When you covered how the Regency period thought their beauty standards were just objective fact based in math, it reminded me of a book series I read as a preteen, _Uglies_ by Scott Westerfeld. (It recently got a mediocre movie adaptation.) The people in that society believe their beauty standards to be completely objective fact based in evolutionary science. Of course _everyone_ prefers perfect symmetry and neotenous features (large doe eyes, full lips), it's thousands of years of biology! /s
I think one thing that everyone should always keep in mind is that pretty much everyone could fit some culture's standard of ideal beauty at some point in their history. Myself and one of my younger sisters very much would meet the 1800s European or American standards of beauty, whereas another sister of mine would be considered an absolute gem in the 1920s. The more you learn about history of different cultures, the more you realize the beauty and value of every person.
I think you have to remember that divorce isn't possible for most people in that era. It was incredibly expensive and required an act of parliament. If you think your potential spouse is going to be great and then they turn out to be awful, you can't get away, you will be legally tied to them for the rest of your life, no matter how vile or abusive they are. So it's not just "can you figure out their character well enough to know you're going to be happy together and compatible for life" it's also "if your judgment is far enough off, that could mean a life of inescapable cruelty and abuse." The stakes are really high. Which is why Jane Austen so often comes down on "make sure you know the guy well enough to know his true character." With Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth gets to meet his servants when they don't know her at all, and so have no motivation to be anything but truthful, and they give her an awesome report. He has always treated the people under his power--sister, servants, tenants--very well. In other novels, it's "choosing the stodgy boring guy you've known for a long time and whom everyone in the neighborhood knows is better than choosing the exciting romantic hero type." Think of Edward Bertram vs. Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park, or Colonel Brandon vs. Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility.
I was a re-enactor at a living history park some years ago. During my training I was told that makeup of any kind was forbidden. I am naturally VERY pale and look dead without it, but I decided to do the no makeup look to be authentic. At the end of the day my supervisor came up to me and said that several people who had taken the tour through my house had commented at the entrance office that they thought that I must be sick because I was so pale. As a result I was allowed a bit of blush and lip color in order to look alive.
Were women allowed to have a business or come up with their own source of income? Such as, did Jane Austen, as an accomplished author make money from her books, especially that she did not get to marry? Do you have a video about women who did well in business during the Regency era and how it affected them socially, etc. Did people look down on them? Thanks so much!
That is a great question! I'll definitely be noting it down to discuss in a future video. The long story short is that a woman could definitely do something like own a dress shop or open a girl's school. However, it was a sign of being middle class. An average upperclass lady would rather be a poor old maid than lower herself to such an activity. It was a social demise to do anything in trade or manual labor. Now, in Austen's case, she hit on one of the only socially acceptable jobs for a lady of the upperclass--that of being a writer (even lords of the kingdom published books). She did make money from it too. However, it was never enough to fully support herself. Of course, upper class women could make money in many of the same ways that men of their class could that didn't involve having an actual job. Which, usually involved managing land or investing money they inherited in other people’s business endeavors.
I love that you point out how Mr Darcy finds Elizabeth beautiful in motion. And I've seen commentary going around on the Internet in response to someone not believing their significant other when that person finds them attractive, because they don't see it when they look in the mirror. The response is that "You don't see yourself when you're laughing. When you're surprised. When you're excited. When you're delighted. That's when the beauty shows up." And I think about that a lot with the people I love most. I love watching my husband talk. I love watching my daughter dance. I love watching my son build LEGOS. They are beautiful in their motions - and emotions.
I recall reading once that the reason we don’t know more about Jane Austen is because her sister burned her letters after her death. And the reason the letters were burned was because Jane Austen’s opinions regarding her family and friends were entirely too candid.
So a question: how aware of these literary techniques was Jane Austen? The novel as a genre was in its infancy. Literary criticism was not yet a defined subject of study in 1800. So was jane Austen actually both a trailblazer and a genius? Because while this can be taught today, I think it was not taught then. Surely people subsequently asked "what is it about Austen's novels and characters that are so satisfying?" Let me use the later "Oliver Twist" as my foil. He is a bland character who is passive throughout. Things happen to him, but he doesn't shape events. He is boring. Austen surely was an instinctively good developer of characters.
So much easier to marry when "fortune" wasn't such a big issue. Clearly it was for Darcy: "could you expect me to rejoice......station decidedly beneath my own?" It's not just money and respectability, it's status as well. A side observation; Darcy's impression of Jane is that her heart is not easily touched. In fact, it's Elizabeth's heart that's not easily touched. She's not really bothered when Wickham pays attention elsewhere, and although Darcy is obviously passionately in love with her ( the Gardeners saw it clearly) even though she likes him well enough, she's never head over heels in love.
I think the main reason for Austen to avoid titles is to avoid politics. Those with titles did have political duties, which they could ignore, but that would also be a choice. Mr. Darcy, a young responsible master of large estate, not participating in politics is completely different character from Lord Pemberley, young peer in control of his own life avoiding political duties.
Lovely video, thanks! I always felt like there were two types of beauty - active (in motion - as you say) and passive beauty - some people are just perfect to look at. I've always found active beauty more attractive - the actress Sandra Bullock would be an example as opposed to say Nicole Kidman in her hey day. Passive beauty sometimes distracts from their expression....
I love Mansfield park. I thought it was so dramatic and interesting. I really loved how the moment her cousins leave and Fanny isn’t treated like an unwanted burden, she really blossoms. I don’t think she’s stuck up, I really think she’s terrified of making a mistake and being kicked out or abused.
I wouldnt put it past wickham to inflate darcy’s income, it makes darcy look more evil-hearted. Especially if Wickham was just agreeing with the rumors, even if he knew it was too high
Honestly? If I had a family farm that I valued and wanted to keep intact and out of the hands of developers I might indeed want to entail it. Though not necessarily only for males.
"Who even is Warren Hastings? He was a young man in the employee of the East India Company" *immediatly shows picture of an old balding guy* 🤣 You have no idea how hard I laughed.
One thing I'm sure of is that we still countenance in our day to day life. When me and my friends have opened up about what we feel towards each other whether it's positive or negative, they opened up how cold I am and that I don't seem to care much about our friendship. That it's hurting them that I don't seem to value them. I must admit that I am Jane Bennet in this matter. It might not look like it but I do love and cherish them. I didn't think that me not showing any emotions would be a problem. I didn't think that countenance is important until they've told me. I'm actually working on my own countenance so that I wouldn't hurt anyone unknowingly again. Also, I don't think countenance alone is a reliable way to judge other people for it is unfair to some people who can't really show emotions whether it's because of a medical problem or because of a psychological problem.
Congratulations for discovering and sharing this Ellie. In todays world we need to go back to this! I feel a lot of people who truest understood this would not compare themselves to all the silly social media posers!!!
i find many of them sympathetic, possibly a little more than austen wrote them, but i can't understand in any way someone finding mr. collins to be "misunderstood." he flip-flopped from bennett sister to bennett sister out of a condescending "duty" to his "family" (not actually that he found one of them a good life partner), and then refused to believe a rejection was a "real" rejection, not even getting into his hanging on his patron's every word and other rude things he's said.
I guess it’s fine to feel sympathy for a character, whichever one that is, but the point of Jane’s comedic novels is, well, comedy! To be specific, satirical comedy. Judgment is a part of that. Where would Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert be without their point of view? Oh, let’s just be nice to everybody. Then you’re left without humor. And we certainly need humor in this world! The 2005 P&P movie completely misses this point, and turns a light and witty satire into a melancholy mess. IMHO.
They're not poor, but because of the entail, they cannot transmit any meaningful wealth to the next generation. So the Bennett girls WILL be poor, but they aren't now.
I just finished reading Andrea Wulf‘s Magnificent Rebels about the first generation Romantics… and that absolutely opened my eyes about the thoughts of the folks in those days. Many young gentlemen also went on the Grand Tour, so they would have been seeing the sights and visiting those museums and looking at those Greek and roman statues and such. Omg! I would never have guessed that Anne had regained some weight and her blush!☺️ 😅 a lovely video! Thanks!
