Pride and Prejudice Introduction

Life and Times of Jane Austen

Born to George and Cassandra Austen on December 16, 1775.

At age 10, begins writing stories in earnest.

At 14, Austen makes the conscious decision to become an author.

By age 21, Austen has written the two novels that would become Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.

More Austen Facts 1796 - Austen is in love with

and intends to marry Tom Lefroy, but his family ends it.

1802 – Austen accepts a proposal of marriage for practicality's sake, but breaks the engagement after one day.

1811 – Austen's first novel, Sense and Sensibility is published.

1813 – Pride and Prejudice is published and is an instant success.

July 18, 1817 – Jane Austen dies at the age of 41

What was the Regency? In his later life, King

George III suffered from what was most likely porphyria and in 1811 was declared unfit to rule.

His son, George IV, was named Prince Regent and ruled England in his father's stead until 1820, when he became king after George III's death.

King George III

The Prince Regent aka “Prinny”

Regency Society

Class boundaries were strict and imbalanced.

The upper class, known as the ton, made up of nobles, landed gentry, and the wealthy.

Matches among the ton were generally for status, prestige, or money.

An assembly at Almack's. The patronesses of Almack's could make or break a girl's chances of making a good marriage. Lady Sally Jersey was considered one of the most important matrons of the times.

Social Stratification in Regency England

* Monarch

* Royalty

* Aristocracy

* Gentry

* Middle Classes

* Artisans & Trades people

* Servants

* Laboring Poor

* Paupers

|||| <---These groups made up the ton.|||||

||||| <--- Though these guys made up| the majority of the population||||

Important Things to Know Entailments: The purpose of an entail

was to keep the land of a family intact in the main line of succession. The heir to an entailed estate could not sell the land, nor usually bequeath it to, for example, an illegitimate child. Entails passed through the male heirs.

Important Things to Know Marriage Customs: Courtship was very chaste. No

kissing or handholding!

An engaged couple had to announce “banns” at church for three consecutive weeks before the wedding.

Marriages were only performed in the morning, unless the couple had an enormously expensive special license.

Scotland didn't have strict marriage laws, so some impetuous couples eloped to Gretna Green, the first village in Scotland along the coaching road.

Important Things to Know

Regency Travel: All traveling was done via coach or

carriage.

Wealthy individuals owned barouches, landaus, chaises, and phaetons. Phaetons were the sports cars of the carriage world.

Everyone else traveled “post” or “coach” which was essentially public transportation. You rode in the a mail coach with as many other people as could be squeezed in.

That's just the way they roll...

Regency Clothing!(My favorite part)

High waisted, often sheer, gowns for women.

No corsets (Scandalous!)

Few petticoats or other skirt supports. Some women even dampened their skirts so their legs could be seen.

Regency Clothing!(My favorite part)

Men ALWAYS wore coats.

Under the coat, a man wore a smock, a shirt, and a waistcoat.

Pantaloons (tight fitting pants that went to the knee) were worn with stockings and slippers for formal wear.

Long trousers were worn tucked into Hessian boots for day wear.

Well, hello there Mr. Darcy...

Extreme Regency Looks...

About Pride and Prejudice

Famous First Line:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Structure

Written in 3rd person, from the view of Austen herself.

Occasionally breaks into 1st person.

Tongue-in-cheek satire of Regency society and conventions.

Key moments are illustrated through the use of epistolary. Letters play an important part.

Title is representative of the main characters. Mr. Darcy = Pride and Elizabeth = Prejudice.

The Bennet Sisters

Jane (22):

Eldest, sweetest, and considered the most beautiful.

Elizabeth (20):

Intelligent and opinionated. Father's favorite. The novel follows her story.

The Bennet Sisters

Mary (18):

The middle child. Most seriously minded. Also the plainest.

Kitty (17):

Loves officers, balls, and dancing. Inseparable from her sister Lydia.

Lydia (15):

Flirty, flighty, and silly. Pretends to be older than she is.

The Enduring Appeal of Austen