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Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

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Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice. The Status of Women In Jane Austen s time, there was no real way for young women to become independent. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice.


1
Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Pride and
Prejudice.
2
The Status of Women
  • In Jane Austens time, there was no real way for
    young women to become independent.
  • Many professions, like jobs at the university,
    were not open to women.
  • The few jobs that a woman could have were not
    highly respected, did not pay well, and had poor
    working conditions
  • Governess (live-in teacher)
  • Only a small group of women could be considered
    professionals
  • They had to make enough money on their own to be
    independent

3
The Status of Women cont.
  • If a woman left home without her parents
    permission, there would be very serious
    consequences.
  • She would most likely be an embarrassment to her
    family and they could decrease in social status.
  • She could also be cut-off from her family

4
The Status of Women cont.
  • Therefore, most women could only get money if
    they got married or inherited it
  • The eldest son generally inherited most of the
    estate as the heir
  • A woman could only inherit (be a heiress) if she
    had no brothers.
  • An unmarried woman also had to live with her
    family or a family-approved protector
  • It was unheard of for a woman to live by herself,
    even if she was an heiress.
  • A woman would have to be dependant on her family
    for the rest of her life.

5
Engagement
  • One important rule of protocol of the period is
    that a correspondence between two unmarried and
    marriageable unrelated young people of the
    opposite sex is a sign that the two are engaged.
  • For a continuing correspondence to be carried on
    in the absence of an engagement is a breach of
    propriety
  • This is why Darcy hand-delivers his letter to
    Lizzy
  • This is why Lizzy doesnt answer the letter

6
The Legalities of Marriage
  • Marriage was almost always for life.
  • The only grounds for divorce was
  • Sexual infidelity of the wife
  • Needed to get permission from Parliament
  • The trial would be between the husband and the
    wifes alleged lover
  • Cruelty
  • Husband generally had absolute custody rights
    over any children and could prevent the wife from
    seeing them.
  • Divorce was very expensive- only the rich could
    afford it.
  • Neither person was allowed to remarry

7
Money and Marriage
  • Any property that a woman possessed before her
    marriage automatically becomes her husbands
  • Unless a settlement is agreed upon
  • a legal document that usually ensures that some
    or all of the property that the wife brings to
    the marriage ultimately belongs to her, and will
    revert to her or her children (though she does
    not necessarily have personal control over it
    during her marriage)
  • The woman and her money are legally in the
    husbands power

8
Entail and Inheritance
  • An entail was a legal device used to prevent a
    landed property from being broken up, and/or from
    descending in a female line.
  • Entailed property is usually inherited by the
    nearest male-line descendant (son of son etc.) of
    the original owner of the estate or title, whose
    ancestry in each generation goes through the
    eldest son who has left living male-line
    descendants
  • Entailment prevents a father from disinheriting
    his eldest son
  • Women generally inherit only if there are no
    male-line heirs left, and if there is more than
    one sister, then they are all equal co-heiresses,
    rather than only the eldest inheriting.
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