Austen’s works revolve around the world she knew: The world of mostly untitled “landed gentry,” during the “Regency era,” living much as their feudal ancestors had in some ways, but challenged by early inklings of the “modern era.”
To the landed and titled classes, it was a time of high fashion, and exaggerated politeness – to the extent that Austen’s male protagonists, longing to express what is on their hearts, literally struggle to get past inane pleasantries. (“Are your parents well? And your sisters?”)
To the young women of these classes, it was often a time of anxiety, since future happiness generally depended entirely on marriage, yet there were few opportunities even to converse freely with eligible bachelors. Without a substantial dowry, great connections, or other gifts, even a woman raised in wealth could find herself doomed to spinsterhood, an unsuitable marriage, or worse. Is it any wonder that balls became, essentially, the single females’ hunting ground?
It was also a time of economic revolution, as fortunes being made in trade, mining, shipping, or other pursuits began to rival the wealth of the old estates. The (mostly untitled) “landed gentry” that Jane describes (and probably knew) both felt pressures from the growing nouveau riche and searched for means beyond farming to maintain, if not enhance, their financial situations.
At the other end of the economic spectrum, it was a time of high inflation and stagnant or even reduced wages. People on a fixed income like Mrs. Bates found their ability to support themselves reduced every year. (As Knightley says, Miss Bates “has sunk from the comforts she was born to; and, if she live to old age, must probably sink more.” Not because her mothers small widow’s stipend is decreasing, but because inflation is constant and taxes are rising.)
According to a detailed article by Sheryl Bodnar Craig, an English professor at Central Missouri State University, several other pressures were bankrupting farmer and costing jobs all over England, contributing to widespread hunger and homelessness in real England (and possibly to the chicken-thieves and “Gypsies” in Emma).
On the national level, it was also a time of political upheaval. The king was alive, but deemed unfit to rule. Sadly, the “Prince Regent,” heir to the throne, had many, er, pursuits that reportedly distracted him from his royal responsibilities. In Parliament, the balance of power was shifting from the House of Lords to the House of Commons, creating frustration for some and a sense of opportunity for others. True, all of this barely affects most of Austen’s characters, though members of Edward Farris’ family hope he has a future in politics – something which might not have been all that feasible a generation earlier.
Many folks have explained Austen’s world better and in more detail than we are likely to. But we are going to try to list or summarize the aspects that we feel will most help explain the barriers and choices facing Austen’s beloved characters.
The Strata of Regency Society lays some groundwork for why class differences established so many barriers to Austen’s hopeful lovers.
Austen and the Ministry explains why there are so many clergy throughout her novels. Elderly clergy, aspiring clergy, sycophantic clergy, temporary clergy, even deceased clergy. Yes, Austen was sensitive to their situations because she was a clergyman’s daughter and viewed all of the landed gentry she knew through that lens, but there was more.
Fences and Austen describes how the General Enclosure Act, which allowed land owners to fence off what had traditionally been shared pasture land, led to some of the social issues and financial pressures whose effects are reported – but never explained – in some Austen novels.