Decriminalization Of Women

Pride and Prejudice was set in Jane Austen’s own time period, specifically the time frame of 1797-1815, otherwise known as bring one of the most transformational times in British History. During this time, England was an aristocracy, or hierarchy based on property and wealth. Austen uses the text to explore the hardships and social standards of life in the upper class in England at the turn of the century, a time of limited social mobility for women and class-consciousness. The novel portray’s the gentry, which Jane Austen belonged to herself along with her character’s from the Bennet family. The domestic struggles over property, wealth and social status highlight the major transition period that England underwent throughout the changing

In the social world of Pride and Prejudice, women were reduced to commodities for marriage due to their gender. According to Austen in a letter to her niece, “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor, which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony”. This shows the lack of independence and opportunities that the women of Jane Austen’s time were given. One publication of importance during that time that may have helped lead to a point of liberation for women was Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. Wollstonecraft argued that women should be treated as equals of men and have the right to prepare themselves for live thoroughly with education. Elizabeth Bennet’s mannerisms are a key example of this gender transformation and sign of early feminism. One specific circumstance that prove self-reliance and pride occurred when Mr. Collins asked for her hand in marriage and she rejected him, saying, “ You could not make me happy, and I am convinced I am the last woman in the world who would make you so” (Austen 77). Given her position, it was almost unheard of for a woman to turn down the chance for ecumenic and social stability. Women at the turn of the eighteenth century saw some pretty significant changes. For example, dresses began to trend that held tight to the body, with the effect of accentuating the

“Rank placed primary emphasis on lineage, implying that social status was more or less inalienabily conferred by birth and descent” (Keymer 387). The Bennet’s, who were middle class like Austen, were seen as socially inferior to the upper-class Bingley’s and Darcy’s because of their behavior and lack of access to luxuries. It’s clear that Austen doesn’t think very highly of class structure because she satirically analyzes it throughout the text and it can be seen in the relationship between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth Bennet. Prior to visiting Lady Catherine, Mr. Collins says to Elizabeth, “Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your apparel…Lady Catherine will not think the worse of you for being simply dressed. She likes to have the distinction of rank preserved” (Austen 112). This satire convey’s Austen’s views of the ridiculous concept of class by means of pure vanity and