What is a BARONETCY? Sir Walter & the “dignity of baronet”: Jane Austen PERSUASION class analysis

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Jane Austen’s Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion boasts of the “dignity of baronet”. But what social class are baronets? Are they classed with nobility? Or do they rank with gentry? Or somewhere in between? And what even are baronets? What is a baronet? What is a baronetcy? Lots of questions! The lecture provides some answers: it defines & explains the meaning of baronet & baronetcy; examines the place of baronets in the social class hierarchy; & interrogates the “dignity” of Sir Walter Elliot’s baronetcy by analysing Sir Walter’s favourite book, The Baronetage, alongside John Dubrett’s Baronetage of England (first published in 1808). And why does Jane Austen provide us with such specific detail about the Elliots’ “rise” through “exertions of loyalty, and dignity of baronet, in the first year of Charles II”?
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2 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 305

@DrOctaviaCox 3 года назад

If you like the work I do, then you can support it here: www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=D8LSKGJP2NL4N Many thanks for watching.

@ChicagoDB 3 года назад

Only as the slightest of corrections...females could as well...the method and limitations in regards to the passing on of a Baronetage, depend upon the individual patent.

@raehoward66 3 года назад

Monthly....glad to have a way to support your work!

@bethotoole6569 3 года назад

Wonderful!!

@--enyo-- Год назад

Have you ever considered a Patreon?

@mrs.manrique7411 3 года назад

Something I thought you were going to mention was not only did Charles II need money, but he needed more popular support to avoid his father's fate. Yet he was not very popular in the eyes of hardcore protestants who were against his French connections. So someone buying a baronetsy would therefore be seen as a sellout, religious-wise, which ties in so beautifully with Austen's religious language of his devotion toward the Baronetage rather than the Bible. It just comes full circle and it's brilliant. Brilliant.

@carly9077 3 года назад

So interesting!!

@sarasamaletdin4574 3 года назад

However I feel they might have been been people genuinely loyal to the monarchy and happy to support it after the years of chaos, and Charles II didn’t turn out to be a bad king.

@SarahElisabethJoyal 2 года назад

Didn't he also (later) give out a bunch of noble titles to his assorted bastard sons?

@Tevildo 3 года назад

A fascinating piece of historical research - I didn't realize that Sir Walter's title was as dubious in character as Sir Walter himself. Thanks for showing us how Austen points this out in such a subtle but unambiguous manner.

@glendodds3824 3 года назад

The 13th Duke of Argyll (one of Britain's grandest aristocrats) is the maternal grandson of a baronet who owned 40,000 acres beside Loch Lomond in Scotland. In short, baronets are an integral part of the upper class. Indeed, one can safely say that every duke is related to baronets. That is certainly true for example of the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Northumberland and the Duke of Rutland.

@glendodds3824 2 года назад

Further to my previous comment, one of Jane Austen’s contemporaries, the Duchess of Gordon, was the daughter of a baronet and another contemporary Kitty Herbert, the granddaughter of a baronet, was the wife of the Earl of Carnarvon and lived at Highclere Castle (better known as the fictional Downton Abbey). Moreover, another contemporary Anna Maria Dashwood, a baronet’s daughter, married the Marquess of Ely. Consequently, in view of these (and other such marriages) if Jane Austen thought that baronets were small fry on the fringe of society she was wrong.

@Tevildo 2 года назад

@@glendodds3824 Of course, but I think it's fair to say that Jane doesn't have a very high opinion of "society" in this sense, from Sir Walter to Lady Catherine to Robert Ferrars. Sir Walter is critisized, in the very first line of the book, for being proud only of his title: the reference to Charles II shows us - after a little research - that, even as a title, it's not something that a reasonable person should be proud of.

@glendodds3824 2 года назад

Hi, it is true that Sir Walter is obsessed with his title and some of Jane Austen’s other upper class characters are also repellent or unattractive, like the haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the ne’er-do-well, Tom Bertram. However, others are admirable like Anne Elliot, Colonel Brandon, and Mr Knightley. Moreover, all in all Mr Darcy is a good man. Consequently, although many people believe that Austen had a negative view of polite society in general I do not find that point of view convincing. Furthermore, Jane's middle class figures are also a mixed bag. Some we can admire like Mr and Mrs Gardiner, Captain Wentworth, and Mr Weston, but others are socially insecure and unpleasant like Mr and Mrs Elton and the haughty, spiteful, Bingley sisters who despite their high society lifestyle are from a middle class background. In addition, Mrs Bennet is a daft woman of middle-class origin who talks about her desire for her daughters to marry rich men when rich men are present and does not grasp the seriousness of her youngest daughter’s marriage to one of Austen’s most sinister characters, an unprincipled man who was almost certainly of lower birth than “uppercrust twits” like Sir Walter Elliot. Hence if we are supposed to conclude that Austen had a negative view of the upper class (a popular view) her portrayal of the middle class is certainly not universally positive either.

@Brooke-kk8vb 2 года назад

I think that what Austen wants the reader to notice is the difference in *attitude* of all these various people, rather than the difference in class. The characters that appear most ridiculous are often those who assign the most value to rank, and the honor it affords. (Although it is true that very few of her titled characters do not appear ridiculous.) Sir Walter, for example, spends himself into a huge hole because he values the baronetcy and the appearance of wealth above his actual financial status. Sir Lucas retires in, if not poverty, comparative poverty, when he could have continued to make his fortune. Because he was knighted, he values his new rank and its appearance more than the fortune he would likely have made and passed down to his many children. (I think this is especially ironic of Austen, as the title of knight is not heritable, but money is, and would have provided much better for his offspring.) Of course, Ladies Dalrymple and Catherine De Bourgh are portrayed as possessing little to no real value in themselves personally, only what is assigned to them by their ranks. This is also true of some of the unranked characters, such as Miss Bingley, Mr Collins, and Mrs Bennett, who are looked upon with disdain by Austen for the honor they assign to rank, and of course the way they treat those that they perceive as above (or in some cases, below) them. There is a littleness to these characters, an apparent inferiority, simply because they do not value people for who they actually are. On the contrary, Austen gives us a few characters such as Anne Elliot, daughter of a baronet, and Sir John Middleton, of, I believe, unspecified title, who clearly place little value on their own ranks and titles, as well as those either above or below them. We also are given a plethora of lower-class characters who are seen to behave in a reasonable manner regarding rank. Elizabeth Bennett scorns the apparent difference of title when she meets Lady Catherine and judges her by her actions. She does not kiss up to Lady Catherine, but treats her as an equal. From this and similar examples, I believe that Austen desires the reader to esteem this trait very highly (that is, the trait of treating others equally, no matter where they sit on the totem pole), and to view those as ridiculous, who see rank as the only marker of value. I believe she's asking us to believe that this trait, as well as that of an informed mind, is what makes a person truly superior.

@francesrice3317 Год назад

As a 14 year old, I read Pride and Prejuidice. By the time I was 15 I had read all of Austen's novels and her juvenilia. I had so many questions about the time period. I have since re-read Austen's books many times. I am now 65, and this is an explanation I would have loved as a 14 year old, but am now also very pleased to learn! Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel after Pride and Predjuidice!

@kathyastrom1315 3 года назад

According to my family genealogy research, I have a 9th great grand uncle who was the only American colonist to be made a baronet. He funded, trained, and led a military expedition to take a fort in French Nova Scotia in 1745, before the start of the French and Indian War. His heir, the second Sir William Pepperrell, was a Loyalist who fled to London with his family when the siege of Boston ended.

@owamuhmza 3 года назад

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I remembered the younger Mrs Musgrove (Mary) worrying that if Captain Wentworth distinguished himself in service, which he was very likely to, he might be given a title, and if Capt Wentworth then married Henrietta or Louisa, as Lady Wentworth, either one of them might take precedence over her. Mary Musgrove then quickly dismissed it claiming that her father would take a dim view of such a “new creation” 😂😂😂😂 In light of Dr. C’s explanation, Mary displays a gross want of self awareness🤣🤣

@bailegatita 3 года назад

Which is one of Mary Musgroves defining characteristics : lack of self awareness and always the need to be centered. I love these lectures. I always found Austen an " enjoyable " read but until Dr. Cox I never realized what a clever writer Austen was.

@mrs.manrique7411 3 года назад

Mary is my favorite annoying character of all Austen's novels. Marrying into the Musgroves was good for her, since she could get caught up in the cares of the gentry and forget a little the cares of her father and eldest sister (as we see at the end of Persuasion, when she visits and wants to only talk about the double wedding coming up). Still prideful, but at least invested in her family and small little world rather than in the fruitless pursuits of her father and sister.

@mosart7025 3 года назад

@@mrs.manrique7411 Oh, I want to slap Mary silly (sillier?)! I don't know if her marriage got her out of herself or just gave her more chances to feel offended and play "poor-sick-little-me". The scene at the Cobb! How utterly selfish!!! Totally blind to her own abilities and social cues from others... how they felt about her, and what they wanted. It seems she only just reacted to life. "Oh, Anne is to nurse Louise? No, I should nurse Louise!" or "What? You think I can't go on a long walk? Yes I can!" She is almost more proud than her father. "How dare Henrietta marry her cousin?!" "I take precedence in entering the dining room!" Of course, looking at her role models and the lack of attention shown her (no mother and that father), it seems like a desperate plea for worth and meaningfulness.

@deegleffler4887 3 года назад

@@bailegatita she definitely gets that from dear old dad. Sir Walter is looks with "pity and contempt" at all the new creations of the past half century

@cathryncampbell8555 3 года назад

This is a delightful unpacking of Austen's meaning! It reminds me of Terry Jones's "Chaucer's Knight," in which Jones explains the satiric thrust of the knight in "Canterbury Tales" whose list of battles is a summary of every act of infamous & notorious butchery in Chaucer's day. Both Chaucer & Austen wrote for an audience that would comprehend their satiric shorthand -- but we 21st-century readers often need the help that you have provided today. *Thank You*!

@strll3048 3 года назад

Absolute brilliance! I have never seen anyone analyze Jane Austen so comprehensibly. Also the layers of meaning through the author's "best chosen language". To my mind, it appears to "catch Jane Austen in the act of greatness." Who else has ever done this? None, that I know of.

@midnightblack07 3 года назад

This sort of subtle/witty dig at such a ridiculous characters is one of the many reasons why I love Jane Austen! Thank you for sharing your insights.

@JoannaNowickaKohrinn 3 года назад

The only thing I dislike about this video is that it is so short! I love your insightful commentary ❤️

@jospenner9503 3 года назад

You should take her Jane Austen class at Oxford University online.

@pooshkahnla6074 3 года назад

That was excellent! I am learning so much here, even after I've read and reread Persuasion so many times...the sly digs in the text have a historical context there that I'd never seen, so thank you!

@agentJCole 3 года назад

Really enjoyed this video! You analysis really highlighted for me the contrast Austen draws between the purchased 'honor' of the baronetcy vs the actual work and risk involved in the less valued (by Sir Walter) honor won by the naval characters in the book. The passage about the Baronetage also made me think of the somewhat parallel scene where Henrietta and Louisa look up Captain Wentworth's ships in the navel lists. Very cool!!

@catrionahall9444 3 года назад

Those are fascinating details. As you say, if there is something specific mentioned in Jane Austen’s writing, it is worth taking note of.

@cminmd0041 3 года назад

That's so interesting! Also a reason it was hard for Charlotte to get married! Not only was her father at the absolute lowest fringe of the upper-class, he was running out of money but also once Sir Lucas passed away the one "shining attribute" of the family- his knight-ship- would be gone. When you compare how aware she is of her limitations versus Elizabeth Elliot who is also 27 and unmarried. But Charlotte has a BUNCH of siblings who still need to get married/settled while Elizabeth Elliot only has one and one of her sisters is already married so they do have someone to get help from if they need to in the future.

@constantius4654 3 года назад

Dr Cox's videos are very enjoyable. I have only read Persuasion (for 'O' level) and Pride and Prejudice (after viewing the 1995 version). Her commentaries on these books are just wonderful.

@briteddy9759 3 года назад

Your explanation of the baronetcy makes it really ironic that Sir Walter complains that the navy elevates obscure people of little distinction to great honor. Sorry, I don’t have the exact wording.

@cminmd0041 3 года назад

GOOD CATCH!! I do think Jane (as a person clinging to gentility herself!) Austen often highlights that is those at the fringes that must be the most strict in their behavior and attitudes. Emma counsels Harriet that she "must be particularly careful as to your associates. You must support your claim to that station by everything within you power or there will be plenty of people who would take pleasure in degrading you." (Mr/s Elton!) The rich and powerful Darcy's can afford "base connections" while the up and coming Bingley's can not. I do think Sir Elliot is getting even more priggish about his status since it was bought and paid for and he's so poor he can't even keep Kellynch Hall!

@glendodds3824 2 года назад

Sir Walter is short of money because he has mismanaged his finances.

@heathermatthies3638 2 года назад

Particularly when many second (third, fourth etc.) sons of nobility may well be high ranking members of the military as well.

@nastyaissor7825 3 года назад

This was too short! Can't wait for the next part. Anyway, I think no matter how his title was achieved or how small it was, sir Walter would have been very proud of it no matter what. Pride seems to be very intrinsic to his character.

@Izabela-ek5nh 3 года назад

Sir Walter reminds me of mr Collins from P&P - Mr Collins had the same enormously inflated pride of being a clerk and having a house and protection of lady Catherine. (Also Mrs Elton fits the pattern). Different ranks - same character...

@theresacarmen9847 3 года назад

I love Sir Walter. He is so shallow that he's almost transparent. He is a fool but funny. I think i know several people like him.

@diamondtiara84 3 года назад

I'm glad I discovered your channel; I read a lot of books written in Regency and Victorian days and all the ranks and titles mentioned got me all confused. Thanks for clearing things up in a lot more interesting way than an encyclopedia search.

@flannerypedley840 3 года назад

This series on class is brilliant Octavia! thank you so much. (Of course, I love all your work)

@roxiepoe9586 3 года назад

When I think that I understand something I am always happy to find that there are subtle layers of knowledge to be added! Thank you.

@henryahoy 3 года назад

As much as I admire your intellect and ability to open up these subtleties to modern readers, I feel compelled to add I really like what you've done with your hair.

@dleigh112 2 года назад

I like the way you always stick to the text to make your analysis, and I like the way you point out the satire in the use of the word 'dignity'. I was led to check Jane Austen's own connection to her related Leigh baronets. Sir Thomas Leigh was a James I 1611 baronet. His grandson Sir Thomas Leigh (1595-1671) inherited the baronetcy, but was elevated to the peerage because he played host to King Charles II when he was turned away from Coventry (perhaps more loyalty than money there - one up for Jane). Jane Austen was not directly descended from either Thomas, but from Rowland, a younger brother of the 1st baronet. It was Jane's near relatives, also descended from Rowland, who inherited the title when the line from Sir Thomas died out.

@travisstoll3582 3 года назад

I always enjoy learning new insights to Austen's wit.

@montanalilac 3 года назад

Isn’t it fun to laugh out loud while reading an Austen novel only to have others look at you like you’re loony? That’s when you know they’ve never really read her. Have you read the book, “The Wicked Wit of Jane Austen”? It’s a collection of quite funny quotes and excerpts compiled by Dominique Enright. While it doesn’t delve into the whys like Dr Cox does, it’s a fun collection to keep in the bathroom or car for a quick perusal now and then.

@travisstoll3582 3 года назад

@@montanalilac Thanks for the recommendation!

@tessat338 3 года назад

Being a "Commoner" meant that you had a right to the use of "the Commons" meaning you could graze your sheep, cows, horses and geese on the common land, and that you also had a right to a certain number of strips in the common farming land.

@HRJohn1944 3 года назад

"The law will hang the man or woman/Who steals the goose from off the common/But lets the greater villain loose/Who steals the common from off the goose" - old rhyme. The landed gentry and aristocracy got their land by theft.

@tessat338 3 года назад

@@HRJohn1944 Exactly. If you look at the practice of "Enclosure," it was the nobility and gentry using their legal and economic leverage to kick the commoners off the land that their families had held for generations and often reducing people of "yeoman" stock into tenantry and poverty. The wealth of the landed nobility and gentry was built by impoverishing he commoners.

@Morna777 3 года назад

@@tessat338 Good thing nothing like this happens today! Oh wait...

@OcarinaSapphr- 3 года назад

@@tessat338 Henry VIII was in favour of Enclosure, whereas Charles I was not- I’m curious as to why...?

@Happyheretic2308 2 года назад

@@OcarinaSapphr- the ghastly Tydder.

@Yheela 3 года назад

Persuasion is my favourite novel by Austen, and this makes it even more clear exactly how ridiculous Sir Walter and two of his daughters are. Loved it.

@kaydle50 3 года назад

I am enjoying your videos explaining various aspects of British nobility as well various characters of literature. Thank you so much. And yes, I am American. 😀

@Maria-ut7lk 3 года назад

That was super interesting! It really deepens the reading of the books!

@christineherrmann205 3 года назад

This was very well done; clear and concise. I love Austen even more when you explain her humor. Thank you! Edited to add that I, too, like the haircut, but felt weird saying it until I read that others had. 😂

@timstevens8851 3 года назад

Thank you for your deep dive into the meaning of having a baronetcy, making Sir Walter Elliott even more of a tragic figure than he first appears. I really enjoy your episodes such as this one, incorporating a much closer reading of a literary text. I would be fascinated to hear your analysis of the Allens in Northanger Abbey, in particular Mrs. Allen, described by Austen as "one of that numerous class of females, whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like them well enough to marry them." Is Mrs. Allen merely a comic figure, intended as a contrast to similar characters in Gothic and Sentimental genre literature, or does she represent something else to Austen? Thanks again for your videos and analysis.

@katdenning6535 3 года назад

In this context, Mr. Elliot saying he’d sell the Baronetcy if he could makes a little more sense. I wonder if it’s meant to play on the lack of loyalty and dignity (in opposition to the over exaggerated Sir Walter Elliot) of his character

@shizuka2777 3 года назад

Yeah, it really does make his character out to be more mercenary and disloyal.

@catrionahall9444 3 года назад

Interesting thought

@hcgjk 3 года назад

Not necessarily. A Baronetcy created under Charles II suggests a loyalty to the Stuart cause. Persuasion was writting during the time of one of the Jacobite rebellions when loyalty to the Stuarts would have been very unpopular & a sign of disloyalty to the crown. There's likely an irony implied in the use of "loyalty" when discussing a title created by a dynasty that was overthrown & that Sir Walter (presumably as he doesn't show Jacobite sympathies) was disloyal to

@locutusdborg126 3 года назад

Or he could sell a Baronetcy for some cents.

@andygallie6263 3 года назад

@@hcgjk Sorry, but no. The last Jacobite Rebellion ended in 1746 at Culloden. There were a few inept conspiracies afterwards but by Austen’s day the Jacobite cause was dead.

@raehoward66 3 года назад

Dr Cox, will you explain how purchasing a commission in the army as an officer fits within the class system? I've always wondered how the class system was organized, this is very enlightening. Thank you!

@oxymom2002 3 года назад

I learned so much today. I had no idea about the foundation of the Sir Walter’s title. It makes him even more ridiculous. 💜

@iankennedy2074 3 года назад

regarding baronets lady catherine de bourg, daugther of an earl, married sir lewis de bourg (deceased)probably a baronet not a knight since only baronetsies were hereditary. some would have considered a baronet slightly infra dig in her case since much lower in rank-- unless he was very rich. sir lewis was clearly that with a flashy new mansion and expensive fireplaces.maybe this is why lady catherine is so over the top about rank, being conscious that she married a trifle beneath her for money which may possibly be a bit recent like the bingleys' given the showy pretentiousness of his house.

@mtngrl5859 3 года назад

When you look at noble families of the 19th and 18th century, you'll see that many daughters of earls and dukes did marry baronets. Simply there weren't enough peers to go around. Provided that a woman survived, there were many families that had 10+ children. Even Jane Austen's brother that was adopted by the wealthy relatives, his own wife had given birth to 11 children before dying. It is not uncommon to see that a given peer would have been married more than once due to a wife not surviving childbirth. As we see with Mr. Darcy, his own mother was a daughter of an earl and her and Lady Catherine were friends as girls. Lady Catherine already had her own status as the daughter of an earl which is why she is addressed as Lady Catherine. One thing that Captain Wentworth going in his favor for Sir Walter was that he was a handsome man who had distinguished himself. In fact in the novel, it is stated that Anne's birth and Wentworth's appearance equal his other out, if I remember correctly.

@kittykatz4001 3 года назад

@@mtngrl5859 I thought Lady Catherine De Bourgh and Lady Anne Darcy (Mr. Darcy’s mother) were sisters and not friends. Isn’t Mr. Darcy Lady Catherine’s nephew? Col. Fitzwilliam is Lady Catherine’s nephew and Mr Darcy’s cousin (as is Anne De Bourgh). Mr Darcy’s given name, “Fitzwilliam,” is his mother’s family name, right?

@mtngrl5859 3 года назад

@@kittykatz4001 I'm not sure. Yes, Fitzwilliam is a familial name and that Colonel FItzwilliam is from Darcy's mothers side. Since Lady Catherine was interested in Darcy marrying her daughter, I didn't believe that they were sisters. This would make Darcy and Ann first cousins, not a likely match. In earlier periods one might see first cousin marriages, though not as likely for non royal people, I'm thinking of the Habsburgs and we see how that turned out. The novel does not clearly state the relationship between the two women with the exception that they were both daughters of earls. There is a reference to Darcy being her nephew, which would lead one to assume that she is a sister to Darcy's mom but not necessarily. Often when one was related to someone and they were considered to be older, they would be addressed as "Aunt" or "Uncle" even if they weren't actually one's Aunt or Uncle. I have cousins that I refer to Aunt as a sign of respect. When I was growing up, I had dear friends of my parents who were referred to as Aunts and Uncles even though there was no family relationship. I was raised rather formally and it was never appropriate as a child to call an Adult by their first name.

@kittykatz4001 3 года назад

@@mtngrl5859 Back then, and today in other parts of the world, first cousins DID marry.

@LusiaEyre 3 года назад

@@mtngrl5859 I am also familiar with the practice of calling older family members or family friends aunts and uncles and even use 'cousin' when the actual relationship is more convoluted but never heard of nephew/niece being used this way back as they would just use child's name. So Darcy could have considered Lady Catherine his aunt by association but she would stick to calling him Mr Darcy/Darcy/ Fitzwilliam. Colonel Fitzwilliam was Darcy's cousin and they are both called 'nephew' by Lady Catherine. With Lady C being a stickler for rules and class distinction it's safe to assume that Darcy, Colonel and Miss de Bourgh were first cousins descended from 3 siblings: Lady Anne, Lady Catherine and current Earl. And 1st cousin marriages were not that unheard of even later than that: Queen Victoria married Albert who was her first cousin 1840. And, surprisingly, it's still very much legal in most of the world (just checked Wiki) weird but there we go...

@ameliecarre4783 3 года назад

I assume Jane Austen's readers at the time of first publication were very much more likely to know of the history of baronetcy and to understand the layer of mocking than I am. I just saw Sir Walter as a ridiculous peacock, and never bother to check whether baronetcy was at all something a family could boast about, as far as honor was in question. Thank you for the commentary.

@davidwright7193 3 года назад

Ah yes all the honour and dignity of a Lloyd George peerage. Particularly cutting when you consider the actual degree of loyalty to the crown of someone with a large amount of cash in hand at the end of the commonwealth. This isn’t a family that has been eking out an existence on the bitter bread of exile for the last 10 years or so with estates attaindered. I also assume that at least some of the “creations of the last century” had done something worthy during the wars with France to gain them.

@byusaranicole 3 года назад

This is a detail I never would have learned on my own! Thanks for the insight!

@anonamos225 3 года назад

I JUST finished this book last night and I'm ready to dive in. What timing!

@vickinoeske1154 3 года назад

As I mentioned last week, the English class system is fascinating & confusing to this American. Looking forward to next week.

@montanalilac 3 года назад

I’m with you there! I even had a moment of “Wait, England had a Civil War?” 😆

@mandi96 3 года назад

Thank you for revealing a whole new element of humour in my favourite Austen novel! I love your videos and how they point out the significance of small details which add new layers of meaning to books I'm so familiar with.

@mariafernandaaceff8879 3 года назад

Yes! My favourite channel! Greetings from 🇲🇽

@N_0968 3 года назад

Greetings back from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@Namibrown 3 года назад

I love Austen. Persuasion is one of my favorites. Have a love/hate relationship with Sir Walter Elliot :) Thank you so much for the videos, this is fascinating. James the first/ King of the Scots and Ulster!!

@narolacavender2161 2 года назад

I had just zeroed in to research a little on Austen's novels and you come with all these precious insights_ thank you for sharing! Very grateful. 💖💕💕💕

@moxee33 3 года назад

Thank you! If you ever need another topic, can you please explain how livings were bought by the clergy?

@Redberryfarm888 3 года назад

moxee33 Yes ... vote #2 for that topic!!! Especially Austen's father being a clergyman and her not so complementary viewpoint of the characters in her novels who were already, or aspired to go into the clergy. (The character of Edward in S&S who just wanted to 'do some good... give very short sermons... keep chickens', being the nicest description...) Often are much more interested in worldly matters, than say, in a plain intellectual but religious Mary in P&P, who at least in the 1995 movie version would've given her eye teeth to catch Mr. Collins and keep the entail... but sadly his eyes and wishes were elsewhere... (And these guys were to be the 'spiritual guides' to England?! Yikes...)

@Cat_Woods 3 года назад

Thank you for the history about Ireland as well. I didn't know that.

@TeenStoryTime 3 года назад

A great take on the Regency history combined with great literature- thanks for the conversation!

@jackbrennan3468 3 года назад

Another brilliant lecture. As an Irishman I found the Ulster connection interesting. How subtle was Austen?. One query was her family not pro Stuart?.

@catrionahall9444 3 года назад

She was rather pro Stuart herself.

@catrionahall9444 3 года назад

But everything is relative

@locutusdborg126 3 года назад

My wife is a direct descendent of James Stuart. DNA confirmed this. But I refuse to call her Lady.... And we get no money apparently.

@thepresence365 3 года назад

@@locutusdborg126 Besides, she will be assimilated, no?

@locutusdborg126 3 года назад

@@thepresence365 Already has been assilmilated. Then I found out she isn't rich. lol

@ricktownend9144 3 года назад

Very many thanks for your explanation of 'baronet' - it has illuminated my reading of other authors - e.g. Sir Percival Glyde (Wilkie Collins), Sir Thomas Denzil (Mrs Oliphant). I always enjoy your presentations.

@DrOctaviaCox 3 года назад

What do you make of the “dignity” of Sir Walter Elliot’s baronetcy?

@N_0968 3 года назад

Since he couldn’t even govern his own household and had to let their house I don’t think he has much dignity to his name and never will, unless he remarries and gets a male hair and at least saves his dignity.

@carolinefreeman4546 3 года назад

I think Anne's opinion of her sister and father's behaviour to Lady Dalrymple sums up their lack of dignity - "she had hoped for better things" of them and even wished "they had more pride". Puffed up in his own mediocre importance and fawning on those socially above him he has no dignity worth the name.

@clairemeehan7250 3 года назад

I think it's as insubstantial as the 'beauty' he is so fond of. By the way I would love you to do a character deep dive on Mrs Clay (I don't know if you have done one already).

@EH23831 3 года назад

Heheee- he’s even more ridiculous now I know this detail about baronets! And I like thinking about Austen’s original readers knowing all this and laughing their heads off 😂

@rosezingleman5007 3 года назад

It seems that Dear Jane wasn’t such an indifferent historian in her childhood as she claimed.

@helenaneumann1872 3 года назад

I really appreciate your videos and always look forward to new ones. As a Jane Austen reader, I regard that you go into the details and make the fine but very precise criticism, above all the smug irony of Austen, transparent.

@DipityS 3 года назад

I've always wondered what the Baronetcy actual meant to that time - thank you for an enlightening talk.

@kzen9 3 года назад

Thank you so much for your videos! I stumbled upon your channel and, as a Austen reader, particularly enjoy the Jane Austen close readings. As an ADHD adult it is often difficult to focus at length even on subjects one loves but your videos and delivery is not like that for me. I know it’s the material I love learning more about and the calm but in depth style of lecturing that manages to keep my attention. I always look forward to these and discovering more literature that I might not be inclined toward. That is a gift and I thank you!

@barbiedesoto7054 Месяц назад

This makes his comment about the navy bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction more silly. Thanks for the thorough explanation. I never get sick of listening to you explain this and give examples of excerpts

@_Tree_of_Life_ 3 года назад

Brilliant, thank you Dr! This was absolutely fascinating. I can tell when I read certain passages of Austen that some kind of contemporary knowledge is required to fully understand her wit and this video has cleared up a lot of questions I had about Sir Walter 🧐

@surfinggirl007 3 года назад

This is fantastic and great to understand the different classes better as adds even more depth and understanding to the books. Cannot wait for next week!

@pmarkhill519 2 года назад

Dr. Cox, I’ve often wondered, do you think as she became older, Anne Elliot WAS actually an archetype of Jane Austen herself? Anne was the “perfect “ Aunt... was Jane writing herself into this character?

@catrionahall9444 3 года назад

There is an inference that the Elliot livery, having orange cuffs and capes, was a sign of loyalty to William and Mary. Their loyalty seems to have been firmly on the side of the winners.

@annelyle5474 3 года назад

Ooh, that's an interesting detail - I hadn't noticed that! But then I was probably too busy laughing at Sir Walter to take in the minutae of his background!

@gracetaylor7351 3 года назад

I found very interesting a lot I didn’t know being a baronet and how you became one lots of good research .

@mesamies123 3 года назад

Excellent! Thank you!

@ennanitsua 3 года назад

I absolutely love this series! You've provided us with another layer of enjoyment of Jane Austen, and I'm so excited by it! Would you consider doing a video on how the army and navy fit into these class distinctions? Thank you for all your hard work on these videos! I love them all!

@bunny_smith 3 года назад

Very interesting. Thank you.

@nicoleallen3079 3 года назад

I love how you give such insight to how deeper the books are!!!

@anastasiamorozova7733 3 года назад

Oh! This is so illuminating!! Thank you!

@debshaw680 3 года назад

I so look forward to every one of your videos and you never disappoint! Thanks so much.

@giuliaschabbach 3 года назад

This was so useful! I always found the hierarchy confusing and you laid it out so clearly. Thank you!

@glendodds3824 3 года назад

It is of course true that baronet is the lowest hereditary title and that baronets are not members of the peerage. However, ,many baronets are of very grand descent. For example, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the famous explorer, is a baronet and holds a title created in 1916. However, his grandfather, the first baronet, was the second son of the 17th Lord Saye and Sele. Moreover, Sir Henry Grattan-Bellew (whose baronetcy dates from 1838) is the maternal great-grandson of the 7th Earl of Granard and the 13th Duke of Argyll is the maternal grandson of a baronet whose title was created in 1786. Hence, although Jane Austen mocks Sir Walter Elliott's obsession with status, baronets were, and are, part of the British upper class.

@celinereid9136 3 года назад

Wonderful as usual !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Jay_A52 3 года назад

Thank you for the excellent explanation and discussion. This was very helpful.

@rubiesandstrawberries 3 года назад

Can’t wait to hear your episode on knighthoods, this was so interesting!!

@alexhenderson1838 3 года назад

i love these informative videos!

@ellie698 3 года назад

They was fascinating!

@sandrabeynon4148 3 года назад

Brilliant. Thank you for your work and research on all your videos.

@montanalilac 3 года назад

I love what you’re doing, Dr. Cox. I wish I could sit in a lecture hall and listen to you for hours and then grill you with questions! Also, the haircut looks adorable. 😉

@shrimpdance4761 11 месяцев назад

Great video! I also found the tangents about Parliament to be very helpful.

@--enyo-- Год назад

I’d be really interested in a video on the parliament and governance of the time as seen through Jane Austen’s works. I’m from Australia so our system of government is quite of similar to the UK, but it sounds like it was rather different back then. I love the mix of history and literature in these videos.

@betaniasebastianlopes6569 2 года назад

Thank you for your work. English is not my mother tongue so I didn’t grow up with this literature. I was introduced to these novels through the movies. Without having really red Persuasion (yet) I have come to understand that in the 2007 adaptation many bold alterations were made. The line that Anne delivers to her father referring to her poor sick widow friend - “Perhaps she is not the only poor widow in Bath with little to live on and no surname of dignity” - is never said in the novel. I checked this because of the following. I love the movie and saw several times, but I couldn’t understand what she meant with that line. It took me a while to realize that this was intended as a direct reference to Sir Walter's situation in life. I now think I didn’t get it because I would not have believed it possible that a dependent daughter could get away with something like that. Also, it does not agree with Anne’s character to be defiant in so many words (in my opinion) It came as a relief when I checked that it does not happen like this in the novel. I find it unrealistic that a woman, at that time, would openly attack a figure of authority and the elements of wealth and succession, on which power identities are built. Still I would like to have your opinion on this. After all the Elliots are not really nobility and perhaps my thinking does not apply. If that had been said out loud, in that weird sphere in which manners and codes were emulated but no real power was hold, would it have been tolerated? Would saying something like that actually have crossed a daughter's mind??

@glendodds3824 2 года назад

Hi. Your English is excellent. I don't think Sir Walter was clever enough to get the import of the cheeky comment you mention. Furthermore, it is true that Sir Walter was not a member of the nobility. As a baronet he belonged to the top tier of the gentry. In the book it says that Anne had never seen him in the company of members of the nobility. In real life it would have been extraordinary for someone of Anne's age to have never seen her father with aristocrats because the nobility and high ranking gentry moved in the same social circles. That is why in Pride and Prejudice the daughters of an earl marry country gentleman, Darcy's father and Sir Lewis de Bourgh and why Tom in Mansfield Park, the heir to a baronetcy, is the friend of a a noble's son, the Honourable John Yates.

@petersburg2 3 года назад

Wow, so much new and helpful information in this video! Thanks for helping educate those of us non-British Jane Austen fans!

@joannawagstaffe1190 3 года назад

And British too!

@ellewelle401 3 года назад

I absolutely enjoyed this video and your analysis of Jane Austen's sharp and subtle jabs. This would have absolutely have gone over my head, because while I like the novels, I don't have such a detailed knowledge of the time period.

@loramcclamrock5549 3 года назад

Very enlightening and your haircut is lovely. So much insight and so well documented

@janetsmith8566 3 года назад

Super interesting 💕

@elizabethfairhead3405 3 года назад

Thanks again for this very illuminating discussion. I've so enjoyed your videos. Always looking out for the next one!!

@kimberlyperrotis8962 3 года назад

Not all gentry are untitled, but they aren’t peers, it’s not the same thing at all. They might hold knighthoods or baronetcies, so they are titled, but they’re not peers. The lowest title qualifying for the peerage is Baron or Lord, the step above a baronetcy.

@alexandrabrannon8748 3 года назад

LOVE your videos! Especially of Pride & Prejudice (really helps me better understand the context of the story). On that note, could you do a video talking about Mr. Collins. His relationship to the Bennetts and the entail? I always thought he was nephew to Mr. Bennet, but I just realized Mr. Bennet (when introducing him to the reader) refers to him as HIS cousin. There’s not much in the book, but can you examine the relationship of Mr. Collins with Mr. Bennet and the details of an entail?

@jamessergeant2136 2 года назад

Curious fact - Margaret Thatcher’s husband Denis was in 199O granted the first baronetcy since 1964, and there have been none awarded since. This was seen at the time as a reward for Denis’s support for her political career.

@helenannedawson3694 3 года назад

Really interesting piece about baronetcy. I had no idea it was linked to the Ulster Plantations. I've often wondered and perhaps you can answer this another time - but often in Jane Austen's books a person is addressed as 'Honorable' e.g. The Honourable Miss Cartaret in Persuasion. But you mentioned in another video that Lady Catherine de Burgh was always Lady Catherine. I assume it depends on which rank their parent is, but perhaps you could clarify? Also, very interesting point about Charles II and how sarcastic Austen is being about Sir Walter's contempt for new creations. Thanks Octavia

@leannerae Год назад

This was very interesting and illuminating! Thank you for such a good detailing of the baronetcy.

@chaz33xxx 3 года назад

So enjoyable…I’m an American who loves The Clash & Jane Austen…

@LaurenCohen67 2 года назад

Thank you 🙂 enjoyed this a lot

@shizuka2777 3 года назад

I didn’t think that Sir Walter Elliott could get even more ridiculous! I love this channel.

@ludovica8221 3 года назад

Sir Walter Elliot or Sir Walter, but never Sir Elliot! :)

@shizuka2777 3 года назад

@@ludovica8221 thanks!😘 I didn’t catch that when I wrote my comment!

@mch12311969 3 года назад

Quite informative, thank you.

@TVandManga 3 года назад

This was so interesting!

@melindaschwenk-borrell9374 3 года назад

I thought I knew so much about Austen......I was wrong! Great minilectures!!

@kimberlyperrotis8962 3 года назад

Several English/British sovereigns have invented and conferred titles for political, or even financial advantage. Victoria did this more than anyone, she created many new dukedoms.

@edithengel2284 5 месяцев назад

If you google it you'll find she didn't; she was outdone in dukedom creation by her ancestors. She created only 5 royal dukedoms and no other dukedoms during her reign.

@AnjaHuebel1 2 года назад

That was fascinating.

@GrumpyYank26 3 года назад

Your hair cut looks wonderful! - fan from the Olympic Peninsula, Wash, usa (I depend on you more than you know to help my sanity as our nation goes into an abyss...darker and scarier than I ever expected) Thank you!

@Wanda711 3 года назад

The selling of titles by Charles II reminds me of the scene in the movie 'The Agony and the Ecstasy', where Pope Julius has to raise money to fund his military expeditions (and Michaelangelo's painting) by selling the rank of cardinal. A wealthy family is shown proudly standing by while he places the red hat on the head of a 10-year old boy!

@olgar8742 3 года назад

Great information as always and the new haircut really suits you :)

@karencrawley7377 2 года назад

Wow. That is an amazing bit of history. Thank you. Wasn’t Mr Palmer in Sense & Sensibility running for parliament, and was supposedly “forced to make everybody like him.” I guess from that description, he is a commoner.

@ritan2 3 года назад

Thank you for this. I love your analyses and I love all of the comments, discussions, and debates that follow. I did not think that Sir Walter could be any more ridiculous than I perceived him, but understanding the history and ranking of a baronetcy as well as Austen's use of language in describing it really amplifies the hypocrisy and shallowness of the man (as well as of Elizabeth and Mary). I'd be interested in hearing more from you about Sir Walter and whether you consider him an Austen villain or just an annoying, ingratiating, dunderhead like John Thorpe or Mr. Collins. I recall in another video you posited that Austen regards men who do not do right in the care of their families/women are the worst of villains (John Dashwood, Thomas Bertram, General Tilney, even Mr. Bennet). Is Sir Walter's neglect of Anne sufficient for him to be in that category? How about Mr. Elliot?

@himbo754 3 года назад

So, not only does she poke fun in similar language to DeBrett, but the mockery is all the more pointed when one understands that it was one of Charles II's bargain basement baronetcies, and not one of the earlier ones of which DeBrett was writing (James I), that the original Elliott purchased. There was less "exertion" (cash paid), and -- by implication -- even less "dignity" than the baronetcies of James I. It wasn't just a purchased "honour", but it was purchased on the cheap -- it was one of the cheaper of the purchased honours.

@locutusdborg126 3 года назад

There is a company on the internet that sells "genuine" Irish titles for less than 100 US dollars. You receive a highly decorated certificate.