Contextual information: Marriage

1. Group One
"Singlewomen have a dreadful propensityfor being poor,which is one very strong argument in favour of
matrimony"
-- Jane Austen, letterof March 13, 1816
In Jane Austen's time, therewas no real way for young women of the"genteel"classes to strike out on
theirown or be independent.Professions, theuniversities, politics,etc.were not open to women (thus
Elizabeth'sopinion"that though thisgreat lady [LadyCatherine] was not in thecommission of thepeace
for thecounty, she was a most activemagistratein her own parish" is ironic, since of course no woman
couldbe a justice of thepeace or magistrate).Few occupationswere opento them -- and thosefew that
were (such as being a governess, i.e. a live-in teacherfor thedaughters or young children of a family)were
not highlyrespected,anddid not generally paywell or have very goodworking conditions:Jane Austen
wrote, in a letterof April30th 1811, about a governess hired by her brotherEdward: "Bythistime I
suppose she is hard at it,governing away -- poorcreature! I pityher, tho'theyare my neices";
Therefore most "genteel"women couldnot get money except by marrying for it or inheriting it (and since
theeldest son generally inherits thebulkof an estate, as the"heir", a woman can only reallybe a "heiress"
if she has no brothers). Only a rather small number of women were what couldbe called professionals,
who though theirown efforts earned an income sufficient to make themselves independent, or hada
recognized career (Jane Austen herself was not really one of these few women professionals -- during the
last six years of her life she earned an average ofa littlemore than £100 a year byher novel-writing, but
her family's expenses were four times thisamount and she didnot meet with otherauthors or move in
literarycircles).

2. Group Two
Unmarried women had to live with their families, or with family-approved protectors-- it is almost
unheard of for a genteel youngish and never-married female to live byherself, even if she happened to be
a heiress (LadyCatherine: "Young women should always be properlyguarded and attended,according to
theirsituation in life"). So Queen Victoriahadto have her motherliving with her in thepalacein the late
1830's, until she married Albert (though sheand her motheractuallywere not even on speaking terms
during that period).Onlyin therelativelyuncommon case ofan orphanheiress who has alreadyinherited
(i.e. who has "come ofage" and whose fatherand motherare both dead),can a young never-married
female set herself up as theheadof a household(andeven here she must hire a respectableolder ladyto
be a "companion").
When a young woman leaves her family without theirapproval(or leaves therelatives or family-approved
friends or schoolwhere she has been staying),this is always very serious -- a symptomof a radicalbreak,
such as running away to marry a disapproved husband, or entering into an illicit relationship (as when
Lydialeaves theForsters to run away with Wickham); when Frederica Susanna Vernon runs away from her
boarding schoolin Lady Susan, it is to try to escape from her overbearing mother's authoritycompletely.
Therefore, a woman who did not marry couldgenerally onlylookforward to living with her relatives as a
`dependant' (more or less Jane Austen's situation),so that marriage is prettymuch theonlyway ofever
getting out from under the parentalroof -- unless, of course, her family couldnot support her, in which
case she couldface theunpleasant necessity of going to live with employers as a `dependant'governess or
teacher, or hired "lady's companion".A woman with no relationsor employerwas in danger of slipping off
thescale of gentilityaltogether(thusMrs. and Miss Bates in Emma are kept at some minimal level of
"respectability"onlythrough theinformalcharityof neighbours).And in general, becoming an "oldmaid"
was not considered a desirablefate (so when CharlotteLucas, at age27, marries Mr. Collins, her brothers
are "relieved from their apprehensionof Charlotte'sdying an oldmaid", and Lydiasays "Jane will bequite
an old maidsoon, I declare. Sheis almost three and twenty!").

3. Group 3
Due to the status of women, some were willing to marry just because marriage was the onlyallowed route
to financial security, or to escape an uncongenial familysituation.
In Pride and Prejudice, thedilemma is expressed most clearlyby thecharacter CharlotteLucas, whose
pragmaticviews on marrying are voiced several times in thenovel: "Without thinking highlyeitherofmen
or of matrimony, marriage hadalways been her object;it was theonly honourableprovision for well-
educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness,must be their
pleasantest preservative from want." She is 27, not especiallybeautiful(according to both sheherself and
Mrs. Bennet), and without an especiallylarge"portion",and so decides to marry Mr. Collins "from thepure
and disinterested desire of an establishment".
All thishas more point because Jane Austen herself was relatively"portionless"(which apparently
prevented one early mutual attractionfrom becoming anything serious), and once turned down a
proposalofmarriage from a fairly prosperous man.

4. Group Four
There couldalso be familypressure on a woman to be married. In Pride and Prejudice thisissue is treated
comically,since Mrs. Bennet is so silly, and so conspicuously unsupported by her husband but such family
pressure couldbe a serious matter.
Jane Austen expresses her opinionon allthisclearly enough by thefact that onlyher silliest characters
have such sentiments (while Mr. Bennet says "He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes
and fine carriages thanJane. But willtheymake you happy?").However, Jane Austen does not intendto
simply condemn CharlotteLucas (who finds consolationin "her homeand her housekeeping,her parish
and her poultry,and all theirdependent concerns") for marrying Mr. Collins -- Charlotte'sdilemma is a real
one.
• Marriage involved thewider family - not just the couple- Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine
• Marriage of cousins so wealth could bekept in thefamily - Lady Catherine’s planfor her daughter
Anne
• Marrying was theonly hopeof a girlfor freedom from her family - it also ended parentalsupport -
Mrs Bennet’s desire to see the girls married
• Marriage is the ultimategoal for a sensible parent- everything leading to it becomes significant

5. Group 5
Legalitiesof Marriage
There are also reasons why marriage was not a stateto be entered into lightly.Marriagewas almost
always for life -- English divorce law during thepre-1857 periodwas a trulybizarre medievalholdover
(readers ofCharlotteBrontë's Jane Eyre willremember that Mr. Rochester couldn't divorcehis insane
wife). Simplifying a bit almost the onlygrounds for divorce was the sexual infidelityof thewife; a husband
who wished to divorce hiswife for thisreason hadto get thepermission of Parliament to sue for divorce;
and thedivorce trialwas between the husband and thewife's alleged lover, with thewife herself more or
less a bystander. This cost quite a bit of money, so that onlythe rich could afforddivorces. There was also
thepossibilityoflegalseparations on grounds of cruelty, etc. (where neither spouse had the right to
remarry), but thehusband generallyhadabsolutecustody rightsover any children, and couldprevent the
wife from seeing them at his whim.
``In Scotland,theproperty,personalty,and rightsof the wife, are far more strictly protected thanin
England: and in divorce cases, she has the advantageover theEnglish wife, in thefact that thefirst step is
to inquire into thetruth ofthe allegationsagainst her. The English wife, in an action for "damages,"
brought as a first step towards divorce, by her husband against her lover, is not considered as a partyin
thesuit; cannot have counsel; and can only benefit by such chance circumstances in her favour as belong
to the defence made bytheman against whom theactionis laid. Lord Brougham,in 1838, mentioned a
case in theHouse of Lords, in which not only theman proceeded against was not in truth thewoman's
lover, but not even an acquaintance; and theaction was an agreedplot between him and thehusband,
who desired to be ridof his wife!''
Any propertythat a woman possessed before her marriage automaticallybecomesher husband's, unless
it is "settled"on her; thisleads to the"fortune-hunter" phenomenon: men who marry a woman only for
thesake ofthe woman's fortune -- after themarriage, thewoman and her money are legallyin the
husband's power(without any of thelimitationsof pre-nuptiallegal"settlements", which the wife's family
might have insisted upon if she hadmarried with theirapproval) This is thereason why Wickhamtries to
elopewith GeorgianaDarcy, who has £30,000. The otherside of thesame thing was the forced marriage
of an heiress, to ensure that her money passes into family-approved hands,

6. Group 6
The seeming preoccupationwith money in connection with marriage in Jane Austen's work maymislead
modern readers. While thereis no lackof greed and shallowmaterialism on thepart of some characters,
even sensible peoplemust devoteserious thought to thistopic,since it is rather foolhardyto marry
without having a more-or-less guaranteedincome in advance -- not onlywas marriage for life,but there
was no social security, oldage pensions, unemployment compensation, health insurance, etc.
Jane Austen's sister Cassandra was engaged for several years without being ableto marry, due to lackof
money on the part of her and her fiancé (and theirfamilies). So though Wickhamis a rogue, even a sincere
man with his limited income might bedeterred byfinancial reasons from marrying Elizabeth (thismore or
less what happened to Jane Austen herself once).
The groom's income, and themoney that thebride may have had"settled"onher (such as Georgiana
Darcy's £30,000), was frequently augmented by contributionsfrom one or both oftheirfamilies (in line
with the view of marriage as an "alliance"between the two families).
Passages in Pride and Prejudice dealing with money and marriage:
•Mr. Collins: Elizabeth's"portionisis unhappilyso small that it willin alllikelihoodundo theeffects of
[her] loveliness and amiablequalifications",and prevent her from ever receiving anotheroffer of
marriage.
•Mrs. Bennet to Elizabeth:"Ifyou go on refusing every offer of marriage, you will never get a husband --
and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain youwhen your father is dead."
•Mrs. Gardiner to Elizabeth:"affection"forWickham would be"so very imprudent" because of his "want
of fortune".
•Elizabeth to Mrs. Gardiner: "we see every daythat where there is affection, young peopleare seldom
withheldbyimmediatewant of fortune from entering into engagements with each other".
•Elizabeth is willing to allow that Wickham'stransferring his attentionsfrom her (to a recent heiress of
£10,000) is "a wise and desirablemeasure for both";"handsome young men must have something to live
on, as well as the plain"
•Elizabeth to Mrs. Gardiner: "what is thedifference, in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and
theprudent motive?"
•Colonel Fitzwilliam:"thereare not many in my rank of lifewho can affordto marry without some
attentionto money."
•Jane, on hearing of Lydia's elopement with Wickham:"So imprudent a match on both sides!...my father
can giveher nothing".