Austen's Era

I would consider Jane Austen as one of my most beloved authors. Not only I admire her by her wicked and witty style of writing but also for her free indirect speech, burlesque and irony which spot here a place as one of the most widely read and most admired writers in the English literature.

I have seen movies from the novels of Jane Austen, particularly "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility" and I quite grew impertinent about how the society lives by on that era. If you could see these movies you can really notice similarities-- the balls, the clothes, the manners, etc. Oh! How I wished I do lived on that era, but there is also some pros and cons.

I have read somewhere in the net about Austen's Era:

The Nineteenth Century and Its Impact on Austen's Writings

Whether you call it "the Napoleonic era," "the Regency," or "late Georgian," the era of c. 1795-1830 is one of the most dramatic times in the history of the world. It is a time of war. And gaiety. Sorrow and pain. Downright hedonism. It is social manners taken to the ultimate degree. It is the heyday of the Industrial Revolution when merchants were becoming wealthier than noblemen. There was more education, for a wider range of people. More ideas. New evangelical churches, mostly appealing to the middle and lower classes, and beginning to preach a new morality. There were riots. The landed class lived in terror of a French-style revolution, which was based on the rebellion of the American colonies, both well within the lifetimes of most people of the Regency.

To the outsider, it might seem as if women of this nobility and gentry did very little--but their work was very important and sometimes very hard, as they were expected to manage the home and the household. As Etty Raverat, who was a young woman in the late 1800s, said, "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it" (Harrison and Ford, 226).

However, this lifestyle left ample time for leisure. Social parties and balls were held often. Dancing was a favorite pastime among most upper-class women and men. An evening party often would end with a few sets among the four or five couples present. Unmarried women spent a great deal of time with other unmarried women. However, once a woman was married her role was considered manager of the household, and she had much less time than before to walk and talk with former friends.

Though the life of an upper class woman might seem easier and more secure than that of a lower class woman, it was not always so. Land, titles, and money were inherited by the closest male relative--typically the older son, but if there was no older son then it would go to a more distant relation. Only the small amount of money set aside as a woman’s marriage dowry went to an unmarried woman after the death of her father. As a result, many mothers and daughters were left extremely poor after the death of their husband and father (Mitchell, 107).

The next-highest class was the middle class. Women of this class were much like women of the upper class, though their lands were not so extensive nor their way of life so grand as that of the aristocracy and landed gentry. People of the middle class associated with their peers and sometimes with those in the upper class. Women of the middle class depended heavily on marrying "up" into the upper classes, therefore gaining social prestige as well as a great deal more worldly goods.

The middle class itself was a much broader area of people than the upper class. It included everyone between the working classes and the lower gentry. It depended mostly not on how much money one had, but on how this money was obtained (Mitchell, 20). Because of this, the singular roles of middle class women varied greatly from family to family. Some unmarried women might have a place in the family shop, while others might live very much as a genteel woman would, with little work and much leisure.

The way women dressed also captures my attention, I just really love looking at women who all dressed in a long gown.There is grace and elegance about it which I really admire. Imagine if we are in a society where girls are required to wear killer corsets (though I don't think wearing corsets here in the tropical island of Philippines will be accepting such thing)! I bet, all girls will be crying at the end of the day because of spine and abdominal injuries. I think corsets can make your stomach measure for like about 18 inches! Imagine that about a ruler and a half, that's ridiculous! I would really love to try one. Contrary to parties nowadays, where youngsters go to bar and party like an animal, the Austen era is a complete opposite of this, though they do party with the music and the food, you will hear no ear-destructive rock music or vodkas or tequilas that will make you a total waste. This is more like a social-gathering where women and men dance to show their affection. Loud chattering are not really tolerated in this kind of era so women are very genteel and well-mannered.

Music and Art also plays a vital role in their lives. This is a prerequisite I think on upperclassmen, knowing an instrument or have a basic knowledge on art and I think it's really cool.

If I were given the "slightest" chance to live in this era, I would definitely go for it! Who wants to go with me? We'll be time traveling back to Austen's Era.