tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post1187042906494204304..comments2023-12-19T13:11:31.497-06:00Comments on TBR 313: Jane Austen and marriageLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-66320238502753929612012-06-28T22:15:12.959-05:002012-06-28T22:15:12.959-05:00I always think of Edward Austen's wife Elizabe...I always think of Edward Austen's wife Elizabeth, with eleven children in fifteen years - who died so soon after the last was born. Hazel Jones quotes someone saying that we don't want to think of Elizabeth Darcy in that situation, but it was the reality of married life for so many women of the time.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-81671742336817645672012-06-28T15:54:36.218-05:002012-06-28T15:54:36.218-05:00Thanks, this sounds like a book I would enjoy read...Thanks, this sounds like a book I would enjoy reading. I'm thankful that Jane Austen only had book offspring as I remember when I read a book of her letters(edited by Deirdre Le Faye) so many of Jane's friends died in childbirth. Writing was obviously safer.Katrinahttp://piningforthewest.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-3308817511375779372012-06-27T23:03:11.316-05:002012-06-27T23:03:11.316-05:00It's true she doesn't tell us much about t...It's true she doesn't tell us much about the married lives of the main characters - but she does write about a variety of marriages with the secondary characters. You know Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth are going to have a marriage like the Crofts (Hazel Jones says several times that the Crofts are Austen's happiest & best-suited couple), and not like Mary & Charles Musgrove.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-9982290084622031012012-06-26T23:23:35.801-05:002012-06-26T23:23:35.801-05:00I'm very fascinated by marriage and love readi...I'm very fascinated by marriage and love reading about the institution as it's portrayed in novels. That's why I wish that Austen could have given us a peek into the marriages of her famous couples instead of just ending the novels at the wedding. But perhaps courtship is more interesting to read about? Does the chase and the pursuit make a better plot? <br />Anyway, this book sounds really intriguing! :)Anbolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10080054175904900094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-54848357696582735052012-06-26T20:15:00.471-05:002012-06-26T20:15:00.471-05:00You're definitely right about the social level...You're definitely right about the social level. Fanny's mother from Mansfield Park definitely married a step down, with her mere lieutenant, and theirs isn't a happy life. I can't remember who said that Austen's attitude was that it's wrong to marry for money but silly to marry without it, but I've think that sums it up perfectly.<br /><br />I've heard good things about Bride & Prejudice but haven't seen it yet. I like the adaptations like that, which put Austen into a new context, like Clueless.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-73202019698136790362012-06-25T23:14:07.669-05:002012-06-25T23:14:07.669-05:00I've always found Jane Austen's position o...I've always found Jane Austen's position on and influence on marriage to be so interesting. You're right that none of her characters marry for money or position, but don't all of the successful marriages in Austen happen when the women marry someone who is at least at the same social level they are? As I recall, none of them marry much "below their station."<br /><br />In any case, I always think of Austen when I hear someone today trying to defend "traditional marriage" as the only acceptable marriage or someone arguing that marriage has been unchanged for thousands of years. <br /><br />Marriage changed dramatically in the 19th century, thanks in no small part to Jane Austen. I've heard that she is very popular in places that still have arranged marriages today. The movie Bride and Prejudice from India is an excellent example and a very fun film, too if you haven't seen it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06906212382849291562noreply@blogger.com