I started reading the novels of Jane Austen was I was just a teen. Her stories were more than just love stories, contemporary sweet romances of their time. She understood the conventions of her time and the status of women. Jane Austen ( 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, my favorite of which was Pride and Prejudice. Her works interpreted, critiques and commented upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen’s plots often explored the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. It also brought to light that standing of women in her society. Inheritance due to death of the male head of the household would never go to the wife nor the daughters in the household. The life of wife and daughters were often at the mercy of a male heir who could be a distant cousin not at all close to the family. If he chose, he could legally limit their income and run the household as his own…Read More
