Pride and Prejudice

1. Pride and Prejudice A little background…

2. I. About the AuthorJane Austen • Jane Austen was born 1775 at Steventon in England. Her father was rector of the parsonage for more than forty years • Austen was the seventh of eight children • Austen had no formal literary training. She began writing early in her life for her family’s entertainment, and even when she wrote more seriously she never abandoned her domestic obligations (housekeeping and needlework) • Austen was virtually isolated from any literary society of her time, yet she found inspiration from her family, imagination, and the life around her

3. Many believe Austen modeled the character of Elizabeth Bennet on herself, and Jane Bennet on her sister Cassandra • Pride and Prejudice was written in 1798, but not published until 1813 • Austen was discouraged by the difficulty she had getting her work published, but by 1818 six of her novels were published • Austen died in 1817 • All six of Austen’s published novels revolve around marriage, but she herself never married. • Biographical accounts of Jane Austen never give reason for her lack of a husband. Her sister Cassandra never married, either.

4. II. Historical Background • Marriage was a central concern in early nineteenth century because it involved continuance of the family line through inherited property, and the only chance for middle and upper class women to have a tolerable existence • Rigid guidelines dictated the lives of respectable women: • Never go out alone, especially not in the city or at night • Spent days supervising servants • Did needlework • Made or received visits • Thought of little else besides fashion and society • Married women could not own property, even that which they may have inherited or earned after the wedding

5. Husbands were under no obligation to will their estates to their wives, if a husband dies without a will the widow had little claim to the property • If by some small chance there were a divorce, men had sole rights to the children • Unmarried women of good birth could only rarely inherit property, most was willed to the eldest son-in the absence of a son, property would be willed to a male relative • Women who did not marry were forced to live with married sisters or survive on meager income, regardless of their background

6. Women without relatives or adequate income were forced to become teachers or governesses. They secretly dreamed of rescue through marriage in their lives of despair • Governesses had it especially difficult because they were employed often by those of their same social rank, yet treated as a servant-it was the only place for women of higher social rank forced to earn their living. • Therefore, the panic Mrs. Bennet has over getting her daughters married is understandable and probably typical

7. A look at the culture… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIwjFRg9BwQ