Why Do Jane Austen's Characters Have Specific Incomes?

In Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", Austen explores themes of wealth and class. In this video we'll discuss why Jane Austen had specific income tickets attached to her characters. Thanks for watching!
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:58 Pride and Prejudice Summary
22:29 Inflation and Wealth
26:14 The Bingleys are New Money
29:34 Colonel Fitzwilliam and Younger Sons
33:53 Mr Darcy's Privilege
40:34 Charlotte Lucas Marries for Money
44:27 Mrs Bennet's Redemption
48:34 Trapped by Mr Wickham
53:37 Conclusion
Twitter: @bethhaymond
Instagram: @bethhaymondreads
Music from musopen.org and jsayles.com.
Reading by Heather Beaman @beacharacter
WORKS CITED
Edward Copeland, "Women Writing About Money"
Daisy Grewal "How Wealth Reduces Compassion"
Ivor Morris, "Elizabeth And Mr. Bennet"
Christopher Ryan, "Why Are Rich People So Mean?"
John McAleer, "The Comedy of Social Distinctions in Pride and Prejudice"
Robert D. Gume, "Money in Jane Austen"
Barclay Palmer, "Why Is the Consumer Price Index Controversial?"
janeausten.co.uk, "The Prices of Officer's Commissions"
Philip Drew, "A Significant Incident in 'Pride and Prejudice'"
Jennifer Kloester, "Georgette Heyer's Regency World"
Roy & Lesley Adkins, "Jane Austen's England"
Claire Tomalin, "Jane Austen: A Life"
Janet Todd, "The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen"
Katherine Toran, "The Economics of Jane Austen's World"
John Mullan, "What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved"
Linda Slothouber, "Bingley’s Four or Five Thousand, and Other Fortunes from the North"
Elaine Bander, "Neither Sex, Money, nor Power: Why Elizabeth Finally Says 'Yes!'"
Cecilia Salber, "'Excuse my interference': Meddling in Pride and Prejudice"

[@hollygolightly8970]

Clearly you haven't read enough Shakespeare.

[@rodnee2340]

That was definitely a bad comparison.

[@moniquesilverans3842]

Mais nous ne sommes toujours pas certains à 100 % que Shakespeare a écrit ses livres seul car il y a tant de choses dans ce qu'il écrit qu'il ne pouvait connaître, cela reste et restera un mystère et ce n'est pas le seul en littérature Molière a-t-il écrit lui-même toutes ses pièces, là aussi il y a un doute qu'un autre se cachait peut-être derrière lui pour ne pas être repris comme un écrivain léger)

[@rosezingleman5007]

Yes! Maybe it is Edward de Vere we’re still reading after all this time and not the son of a glove maker.

[@KJ-jq9pq]

Some trivia: Anna Chancellor who played Caroline Bingley in the adaptation is related to Jane Austen.

[@beth-haymond]

Thank you for blessing me with that information and I love her and wish she was in everything!!

[@shinjineesen400]

Yes, Anna Chancellor is the granddaughter of Sylvia Paget, Lady Chancellor, herself daughter of Lady Muriel Paget nee Finch-Hatton, herself descended from Edward Knight nee Austen. Lady Muriel's paternal grandmother was Fanny Margaretta Rice, daughter of Edward Royds Rice and his wife, a daughter of Edward Knight nee Austen.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

Jane & Cassandra had six brothers- there are a few of us Austen descendants kicking around...

[@HJKelley47]

@@OcarinaSapphr- Does the Austen descendants make any money from the multitude of money made for others from Austen's works?

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

@@HJKelley47 Not _this_ one, but I can't speak to those who are still in England - & I don't know if her brothers/ their children kept Copyright over any or all of her works or not...

[@marianlayug5804]

I've always been fascinated by the economic aspect that motivated Mrs Bennet but that, with your brilliant analysis, shines a light too on the atrocious snobberyand downright meanness of the Bingley sisters, Lady de Burgh, and even Darcy himself. Your incisive analysis of how money and how it drives our choices brings a freshness and modern outlook to P&P. I hugely enjoyed your video. Thank you and long live Jane Austen!

[@beth-haymond]

Seriously, long live Jane Austen and thank you!

[@KPT437]

I know this video is 2 years old but I wish more people see it. It’s a good analysis of pride and Prejudice: a book that opens with the most famous line about money! Thank you for making this video and I hope you’ll return to KZbin in the near future with more Austen discussions.

[@ctranks7613]

This is the best Austen discussion series. She has the best voice, is very thorough and has none of the egocentric ticks of so many KZbinrs. Very well done

[@beth-haymond]

You're so sweet!!

[@lenoreandreas4000]

@@beth-haymondplease remember, though, you are speaking to your audience, not speaking to yourself, so when speaking in front of the camera, look at the lens of the camera, not your image on your phone. This is a mistake way too many KZbinrs make.

[@ecarron6016]

Brilliant analysis. I'd never thought about why the Bingley sisters were snobbish, but now you've pointed it out it makes sense. They have a similar social anxiety as Mrs Bennett, all are worried about sinking in status and financial position. You could definitely do a video about the Bingley sisters and whether they're misunderstood or if they're genuinely horrid.

[@juanitajones6900]

The Bingley sisters were not worried about sinking into a status or financial situation. They simply wanted to elevate the family into the upper-classes and not be regarded as trade, as the Lucas family managed to achieve. And Mrs. Bennet was worried about her daughters' financial situation only. As members of the landed gentry (through birth), Elizabeth and her sisters would not have lost their social position, following their father's death. Only their financial position. Lydia was the only one who had endangered the family's social position due to her behavior.

[@ecarron6016]

I'm not sure I entirely agree with you. I agree that the Bingley sisters wanted to elevate themselves, but I can't help thinking that as social climbers they would have probably had that fear factor of sinking again. To separate financial and class status doesn't seem realistic, the two things are intrinsically linked (unless you have a title), as well as being intrinsically linked to marriage for women of the time. Mr Bingley essentially bought his way into the landed gentry at the end of the book and Wentworth does something similar. Lizzy was raised in rank and wealth because of her marriage to Darcy, but Fanny Price's mother sank in status because of hers. I think both financial and class status would have been considerations for women marrying at the time. As to the balance you're probably right in that the Bingley sisters seem more concerned with class, whereas Mrs Bennett seems more concerned with money.

[@judithfenley3679]

I have to wonder if Wickham knew Mr Darcy was in love with Lizzie, and thus assumed Mr Darcy would come to Lydia's rescue in order to save Lizzie from the shame that would come upon her had Lydia been debased to the level of a streetwalker. This could destroy Mr Darcy's chances of marrying Lizzie. In some way, Mr Darcy was also protecting his own interests. He told Lizzie he did it for her. (For her reputation and his?)

[@beckihayes220]

They'd grown up together Sure he noticed Mr Darcy looking at Lizzy ( Like charlotte did ) Even if Lizzy herself didn't notice He would have seen Darcy as his rival

[@korganrocks3995]

@@beckihayes220 Possibly, but he only had a moment to do so, since he and Darcy only met that one time in Meryton during the time they were both in Hertfordshire, and considering that Wickham turned white as soon as he spotted Darcy, he might have had other things on his mind than why Darcy had looked in his direction in the first place.

[@ladidaohoh3168]

I absolutely think this is the entire reason Wickham pays attention to Lizzy at all, she doesn’t have any money, so he wouldn’t have wanted her for that, and he would have quickly realized he couldn’t seduce her, so Lizzy would have been useless to Wickham, but when he met with Darcy and Elizebeth he caught that Darcy liked her, I think Wickham knew before Darcy did, Wickham grew up with Darcy, and had developed excellent observation skills because all manipulators have those skills. At least that’s how I read it, I’m not sure if that was Austen’s intention, but that’s what I got from that interaction.

[@korganrocks3995]

@@ladidaohoh3168 I don't think it's the entire reason. While Jane is the prettiest woman in the neighborhood, Lizzy's witty, lively and flirty(in a respectable way, unlike Lydia). Wickham seems smart enough to avoid trying to seduce gentlewomen in an area he's gonna be stuck in for several months, so any flirting in polite society is merely innocent entertainment. With that in mind Lizzy is the most attractive recipient, while he saves the actual seductions for servants and shopkeepers' daughters. Once there's an actual heiress avaliable he abandons Lizzy, but before that he was enjoying her company, with the mutual Darcy-hating society they'd formed being a bonus.

[@ladidaohoh3168]

@@korganrocks3995 Possibly, as I said I’m not sure what Jane Austen intended for the reader to get from the early exchange’s of Wickham and Lizzy, but as it seems Wickham was alway’s working his own angle and he didn’t seem to take an interest in women for any purpose other than sex or money anywhere else in the novel, that was the reason I took his interaction as working some angle for his own benefit, as I couldn’t find any other instance in the novel where he participated in a flirtation just for the sake of the flirtation itself.

[@mayflowermatriarch5284]

Ellie Dashwood has also done several videos on Mr. Darcy’s wealth and its sources.

[@debbiericker8223]

This was extraordinarily well done, and I thank you. I am disappointed to see that this is your only YT video on any subject.

[@DavidBrowningBYD]

I’ve read the book and seen the 1995 miniseries many times, as well as seeing quite a few other commentaries here on KZbin, but you make quite a few points here that I had never considered. Well done!

[@rogerpropes7129]

It has been too long since I read the book, but the one thing that worries me about the ending is that Darcy has obviously defied his aunt by marrying Lizzie and we don't see her reaction or contemplate how this might affect their happiness. The1940 version happily resolves this question--with the delightful Edna Mae Oliver in the stylized role.

[@debbiericker8223]

It's all resolved in the final chapter. "Lady Catherine was extremely indignant on the marriage of her nephew; and as she gave way to all the genuine frankness of her character in her reply to the letter which announced its arrangement, she sent him language so very abusive, especially of Elizabeth, that for some time all intercourse was at an end. But at length, by Elizabeth’s persuasion, he was prevailed on to overlook the offence, and seek a reconciliation; and, after a little further resistance on the part of his aunt, her resentment gave way, either to her affection for him, or her curiosity to see how his wife conducted herself; and she condescended to wait on them at Pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its woods had received, not merely from the presence of such a mistress, but the visits of her uncle and aunt from the city."

[@AlamoDame7]

Thank you. You're a kindred spirit, and I enjoyed your discussion very much and recommending you're video to others attracted to Austen and life during Regency times!

[@AlamoDame7]

correction : "your video."

[@fascination2525]

One last compliment -- @ 47:58 Thank you for taking up for Mrs. Bennet. She was the only one concerned with how her daughters would survive after Mr. Bennet died. I've got little respect for Mr.B, always hiding in his library and neglecting the future of his family. He'd be more universally vilified if people weren't blinded by his obvious preference for Lizzie.

[@korganrocks3995]

He's a literary character, not a historical one, so we don't get mad at him for being a negligent husband and father as long as we find him entertaining. I'd have more respect for Mrs. Bennet if it wasn't clear that she is just as much at fault for the financial situation of the Bennets as her husband, which undermines her concern for her daughters' futures. Someone who actually cared wouldn't be blowing the budget on clothes and food every single year for multiple decades. The difference between the two is that at least Mr. Bennet isn't a hypocrite.

[@66gtb]

Beth, great video. It’s obvious how much work, research and thought you put into the project. On a different topic, your soft delicate voice put me right to sleep last night and the two times I woke up overnight. Thank you for that. Sad to see that this is your only video. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

[@moniquesilverans3842]

La meilleure analyse de ce livre, une analyse simple mais rigoureuse qui donne envie de relire le livre en s'appuyant sur cette analyse. J'ai remarqué l'emploi du film de 1985 au lieu de celui de 2005 et c'est avec raison car le film de 1985 suit parfaitement le livre et l'esprit de Jane Austen tandis que le film de 2005 est seulement un film pour rapporter de l'argent et plaire aux publics américains qui ne sont pas tous au courant de la situation des femmes et de la société britannique au moment de l'écriture du livre. Bravo pour cette analyse complète non seulement des caractères mais également des situations face à l'argent à cette époque.

[@JamieRobles1]

From what I understand about the income ticket and why Elizabeth ended up marrying a man that had a lot of money was because of the type of love Darcy and Elizabeth have. Austen wrote Darcy as having more because Darcy and Elizabeth would develop consummate love for each other which is rare. It's also, because of the high income ticket displays another form of anxiety within the Darcy household that is opposite of the Bennet household. One strives to marry well so that they will not be deprived/homeless in the future, the other strives to have an alliance that would not squander the opportunity of staying well financially as well as societal.

[@Theres-do6ek]

fantastic video! I would love to watch many more of your in-depth videos about Austen's work!

[@julijakeit]

I love your analysis. Cost of living is the best way to compare how people lived back then as inflation is not really accurate indicator alone. For instance, Bennets are wealthy family with income generating estate that allows servants, balls and in general pretty comfortable life (as for a wealthy person), however, Bennet ladies would lose all wealth but the income of their mother's dowry that would allow them around 40 to 50 pounds a year - not enough to live a comfortable life alone but together they would manage a gentile 'poverty' (as we see in Sense and Sensibility). Now servants would earn anything between 5 pounds a year (yep, 5 pounds. Per year) while others would even manage to earn 400 pounds a year (estate managers or stewards of the wealthy family, like Darcy. And I will digress here but I disagree that Wickham's father could not afford to send his son to a good school - I will go as much as to say it is highly hinted Wickham fancied himself to be in the same class as Darcy so even if his father was well respected and liked, Wickham Junior was seen as mean to other servants but managed to ingratiate himself to Darcy's father so he too would be sent to study with the gentry. Only to fumble the opportunity as he had desire for more but not desire to earn it). Wickham as an officer would earn up to 1000 pounds a year which is actually very good money but we know that Wickham is indebted and squanders his money fast, even when he marries Lydia, she always writes to her sisters for financial help. Still, Wickham would be able to have some servants and even a nanny for his children. As it comes to the wealth of Mr Bingley, he's practically a multimillionaire hitting hundreds of millions in today's money. Mr Bingley can purchase a title if he purchased an estate (and his sisters are nudging that he should). The only thing that wealthy upper class gentry may hold against Mr Bingley is that his father was in trade (oh horror!) and Bingley sisters are highly insecure of the fact. Financially Bingleys can do no wrong. Socially - someone like Lady Catherine would probably slight them and the funniest thing is that Caroline Bingley tries so hard to call out Bennets on their 'low connections' just to feel better about herself or maybe to divert anyone from digging on her own background. However, she invites Jane Bennet to dinner because Jane is of high social status in the neighborhood and Bingley sisters are all about status chasing and Jane as a friend would look good, so to speak. Of course, as soon as Caroline suspects her bother is in love with her, she shows her true colors to Jane. If we talk about the wealth of Mr Darcy... he's indeed on the level of billionaires by today's standards. He's richer than some of dukes of his time. His own sister has immense dowry which attracts fortune hunters like Wickham and his aunt is a formidable wealthy Lady Catherine de Bourgh. It is indeed interesting that you touched upon Col Fitzwilliam as he exposes that a man in his position is expected to have a high life standards but not the means of an heir as Col Fitzwilliam is only a younger son of an Earl (and though a candidate to inherit, it is not likely he will if his bother marries and has at least one son). If we talk Col Fitzwilliam income, it would probably be on the same level as Mr Bennet at the time, please correct me if I am wrong. And there is no wonder that Lizzy at least considers what marriage to Col Fitzwilliam would be like as it is not only socially acceptable but amiable prospect (Col Fitzwilliam is wealthy enough, high ranking officer enough and has superior connections) and whether his lamentations on looking to find a wealthy heiress comes from his own desire or rather social pressure to do so is not clear. Mr Darcy's character, the more I read Pride and Prejudice, the more I come to like him, personally. The first time I hated him and saw no reason why Lizzy should fall in love with him as it was all his fault ! (oh he young indignant me) but the more I read the more I realized how wonderfully Jane Austen painted a picture of Darcy not herself but using us, the readers and the supporting characters. Mr Darcy is very careful of his social circle as his sister was almost kidnapped for her fortune by a person his own father treated like a son (ew ew ew) at the age of 15 (!!!! pedo alert!), his own best friend's sisters fancy themselves to be of higher social status and are snobbish to other people beneath them and though Darcy sometimes agrees with them, he does so only among strangers. Mr Darcy shows all respects to Elizabeth even if her family's behavior makes his hair stand up, he does not judge her the same way Bingley sisters do and even though his proposal was clumsy and indeed insulting, no lies were told. And Lizzy realizes that. Mr Darcy took care to introduce his own sister to Elizabeth, visited her in Rosings often enough to cause notice and, of course, rescued Lydia from ruining entire Bennet family even after Lizzy refused to marry him. In short, his fortune was always part of his character and whether we like it or not, realizing how people took advantage of his family and him in the past and what great temptation his money is for any woman at that time, one could see why he's cold and disliked when he's first introduced.

[@robinrubendunst869]

This is a wonderful breakdown. Thank you for sharing your scholarship. Financial security is every bit as important today. When Jane Eyre inherits 20,000 pounds from her uncle in Mediera, it wasn’t an income, just a lump sum, correct? Whereas Darcy earns 10,000 per year. Jane would be secure but not wealthy. And not “in society.”

[@beth-haymond]

I think you're right and then she shares her money with her cousins as well!!

[@runew9732]

Great video! Id have a more thoughtful comment but my cold is making me stupid today 😅 I like your style of commentary and agree with a lot of your thoughts here. Though I will defend Bingley on the count that Darcy was only able to get him to leave Jane bc he convinced him that Jane was indifferent. I dont think he realized he was going to hurt her at all. He clearly wants to marry for mutual love, not just beauty. Like a lot of personality traits, his humbleness is a double edged sword, both allowing him to meet others as equals and sometimes making him easy to influence by someone he trusts

[@glendodds3824]

Hi. Thanks for all the work you put into this analysis. I like the fact that you use footage from the classic 1995 adaptation, all in all, the best version of Pride and Prejudice. Furthermore, you correctly highlight that Mr Bennet was a very wealthy man. Indeed, in the following clip Professor Mullan describes £2,000 per annum as "huge, huge wealth." kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6apoKJphb96h9k

[@beth-haymond]

Thanks for the clip and I'm definitely a big fan John Mullan!!

[@mainchannel1566]

The Bank of England inflation calculator goes back to 1209. Pride and Prejudice was written starting in 1797 (£1.3M; $1.77M) and published in 1813 (£709.5K; $964K).

[@beth-haymond]

This is true and thanks for sharing. I pulled from Katherine Toran's article on JASNA and she referenced the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator only going back so far. There are different ways to calculate inflation and how much Mr. Darcy would be worth today, but it's hard to measure. The value of things changes over time and what we value as a society changes over time. That's why I focused on his wealth relative to other people at the time. :)

[@juanitajones6900]

If Elizabeth Bennet had failed to marry someone of wealth, she WOULD NOT have fallen out of the gentry class. Class wasn't always about mere money. It was about how a person (or a person's family) earned income and blood connection.

[@beth-haymond]

I can agree with my wording there. I think it would've been a Miss Bates type situation where the lack of money and estate world make it very difficult for them to access the same level of connections they had previously enjoyed. Without considerable charity on someone else's part or, as is the plot of the book, a very good marriage from I've of the sisters.

[@juanitajones6900]

@@beth-haymond Yet, Miss Bates and her mother had no difficulty participating in the social scene of Highbury's upper class, due to their social connections. Despite their lack of money, the Dashwoods were still able to socialize with the local gentry and upper classes in "Sense and Sensibility". And the only reason the Bates and the Dashwoods were able to do this and receive this kind of charity from their neighbors was blood connections and class.

[@juanitajones6900]

@@beth-haymond Don't forget that despite her lack of wealth, Miss Bates and her mother were still invited to dinners and other social events attended by those from the gentry class with more money. Despite their lack of wealth, they still have the social connections due to bloodlines and family connections. The same can be said for the Dashwood sisters in "Sense and Sensibility".

[@mariar3767]

​@@beth-haymond Elisabeth would not lose her social status , she would still be gentry even if a poor one . Her status came from being the daughter of a gentleman not from her own money. Like she would get invited to dinner but lets say a very rich merchant would not be . Lady Catherine is still a member of nobility even if she married a man without a title . She is a lady even if her husband was not a noble because she is the daughter of an Earl.

[@annamanuelle2699]

Well, would Fanny Price’s mother still be considered gentry?

[@Soundcloud765]

I immensely enjoyed your lovely guidance on "Pride&Prejudice" ! Thank you!

[@Teffi_Club]

To find out what happens when a wealthy woman marries a fortune chaser, read Wilki Collins' novel The Woman in White written in 1860 but set ten years prior to it. Only in 1882 the British government passed the act about financial freedom for married women.

[@veryberry39]

Your soft-spokenness made your little quips and jabs that much funnier. I really enjoyed this video, thank you for making it!

[@michellelink7996]

You have a wonderfully calm voice. Thank you.

[@madisonaraceli4543]

i was so sad to see you dont have more videos up! Loves all the detail and context in this video that many videos on the subject cant fit. Keep it up!!

[@Mimi-pu8bx]

My favourite book, 1995 my favourite adaptation. This is a wonderfully done, plus you added a snippet of George Michael's Careless Whisper.....perfect

[@joekerr9197]

Darcy was not only rich he was actually a member of the so-called "old money". While he and his family did not have an actual noble title (were not part of the nobility, they were an actual old landed gentry. Meaning his family most likely owned land since probably the middle ages and/or for at least for a couple of centuries. This meant that he had far "superior breeding" to use Jane Austen's words, his connections would thus surely go far beyond any of the other character...besides ofc Catherine de Bourgh and their cousin Col. FitzWilliam who in fact came from even more "distinguished families" at least in the most immediate family. In fact the use of the surnames by Jane Austen, while her characters are purely fictitious, refer to actual noble families of that time. For example Darcy of rather D'Arcy as it would be spelled originally were an old family from north England which had numerous branches, of which at least four managed to gain nobility being created Barons and Earls. So in my understanding Darcy would probably be an offshoot of a much richer and powerful family, most likely a descendant himself from one of the younger sons of a noble...not much unlike as Col. FitzWilliam as he is portrayed in the book. The actual FitzWilliam family itself was also an old family of which at least two branches were raised to nobility, not to mention De Burgh of which the actual family featured heavily in English history and even more in Ireland (where they are known as Burke/Bourke) since they held some of the highest offices and noble titles since the times of William the Conqueror. Bingley's and in smaller part Bennet's represent the so-called middle class of that time. A class which started emerging from the upcoming industrialization and trade. This puts things even more in the perspective...it wasn't only just about the money but rather it was in essence a clash and joining of two different social classes. In essence it was a love story and in smaller part a social commentary of the British (or rather English) society of the time...with the new upcoming families climbing up the social ladder and mixing up with the old landed gentry.

[@alexvoiceteacher]

Wow! I really enjoyed your analysis of the novel and would love to see another video on the themes you weren't able to explore. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@susanmercurio1060]

Thank you for giving Georgette Heyer a shout-out!

[@user-fz5qv1bu5x]

Thank you for all these wonderful knowledge of English Society!! I just love watching that period & P&P is my very favorite!!

[@kseniavarna9131]

This is such a good analysis, very well done! 🙌🏻 thank you for your insights!

[@biafrizon]

I've watched this video at least 5 times since ive discovered it. Thanks for the quality content and hope youll be putting some more up soon!

[@beth-haymond]

This comment cured my depression and my acne. I really do plan to make more videos!!

[@joiceraiana]

That analysis was spot on and so good

[@rebeccarichardson2200]

Thank you for this analysis!

[@andreavalle3987]

What a truly great video. Thankfully this appeared in my recommended. I’ll subscribe! 🎉 I love it haha I will probably watch it again 😅😅

[@Fluffyan]

What a great video!

[@MrVenice62]

Thank you for your terrific summary and analysis of P and P. It was through coming across excerpts on KZbin of the BBC series and the 2005 film that I have been drawn to revisit both with great pleasure. My late wife particularly loved the series. I confess that I have only delved intermittently into the book but have come to admire the skills of the scriptwriters who have brought to life the imagery of the text so vividly. I searched the book for the famous wet shirt encounter at Pemberly in vain! The class system so well described in the novel insulated the characters from the realities of life for those on whom their comfort depended. Servants are rarely even named for instance. And the political turmoil that had undermined the nobility of France (20 odd miles away across the Channel) and scared the wits out of the English upper classes of the period seems of no concern to Jane Austen. What degrees of freedom leisure and literature can bring! But maybe I should knuckle down and read the book through. Thanks again for your work. Peter McC

[@davidpeterkin1237]

Well done, more please

[@susanmercurio1060]

It's not just that Jane was reserved; it wasn't proper for any well-bred young lady to wear her heart on her sleeve, as the saying goes. Lydia is a perfect example of a young lady who does (and look what happened to her).

[@EbayleyA]

Beth I had so much fun watching this! You have made me want to reread very much and reminded me that I shouldn’t watch 1995!

[@tymanung6382]

A few English gentry women did inherit, as Lady Catherine De Bourghs. daughter, or Emma Woodhouse.

[@kylehaymond1850]

I went from knowing nothing about Jane Austen's writing to knowing too much... would watch another 🤷‍♂️

[@beth-haymond]

Emma is up next, so buckle up

[@robinbirdj743]

Great discussion and recap. Nice take on Austen characters. They had a class system which worked fairly well for everyone but about half the women and children (kind of like now).

[@korganrocks3995]

I'd say they had a system that worked fairly well for the 1%, and even some of them got screwed over...

[@heatheralice89]

This video is great 👏

[@yellowleaf28]

Died with the saxophone playing & black and white warning about Darcy eye googling his future wife

[@yellowleaf28]

What an awesome opportunity to see all the juicy parts of 90s pp

[@meghanconnolly5977]

I would love to hear that 40 pages of deleted notes!!!

[@fascination2525]

@ 25:35 Thank you for pointing out just how wealthy the Bennets really were, as long as Mr. Bennet was alive. I had thought they would be in maybe the top 5% or so, but .17%? Yikes! Even without doing the research, however, it's clear from the novel that they were living very well. I don't know what the screen writers and director of the awful 2005 movie version were on when they decided to portray the Bennetts living in a dingy, dilapidated home (complete with a pig trotting inside and chickens on the stoop). The Bennetts themselves looked equally unkempt. It completely ruined the movie for me. Ugh.

[@vickiamundsen2933]

I always wince at that discussion between Col. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth... like, dude, could you BE more obvious and heavy-handed?

[@korganrocks3995]

I think it was a fairly smooth way to clarify that he wasn't looking for more than friendship, which is an issue that kinda did need adressing when two young people got along as well as he and Elizabeth did. Elizabeth had assumed that might be the case, and him confirming it after so short an acquaintance made it easier for her to guard her heart before she fell for him. Unless you meant what he said about Bingley, which was the opposite of smooth! 😄

[@rosezingleman5007]

I’ve wondered if Col. Fitzwilliam is the one who ultimately weds Anne de Bourgh?

[@korganrocks3995]

It does make financial and dynastical sense; he needs money, and being a younger son he'd be more likely to allow his own heir to take the de Bourgh name(if that was a requirement), alternatively not have children at all if she's too frail for pregnancy/childbirth. Not to mention that if she died young the estate would stay in the family.

[@ellietobe]

What I do not understand is how would everyone know how much money others make a year? It is as though the income of everyone is published in the newspaper every year! Does everyone in England have to notify the world of their yearly income?

[@korganrocks3995]

I don't remember the particulars, but you're actually not far off! I think there was a fair amount of information avaliable, which allowed people to get within 25% of the correct answer, like Bingley having "four or five thousand a year".

[@AkireMaru]

“As women, they can’t inherit their father’s estate” My understanding is that this is not the case. Otherwise, how was Lady Catherine’s daughter a heiress of Rosings Park? I think the law would have made an exception for the Bennett family since they produced all girls but my understanding is that Mr. Bennett made no effort to rectify they situation.

[@FC-hj9ub]

Leaving something to some one is not the same as inheriting estate

[@raraavis7782]

There was no law against it, but you could specify such things in a will. Mr. Bennet's estate was 'entailed away' and such an entail can only be broken, when both the current landowner and the heir apparent agree. So Mr. Bennet could have (possibly) changed the inheritance rules for the estate with a son of his own. But not with an unwilling Mr. Collins.

[@korganrocks3995]

@@raraavis7782 I think it might be impossible even if Mr. Collins was willing, since he's only the presumptive heir. It's honestly a pretty big argument against entails, but then I guess the kind of man who cares that much about the family line cares less about the individual female family members who may get kicked out of their home if a male heir should fail to appear.

[@hotoneinspai]

Prey Who is Elizabeth King? who's inherited 10,000.00

[@NatsAstrea]

Of course, the Bingley sisters are just AWFUL, as is Lady Catherine - it doesn't say much for the education and upbringing of wealthy women, whether nobility, gentry, the gentle trades, etc., does it? But one thing stands out to me - Mr and Mrs Gardiner are held up as genteel, decorous, interesting, well-mannered - and well off. Why on earth would neither Jane nor Elizabeth consider marrying someone in the Gardiners' class, the class of their own mother? There's no indication that Mr Gardiner had any real money as a young man, being Mrs Bennett's brother, and yet he has a house in London, the ability to travel in some style with his wife and niece, and earns enough of a living to make his family very comfortable. I understand that Jane Austen, being somewhere in the gentry social class, as the daughter of a minister, would see her protagonists' marrying someone of a lower class than their father as somewhat of a comedown, but the Bingleys were the children of a man in trade who made lots of money, enough to allow Mr Bingley to be able to purchase an estate and ascend to the gentry - just like Mrs Bennett. Why would Mrs Bennett thus be so desperate that her daughters should marry wealth? Shouldn't one or more of the Bennett girls be able to marry a well-to-do and promising young man of their mother's class, without causing the degree of panic ascribed to poor Mrs Bennett?

[@renaerolley5670]

That is a VERY good question! Although Mrs. Bennet is trying to make SURE her girls are well taken care of, she really, REALLY did not think things completely through. The Bingley sisters ARE horrid! Even though they come from TRADE, they look down their noses at anyone else who is in trade NOW. Mr. Hurst is NOT a catch and I cannot see anyone marrying Caroline. I love Anna Chancellor's portrayal of her. Positively wretched old maid!

[@Eloraurora]

Apparently, Austen answered a reader who felt sorry for Mary Bennet's impending spinsterhood that she would eventually marry one of her uncle's clerks. Since Mr. Gardiner is presented to us as both intelligent and principled, we can hope that the clerk is a decent guy with good professional prospects. And with Mrs. Gardiner nearby, Mary could readily learn a lot of practical skills to better manage her household, and take pride in those accomplishments.

[@mtngrl5859]

Mr. Gardiner isn't in the legal profession- he is a successful merchant and lives in Cheapside, London. This content creator is mixing up another family member (their aunt) who is married to a solicitor in Merryton. If one of the Bennett girls had married someone of the Gardiner's circle, they would have lost their gentlewoman status, the would have married someone who actually worked for a living or been in trade. The Gardiners are in the 3rd class, the Bennett's and Darcy are in the second class. I believe that Bingley's grandfather was in trade, not his father.

[@richardwebb2348]

More research into late 18thc. -early 19thc English social history would help answer your questions, especially concerning the all important differences in class and ownership of land.

[@AkireMaru]

It’s like asking the question, why would someone accept a 100K salary if they believe they are worth 500K? She believed Jane’s beauty, despite her smallish dowry, could fetch a high value man, so she as a mother tried to give her daughter every advantage possible to secure a top-tier match. I’m sure if Jane was pushing 23 or 25, she would have lowered her expectations but she has the mindset of a winner and negotiator. Such a person naturally would not start the bid low and sabotage things by coming in with the defeatist mindset that her daughter should only hope for a low marriage

[@moremileyplease4387]

Good video, though.

[@mariapeonia1010]

Elizabeth had 1000 on 10% a year, taking under concideration Jane Austen earned 350 on her books and lived nicely on it for 3years, Elizabeth was ok. She was not fine, but her future was secure.

[@shinjineesen400]

Ten percent a year?! Dowries were normally invested in government bonds or consols, at the rate of four or five percent. Mrs Bennet and her daughters spent the income as pin money. Income on four thousand (Mrs Bennet's original dowry) was thus between 160 to 200 pounds annually. Lydia apparently gets 40 pounds pin money annually. I don't know where the extra thousand came from. Perhaps a little money was saved and added, or perhaps and more likely, that sum was added at the time of the settlement. By contrast, we know that Mrs Dashwood and her three daughters (in Sense and Sensibility) were to live on five hundred a year from a total of ten thousand a year (seven thousand set aside by her late husband and three thousand to her daughters by will of his late uncle). Mrs Dashwood had no dowry, no portion. She was a second wife. Her husband enjoyed the estate and its income of one thousand pounds for less than a year. Yup, the estate income was half that of the Bennets. Mrs Dashwood had a kind relative in Sir John Middleton who offered her a cottage on his estate, but she had to pay the rent. The Bennet girls and their mother would have to rely on Mr Gardiner (married, with four young children) and Mr Phillips (childless) to help them rent a cottage. There are no aristocratic or landed gentry connections mentioned. And both Mrs Bennet and Lydia were extravagant.

[@jaredvaughan1665]

Jane Austen rivals Shakespeare. Huh??

[@FC-hj9ub]

Well, she does

[@korganrocks3995]

In current cultural relevance and adaptations of her work I'd say it's a valid comparison. Traditionally Shakespeare is by far the winner, but since the 90s I feel like Austen has been closing the gap. Also, since JK Rowling is actively torpedoing her position as Britain's literary queen(and since the actual queen died), Jane Austen kinda takes the crown by default.