During Austen’s time, leisure activities included social visits and balls. Visits ensured that connections were maintained. The etiquette for visits was simple compared to the complicated etiquette for behavior at balls and dances. […]
In Austen’s time, carriages were a sign of wealth and status. There were different types of carriages that carried different meaning. But it wasn’t only what vehicle one had; where one traveled mattered, too. […]
One’s available number of leisure hours depended on their economic privilege. The wealthy had access to their own horses and carriages. However, the types of carriage one had also carried meanings. […]
A love of what’s called finery is often a sign of shallowness for a character in a Jane Austen novel. But when you look more closely, Austen’s fiction draws a line between an interest in and an obsession with fashion. […]
During Jane Austen’s time, higher dress hems led to more attention being paid to footwear and stockings. Different colors held significance, too […]
Though Jane Austen had a personal interest in clothing, she was against obsessing about it. Focusing on things rather than people wasn’t a fatal character flaw in Austen’s fiction, but it was certainly a flaw. […]
A love of fine things, especially in clothing, was often a sign of shallowness for a character in Austen’s novel. Austen herself was not anti-fashion, but she found it silly to be obsessed with it. […]
Jane Austen, in her works, can be seen as a staunch feminist who voices her opinions on women’s’ education. Through her novels, she advocates for the cause by exposing the follies and shallowness of the society. […]
Jane Austen’s novels aptly express the idea and significance of education in the 19th century. Women were entitled to education to grow up into attractive and skilled women worthy of marrying. […]
A slew of skills like singing, dancing, drawing, and knowing modern languages were hurled at women as ‘female accomplishments’. However, these were only intended to make her more worthy as a bachelorette.
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