Until around 1780, arranged marriages were de rigueur. It made sense–more or less—considering that marriage was a business and often political arrangement. But then the Enlightenment happened and philosophers made a mess of things that were working perfectly well—more or less. The pesky notions of reason and individualism over tradition got people thinking that perhaps …
With all the changes over the last two centuries, it is easy to forget that during Jane Austen’s day marriage was an essential social structure. Marriage provided the key to a strong, stable society. Society identified individuals by their connections, the ones they were born with and the ones acquired through marriage. Marriage and inheritance laws …
Recent Comments