Would you like to have lived during this time period? Why or why
not?
I would definitely not want to live during the time of Pride and Prejudice. I’d be miserable
living with the expectation that a woman’s success is measured by her marriage.
It was a general understanding that the desirable women “must have a thorough
knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages…and
possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her
voice, her address and expressions” (32). I would have struggled with all of
those expectations. Instead of being able to focus on my passions and nurture
my natural talents, I’d be forced into other activities for the sake of
marriage and social acceptance.
Also, in depending on marriage, I’d be placing my hopes on a man that might
never come along. The ideal man was one of power and privilege. Character and
beliefs, which I care more about, were less of a priority. I might’ve ended up
as an old maid because I held onto hopes of love and a sense of completion in
marriage.
On
a more shallow level, I wouldn’t have liked wearing dresses all the time—the
spring banquet is enough. In general, I’m just not really into girly things. I
like having the freedom to dress and appear however I want. In addition, I generally
dress for comfort, and they seemed to dress for appearance. Although Elizabeth’s
trek to reach Jane did show that there was room for breaking out of the mold,
social norms tended to stifle freedom. For these reasons and probably many more
that I will realize as I continue reading the book, I would not want to live
during that time period.
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