Review of Related Theories

2.2. Review on England Society in Regency Period

Pride and Prejudice took place in England in the early nineteenth, during a time known as the Regency period. The term refers to England’s ruler between 1810 and 1820 defined by Donald A. Low as 1800-1830 and by Venetia Murray as 1788- 1820 when George IV served as regent to substitute his father, George III who suffered from serious mentally ill. The Regency period is sometimes called the age of elegance. By the early nineteenth, the industrial revolution had been in full swing for several decades and was transforming English society. Technology made commerce and manufacturing more efficient and profitable. As a result, many middle-class business owners and professionals became wealthy. The newly rich displayed their wealth in large country homes with landscaped ground, fine carriages, and elegant fashions. The upwardly mobile middle-class generally gave little thought to what was going on outside their world. The economic system that had made them prosperous, however, had left others struggling to survive. In the age of industrialism, work that had previously been done manually was now being done by machines, so it created unemployment. The country was living near starvation in which a situation that fueled social unrest. 12

2.3. Review on Society’s View on Marriage in the early Nineteenth Century England

Since this thesis is going to study how Jane Austen criticizes the marriage motivation in the early nineteenth Century England, a review on society’s view on marriage in the early nineteenth is needed. So, it is necessary to know the cultural and historical background of the society, especially the society’s view toward the status of women, social classes and materialism of the early nineteenth century in England, which have a close relation to marriage.

2.3.1 The Status of Women in England in the early Nineteenth Century

In early nineteenth century of England, women were not regarded as whole individuals in the society. Women at that time were considered to be the second class people after men and their position were limited only at home to control the household. They even could not go to the world of business and talk about social problem such as politics, trade and technology. Women could never become better until their position was improved and until the laws were made more just, as well as until a wide field were opened for women Wollstonecraft 530-534. People in England believed in paternalism, which considered women less important than men. The consequence of this system was that women could not bequeath their family name to their children and they had no right of inheriting the wealth of their parents Walter L. Arstein 177-189. 13 In the nineteenth century, few middle-class women could choose not to marry or to marry simply for love. In Jane Austen’s time, there was no real way for young women of the genteel classes to strike out on their own independent. A woman of the genteel class would be respected when she had a thorough knowledge of music, singing, playing the piano, drawing, dancing and speak a little French and Italian. The purpose of such accomplishments, that we consider as the ladylike arts, was often only to attract a husband. Reciting well-known poems, embroidering, and painting designs on the tables were other “accomplishments” for young ladies. Because their adult lives would be spent in the domestic sphere, a well-rounded education was not considered essential for girls. Girls seldom received the systematic education as their brothers did. Education in the early nineteenth century England was not equal, not between the sexes neither the classes. A lady’s education was taken, almost entirely, at home. There were boarding schools, but no university, and the studies were very different. Women were not allowed to attend the institutionalized rags on the educational ladder. Profession, the universities and the politics were not open to women. Only few occupations were open to them and these occupations were not highly respected being a governess or a live-in teacher for the daughter of a family, and did not generally well paid and have very good working conditions. A few middle-class women earn money by writing, as Jane Austen did, but they seldom made enough to live on. Most of genteel women could not earn money except by 14 marrying for it or inheriting it. By tradition, property and money were passed down through the male side of the family. For most women, marriage was the only path to the financial security or as “the only honorable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune”. Only a rather small number of women could be called professionals. Margareth Kirkham, in David Greg’s The Jane Austen Handbook says that unmarried women also had to live with their families, or with family-approved protectors 154-156. When a young woman left her family without their approval, such as running away to marry a disapproved husband or entering into illicit relationship, it was a symptom of a radical break and this situation was always very serious It can be concluded that the status of women in the early nineteenth century England was that the social position of women was lower than men. Women could improve their position only by learning many things to reach the quality of women in the early nineteenth century England.

2.3.2. Social Classes

“True” marriages were connected to social status in Jane Austen’s time. It was like a business contract, joining and strengthening families, wealth and status, providing heirs and giving women financial security. Marriage partners were often chosen according to their background, so the partner with the inferior status could 15 achieve a higher status as a result of the marriage regardless of from family he or she came. Generally, there were three social classes in England society, namely the aristocratic or upper class, the middle and the lower or working class. Beside those three main classes, there were still many subclasses which were hold their own status in social order.

2.3.2.1. Aristocratic or The Upper Class

The upper or aristocratic class was the richest class that had the big influence upon the economic, politic, military and intellectual policy. A prosperous English family or the upper class people spent more than 10,000 a year. They spent their income on ten servants: a man servant, a cook, a kitchen maid, two housemaids, a serving maid, a governess, a gardener, a coachman and a stable boy. Social parties and balls were held often and dancing was a favorite pastime among most upper-class men and women. Spending on food was also great because the dinner party was this class’s favorite social occasion.

2.3.2.2. The Middle Class

The next-highest class was the middle. The middle class was divided into three subclasses. They were upper-middle class, middle-middle class and lower- middle class. The upper middle class composed mainly of the most successful 16 business families from banking, industry, and large commerce. The larger number of servant was very important indicator of wealth and standing for the middle. The sign of real wealth in a middle class household was a male servant; two or three were mark opulence Hill 847. The middle classes were closely united by a certain lifestyle. Food was the largest item of the household budget. Those food and servants absorbed about a half of the income. They usually would settle the dinner party once a month Hill 849-850. Below the wealthy upper middle class was much larger, much less wealthy and increasingly diversified middle class. Here one found the moderately successful industrialist and merchants, as well as profession in law and medicine. This was middle-middle class, solid and quite comfortable but lack of great wealth Hill 848. Below the middle-middle class was the lower-middle class who were composed mainly of independent shopkeepers, small trades and tiny manufactures. The lower-middle class expanded modestly in size with economic development. Industrialization also expanded and diversified the lower-middle class.

2.3.2.3. The Lower or Working Class

The last was the working class. This working class divided into two subclasses. They were the upper working class and the lower working class. The upper working class which was composed mainly people whose livelihood depended on physical labor, who did not employ domestic servants as the upper and middle 17