Jane Austen Research Paper: Austen and Inheritance/Class

Jane Austen Research Paper: Austen and Inheritance/Class

Introduction

Jane Austen is the most acknowledged and recognized name when it comes to the literature of the 19th century. The fact that Austen produced some of the most amazingly written classics undoubtedly makes her the most loved female authors of all times. However, the most predominant aspect of all the Austen's novels is the precise depiction of all the events, trends, happenings and practices of that era. This is one of the reasons why majority of the Austen's novels frequently discusses some certain themes that would accurately represent the ways and trends of how the society was functional in the 19th century. Some of the most commonly discussed themes in the Austen's novels were the controversy of inheritance and also the different aspects of class differences. The two most famous novels of Austen, that includes “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility” also discusses the two themes with the help of different characters, situations and scenes. “Pride and Prejudice”, in particular, has explained the different perspectives and opinions of different classes regarding inheritance of wealth and property. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify and discuss the two themes around which the story of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” revolves. The paper will also discuss of how class mobility or separation was observed in that era.

Discussion

Pride and Prejudice was first published in the year 1813. The story of the novel although revolves around the central character Elizabeth Bennet and her approach towards several issues including education, morality, upbringing, manners, and marriage in the English society of the early 19th-century of landed gentry. However, the important thing to note is that the novel has made use of the family backgrounds and status of the two important families in the Novel that includes the Bennet Family and the Family of Mr. Darcy. With the help of the characters of these families, Austen has discussed of the strange traditions followed in London for the inheritance of wealth and property (Newton, 1978). In addition, Austen has also explained the link between the trends of inheritance and the way it would influence the different social classes especially the elite class.

By the 19th century in London, the term that property is entailed refers to the fact that any family member in the past at some point must have made a will stating that the property must go to the male heir of the family and that this rule will be followed for eternity.

Similar to the context, Austen mentioned two cases of the entailment in the novel of Pride and Prejudice. Firstly, is the entailment of estate of Mr. Bennet's estate which is mentioned repeatedly in the plot as it is significant for the plot and also involves the heroine that is Elizabeth Bennet. The second case of entailment is the Lady Catherine's relative. The estate of Lady Catherine was not entailed to any male heir, as she did ...