British Literature of the Regency

Life in early modern societies was very common with bodily threats which normally resulted in bodily deformities. Always some sort of defect such as, Nutritional deficits, disease and accidents all resulted in horrific alterations to the human body. Many other skin conditions such as cancer, tumors and individuals in all works of life. Also, being rich and poor was a huge effect on daily life. In this era, the key features are witty conversions, a focus on marriage, as well with attention to fashion and having manners.

The first difficulty in looking into Regency literature is that you need to be specific about the years of history that was involved. The period during which England was owned by several different princes instead of a king lasting only nine years, from 1811 until 1820. Jane Austen was probably one of the recognizable examples of the Regency Era. Pride and Prejudice seem to be all about the lady finding a husband of the right social class.

This makes sense if you take into consideration, in this period of English History, the option for who a women marries is extremely limited, and the decision of marriage dictates the women’s future.

In addition to the preoccupation with romance and the social class, we can point out that the novels of this era are intimate stories about the ins and outs of courtship and romance, laced with different fashion, manners and social graces. The story is close to always the spirited young man who dares to marry for love rather than the dictates of convention.

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For female readers of this time, the outcome of these stories served as a way to get out or leave reality for the sake of social ties. In Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet struggles to express herself in the society which demanded strict social conformity otherwise you wouldn’t be accepted. Elizabeth has strengths that are different from everyone elses. She doesn’t value people and things just because society chooses to value them moreover the ideas she values. She judges them according to her own values, and is not socially self conscious or pretentious or spontaneous. This implies Austen views in many situations as these women want to have the perfect man and be married and have a spectacular life.

The Regency Period was marked by a number of good authors including Lord bryon, Shelley and Jane Austen. One of these authors was very good and often associated with the Regency period. This is the idea of the young women finding the perfect man to marry and live a wonderful life with them. This man must be the exact person and of the correct social class in order for anything to work out. Elizabeth Bennet is a alright example of this ideal. Elizabeth doesn’t just agree with what everyone else agrees with. She forms her own opinion based around knowledge that she has gathered. This shows that Austen’s views on the idea of the ideal of woman depends on the women.