Marriage In The 1700s

Marriage in the 1700s and 1800s was judged by those closest to and the society that surrounded the couple which caused great strain within families. Both novels consult the idea of suitable matches and how love was valued above money and status. In an era filled with deep class prejudice, it was easier to marry someone from your own class as a woman since marrying below it was deeply frowned upon while marrying above provided its own issues which are explored in Pamela. If a woman did not have a substantial dowry, such as money or property, potential husbands from good families were unlikely. Pamela, for example, was an educated girl but yet she was still a servant with a family that has little to offer due to her father’s declined fortunes. She would have been unlikely to attract a husband like Mr. B, a well-respected landowner. Also '... given the hostility towards socially or financially unbalanced matches, and given the great influence over choice of partners still exercised by parents’ (Stone, 1979, p. 189) it is no surprise that Lady Davers objects to the marriage by arguing that:

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She voices her concern that her brother will damage the family name by marrying their deceased mother’s lady-in-waiting since she claims that nobody else in the family has ever married outside of their high social class to cause this