Courtship and Marriage in Jane Austen’s Day
In which the author tries to answer her own questions.
Years of grad school and university teaching have left me a research nerd. But you kind of already figured that out.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the social conventions surrounding courtship and marriage during Jane Austen’s Regency era. Naturally those turned into articles posted here and elsewhere. And not unlike a certain Christmas book I mentioned recently, I had a good think about what I had already written and realized I was just a few topics shy of a book. (Yes, I do know the analogy I’m making, and yes, I really do mean it that way too…)
Just needed a little more research … sounds like motivation to me! So away we went down that rabbit hole!
I give you …
Courtship and Marriage in Jane Austen’s Day
Jane Austen’s books are full of hidden mysteries for the modern reader. Why on earth would Elizabeth Bennet be expected to consider a suitor like foolish Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice? Would Lydia’s ‘infamous elopement’ truly have ruined her family and her other sisters’ chances to marry? Why were the Dashwood women thrown out of their home after Mr. Dashwood’s death in Sense and Sensibility, and what was the problem with secret engagements anyway? And then there are settlements, pin money, marriage articles and many other puzzles for today’s Austen lovers.
Customs have changed dramatically in the two centuries since Jane Austen wrote her novels. Beyond the differences in etiquette and speech, words that sound familiar to us are often misleading. References her original readers would have understood leave today’s readers scratching their heads and missing important implications.
Take a step into history with Maria Grace as she explores the customs, etiquette and legalities of courtship and marriage in Jane Austen’s world. Packed with information and rich with detail from Austen’s novels, Maria Grace casts a light on the sometimes bizarre rules of Regency courtship and unravels the hidden nuances in Jane Austen’s works.
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