Pride & Prejudice: Understanding Context

HSC English (Advanced)

Module A: Comparative Study of Texts & Context

Elective 1: Exploring Connections

Emily Bosco

Regency England

1811-1820

On February 6th 1811, the Prince of Wales

and heir to the throne, George Augustus

Frederick, officially became the Prince

Regent. This occasion marked the transition

from the Georgian Period to the Regency

Period.

Although the reigning monarch, King George

III was to live until 1820, he was deemed

unfit to rule due to a medical condition called

‘porphyria’, which left him physically

incapacitated and prone to bouts of mental

derangement.

The title of Prince Regent was created by an official Act of Parliament, the

Regency Act, on 5th February 1811 in response to the declining health of

King George III. This enabled the Prince of Wales to assume the title of

Prince Regent, along with all the powers of a reigning monarch.

The preceding Georgian Period was characterised by conservatism and

restraint. As Prince of Wales, George rebelled against the social milieu

established by his father, King George III and adopted a notoriously wild

and extravagant lifestyle. His gluttonous and drunken behaviour was

widely known, as were his excessive spending habits; his princely

allowance often spent on mistresses, fine clothes and grandiose building

projects such as Carlton House.

As a result, the Prince of Wales had a poor relationship with his father, who

disapproved of his son’s reckless behaviour and wasteful ways. By his early

twenties, the Price of Wales was in so much debt, King George III refused to

pay it, forcing the Prince to use his political allies to secure him a

parliamentary grant of £161 000 (equivalent to £16 775 000 today).

However, as the reigning monarch set the tone and standards for the rest of

society, the ascension of the Prince of Wales to the position of Prince

Regent signalled in an era of flamboyance. With an excessive Prince Regent

as a role model, it was not uncommon for members of the landed gentry

and aristocracy to live profusely – often well beyond their means.

In her novels, Jane Austen often uses satire as a means for critiquing this

type of indulgent and excessive behaviour. Consider how Austen

represents the following characters in Pride and Prejudice:

Mr Bennet – owner of Longbourn, an estate of approximately 1000

acres. This made him a lesser landed proprietor – a ‘squire’ of his

village. His estate is worth £2000 a year, which he spends all of,

saving nothing.

Mrs Bennet – wife and mother whose sole occupation seems to be

finding “rich men” for her daughters to marry. As such, she permits

her daughters (especially Kitty and Lydia) to exhibit flirtatious

behaviour.

Lydia Bennet – the fifteen-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet,

who although not yet “out” is allowed to attend balls, flirt with

officers of the Meryton militia and display her “high animal spirits”

and “natural self-consequence” unrestrained.

George Wickham – a lieutenant in the Meryton militia; duplicitous in

nature, excessive in his spending and known for leaving a place with

debts outstanding.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s novels are concerned with

the landed gentry and valued for their

combination of realism and social satire.

Austen lived her entire life as part of a

close-knit family located on the lower

fringes of the English landed gentry. She

was educated primarily by her father

and older brothers as well as through

her own reading.

Her writing career was supported by

her family; her creative pursuits

beginning in her teenage years and

lasting into her thirties. During this period, she experimented with various

literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried then

abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised six novels:

Sense and Sensibility (1811)

Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Mansfield Park (1814)

Emma (1816)

Northanger Abbey (1818 – published posthumously)

Persuasion (1818 – published posthumously) Austen's works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the

18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century realism. Her

plots, though fundamentally comic, highlight the dependence of women on

marriage to secure social standing and economic security, as well as

affirming the values of love, balance, order, respect and etiquette.

Social Rank

Monarch

Hereditary Peers of the Realm:

Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts and Barons

(members of the House of Lords)

Baronets

(hereditary title, not allowed to sit in the

House of Lords)

Knights

(a title bestowed by the monarch - not

hereditary)

Landed Gentry:

Untitled country squires who varied in wealth and gentility

Lesser Landed Proprietors:

Those with approximately 1000 acres of land

Professional Classes:

Soldiers, Sailors, Clerics, Lawyers,

Doctors

Urban merchants, farmers, and tradesmen with

aspirations of purchasing a country estate and

becoming landed gentry

Upper Ten Thousand:

The wealthiest group of landowners - usually members

of Parliament with townhouses in London

Property & Inheritance Laws

All property within marriage legally belonged to the husband.

The husband and wife were viewed as one person in law. This meant

that upon marriage the legal existence of the woman was suspended

and incorporated into the personality of her husband.

A husband could leave property to his wife in his will, but could not

make it a legal gift to her and was responsible for all her debts,

whether contracted during the marriage or before.

Legally, therefore, prior to the Married Women's Property Act 1884

married women were classed as 'femmes covert' and a woman's

personal property was transferred automatically to her husband on

marriage; her real property came under her husband's control but

remained hers for inheritance purposes.

Married women during their marriage had no legal testamentary

rights at all in relation to real estate. Any personal property of a

woman which she had before the marriage, or acquired after the

marriage, became her husband's absolutely, and as such, he had the

right to leave it by will.

Only with her husband's permission could a wife make a will leaving

personal property - even if it had been hers before her marriage.

Moreover, his consent only applied to a particular will and this

consent had to be strictly proved. His consent could be revoked even

after her death. The only exception to this was her right to make a

will leaving her 'paraphernalia' - clothing and personal ornaments.

It was possible to arrange a "settlement", which was a legal document

that usually ensured that some or all of the property that the wife

brought to the marriage ultimately belongs to her, and would revert

to her or her children. This type of settlement was generally part of

an overall pre-marital financial agreement between the wife or wife's

family and the husband or husband's family.

In Pride and Prejudice the reader is told that "Five thousand pounds

was settled by marriage articles on Mrs Bennet and the children."

Therefore we read that the negotiations made to persuade Wickham

to marry Lydia guarantee "by settlement, her [Lydia] equal share of

the five thousand pounds secured among his children after the

decease of [Mr Bennet and his wife,] and, moreover, to enter into an

engagement of allowing her, during his life, one hundred pounds per"

year. In addition, Darcy undertook to pay his debts and purchase an

officer's commission (as an ensign or sub-lieutenant) in the regular

army.

Amongst members of the landed gentry, it was accepted that the

eldest male son would inherit the paternal estate.

The second eldest son would generally inherit some land or money

from his mother’s side of the family.

Any other younger sons were expected to earn an income by

engaging in a respectable profession – the military, clergy or the law.

Female Education, Pursuits & Accomplishments

Mr Bingley: “It is amazing to me,

how young ladies can have

patience to be so very

accomplished as they all are"; "I

am sure I never heard a young

lady spoken of for the first time,

without being informed that she

was very accomplished."

This discussion develops a list of

accomplishments:

Bingley: "They all paint tables,

cover skreens, and net purses."

Caroline: "A woman must have a

thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the

modern languages, to deserve the word."

Mr Darcy: "To all this she must yet add something more substantial,

in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."

Balls & Dancing

English ballroom – a courting field – presented young men and

women with a socially acceptable means of getting to know each

other.

Gender roles and social etiquette – a ball was a social experience and

men were expected to approach women and ask them to dance.

It was considered rude on the part of men to not dance, thus leaving

women in a position where they had to sit out dances. This is why Mr

Darcy’s refusal to dance at the Meryton ball is deemed an act of

rudeness.

Women, on the

other hand, were

expected to wait

passively for a

dance partner to

approach them –

and when they

were asked to dance, were obliged to accept. The only acceptable

excuse in refusing a dance was when a lady had already promised the

next set to another, or if she had grown tired and was sitting out the

dance.

Women’s dress and deportment were designed to exhibit her best

attributes. Moreover, the memorisation of complicated dance steps

was considered a talent/accomplishment.

It was important for men to be able to dance well – this talent

reflected his character and abilities. Consider Sir William Lucas’

comment to Mr Darcy at the Netherfield Ball: “Such very superior

dancing is not often seen. It is evident that you belong to the first

circles.” This contrasts with Mr Collins’ dancing abilities, described

as “awkward and solemn”.

A man could not ask a lady to dance if they had not been formally

introduced.

A couple could (at the most) dance only two sets (each set consisted

of two dances), which generally lasted from 20-30 minutes per dance.

Mr Bingley and Jane dance two sets together at the Netherfield Ball

and this results in much gossip and speculation concerning a

marriage between the two:

o Sir William Lucas: “I must hope to have this pleasure often

repeated, especially when a certain desirable event, my dear

Miss Eliza (glancing at her sister and Bingley) shall take place.

What congratulations will then flow in!”

o Mrs Bennet: “[Elizabeth was] vexed to find that her mother was

talking to that one person (Lady Lucas) freely, openly, and of

nothing else but of her expectation that Jane would be soon

married to Mr. Bingley.”

The couple had many opportunities to converse or catch their

breaths when they waited for others to finish working their way

down a dance progression. The ability to carry out a conversation

was considered very important, as Elizabeth pointedly reminds Mr

Darcy.

Social Etiquette

Social connections were usually formed through a series of meetings,

usually beginning with morning calls to the homes of those in

fashionable society.

A morning call did not usually exceed half an hour.

In London, a woman paid morning calls to her social equals or

inferiors but not to her social superiors until they had called on her

or left a card.

A person new to the city or country area waited for calls of ceremony

to be made to them by those already established before they made a

call of their own.

In the country it was acceptable for a man to make a call or leave a

card with someone of higher social standing if they were new to the

neighbourhood.

A gentleman calling on a family asked for the mistress of the house if

the visit was a social one, and the master if it was a business call.

A card was left if the lady of the house was indisposed or not at home.

It was acceptable for a gentleman to call on a daughter of the house if

she were well above marriageable age or a long-standing friend.

Callers were received by men in their business room or library, by

women in the morning room or in their drawing-room.

A lady, either married or single, did not call at a man's lodging.

Servants were spoken to with exactly the right degree of civility and

never with the casual informality with which a person would speak

to an equal.

It was essential to dress for dinner.

When going in to dinner, the man of the house always escorted the

highest-ranking lady present. The remaining dinner guests also

paired up and entered the dining room in order of rank.

Dinner guests were seated according to rank, with the highest-

ranking lady sitting on the right-hand side of the host, who always sat

at the head of the table.

At a formal dinner one did not talk across the dinner table but

confined conversation to those on one's left and right.

Ladies were expected to retire to the withdrawing room after dinner,

leaving the men to their port and their 'male' talk.

Overt displays of emotion were generally considered ill-bred.

Laughter was usually moderated in polite company, particularly

among women.

Men could give themselves up to unrestrained mirth, provided they

were in the company of other men or among women of low repute.

Well-bred persons controlled their features, their physical bodies and

their speech when in company.

A lady always spoke, sat and moved with elegance and propriety.

A bow or curtsy was executed according to the status and

relationship of the person encountered and with regard to the

particular circumstance.

A bow was made on entering or leaving a room, at the beginning and

end of a dance, and on encountering any person one wished to

acknowledge.

Debutantes did not stand up for more than two consecutive dances

with the same partner.

Only those young ladies who were 'out' danced the waltz and then

only with an acceptable partner, usually someone she already knew,

or to whom she had been formally introduced.

To be thought 'fast' or to show a want of conduct was the worst

possible social stigma.

A lady never forced herself upon a man's notice.

A lady did not engage in any activity that might give rise to gossip.

It was unacceptable to owe money to a stranger.

It was acceptable to owe money to a tradesperson.

Extremes of emotion and public outbursts were unacceptable,

although it could be acceptable for a woman to have the vapours,

faint, or suffer from hysteria if confronted by vulgarity or an

unpleasant scene.

A well-bred person behaved with courteous dignity to acquaintance

and stranger alike, but kept at arm's length any who presumed too

great a familiarity.

A well-bred person maintained an elegance of manners and

deportment.

A well-bred person walked upright, stood and moved with grace and

ease.

A well-bred person was never awkward in either manner or

behaviour and could respond to any social situation with calm

assurance.

A well-bred person was never pretentious or ostentatious.

Vulgarity was unacceptable in any form and was to be continually

guarded against.

(Source: Austenised)

Marriage

As most women in Jane Austen’s time could not be independent, marriage

was one of the

only ways to

attain financial

security.

A woman

could only

be an

"heiress" if

she had no

brothers.

Unmarried

women had

to live with their families as a `dependent' (more or less Jane Austen's

situation).

Therefore, marriage was the only way of getting out from under the

parental roof; unless, her family could not support her, in which case she

could face the unpleasant necessity of going to live with employers as a

`dependent' governess or teacher, or hired “lady's companion”.

When a young woman left her family without their approval, this spawned

an enormous problem, such as elopement, or entering into an illicit

relationship.

For these reasons, some women were willing to marry as it was the only

allowed route to economic security and a better quality of life.

In Pride and Prejudice, this pragmatic view toward marriage is best

expressed by the character of Charlotte Lucas: “Without thinking highly

either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was

the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small

fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their

pleasantest preservative from want.” This is an understandable view given

that Charlotte is 27 years old, not especially beautiful (according to her and

Mrs. Bennet), and without an especially large “portion”, and so decides to

marry Mr. Collins “from

the pure and

disinterested desire of an

establishment”.

(Source: Our

Literature Corner)

Jane Austen’s view of the ideal

marriage.