can get and how early, we see this clearly when Mary is trying to compete with the Duttons.

The process of getting a husband is portrayed as a business transaction; this is clearly shown in the three sisters, when Mary and Mr Watts discuss their arrangements. When the mother discus the pinmoney with Mr Watts; “remember the pinmoney; two hundred a year”

“A hundred and seventy five Madam”

“Two hundred indeed Sir” this is a clear small argument about the price mother will receive from Mr Watts when Mary has married him. Mary also makes this look like business transaction when she gives Mr Watts a long list of what she wants if she is to marry him. “And remember I am to have a new carriage hung as high as the Duttons’ and blue spotted with silver; and I shall expect a new saddle horse, a suit of fine lace….” the list goes on.

“What’s the use of a great jointure, if men live forever?” Mary’s comment makes her motives for marrying rather clear.

For the mother the marriage is all about the pinmoney and for the children it is what they will receive in return and what other people will think of them.

The alternative of marriage is to become a teacher and live in shame of not marrying because you have a fault. People will start to talk about you and think something is wrong with you. Like Louisa leaving Lesley, the sisters blamed and badmouthed her because she left him. I think a woman has no choice but to marry and that they are brought up to get ready to marry and be a perfect wife. We see that the partnerships are not equal and men have the power over women and the women want to be higher than the man is, but they are unfortunately not. In the three sisters when Mary tries to act as if Mr Watts needs her. He makes it clear she is not that important “I do not know whether I shall have you if you behave so odd” she treats Mr Watts like a child and acts as if she is above him in status and she is worth more. “If she does not choose to accept my hand, I can offer it else where, for as I am by no means guided by a particular preference to you above your sisters it is equally the same to me which I marry of the three.” Mr Watts is saying here is doesn’t really care who he marries because all three sisters look the same so Mary isn’t really fascinating. I don’t think marriages make women happy, they make them feel special that they have been accepted but they are not happy within. In Jane Austen we see marriages where love is involved but we don’t know whether they would have been happy. Like the marriage between Lesley and Louisa was a good relationship for Lesley but obviously for Louisa she wasn’t happy. We also read about Eloisa and Hervey, was close we see this is her grieving and sadness of his death.

The social realities, which should be kept in mind as background when considering the flaws in Mary’s character, are that marriage was the only route for most “genteel” women to ever get out from under the parental roof, and often the only possible way for a woman to avoid impending quasi-poverty.

The women depicted are not educated, as education for women was thought unnecessary at the time at the time; this is shown in their behaviour and the way that they think. Women may have been less narrow minded and silly if they were educated or exposed to the real world.

They are unable to see what really happens, they have not socialised properly with other people so have not been able to learn how to communicate with other people. They have been taught at home, but have not socialised with girls or boys of their age, and so have been brought up narrow minded.

Women’s social class and economic status affects women’s lives in these stories. It defines whom they can marry and socialise with and how other people treat them.

Women were not expected to marry to a man below their social class, they were usually meant to marry somebody of a higher status. If women were in a very low social class like Louisa in three sisters, she married Lesley for his appearance not financial status; they needed to marry someone high so they can support the family. I think women’s social class was not very important at the time, as the men marrying the women were only interested in appearance.

Their social class was important, the lower the class you are the more likely you would be talked about and less chance of marrying. Louisa was treated with disrespect when she left Lesley; she was made fun of by Margaret. “Louisa Burton was the daughter of a distant relation of Mrs Drummond, who dieing a few months before in extreme poverty”, her relations obviously lived in poverty. “A father who but too well knew, that to be married, would be the only chance she would have not being starved”. Here the fortunate upper class women are badmouthing women of a low social class. So they are treated badly and not fairly, and made out as gold diggers, who marry for money and to survive, when this is what all women are doing in this century.

Money, appearance and possessions are all material objects which women are most important to.

Money is what the women care for and need to survive in the late eighteenth century and stay out of poverty. When Mary is receiving an offering from Mr Watts, Mary’s mother, is only interested in the money. “Remember the pinmoney; two hundred a year” here she doesn’t care if Mr Watts is a suitable husband for Mary to marry, he is over the age when men should marry.

Mary on the other hand is interested in possessions she will receive for marrying Mr Watts. Her long list of possessions she will require says it all; “And remember I am to have a new Carriage hung high as the Duttons’, and blue spotted with silver; and I shall expect a new saddle horse, a suit of fine lace, and an infinite number of the most valuable Jewels.” The list carries on about how she needs two maids, and lots of servants, Mr Watts house needs to be redecorated.

In Lesley castle Susan’s brother William and her friend Charlotte all comment of her over us in make up. “She is short, and extremely well-made; is naturally pale, but rouges a good deal”. Her brother says “well, if they have but little colour, at least, it is all their own.”

Money, appearance and possessions don’t make women happy it is love, which will make them satisfied. The make Susan wears covers her real self and she puts on a fake person to please the man she will marry so she gets the possessions she wants.

With the reading of Jane Austen’s short stories we learn a lot about women’s lives in the late eighteenth century. Jane Austen reveals how women’s lives are and they believe about marriage, education, social class and economic status, money, appearance and possessions, family, female friendship and the emotions they go through.

Just looking at these stories we are given a wide view of women’s lives in the late eighteenth century.