Brit Lit Book Club

Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice - Class, Marriage, and Money

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The Brit Lit Book Club - Episode 4: Pride & Prejudice - Class, Marriage, and Money

Forget Colin Firth emerging from that lake—this deep dive into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice explores the revolutionary social commentary hidden beneath one of literature's most beloved romances.

Join host Vanessa as she examines how Austen's masterpiece is really a brutally honest exploration of money, class, and economic survival in Regency England. Discover why Mrs. Bennet's husband-hunting isn't shallow materialism but survival anxiety, how Charlotte Lucas's pragmatic marriage to Mr. Collins reflects women's impossible choices, and what Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship reveals about combining love with financial security.

In this episode, we explore:

  • The publishing history of Pride and Prejudice and why it was initially rejected
  • How every plot point in the novel revolves around economic necessity
  • The three types of marriages Austen presents and what they teach us
  • Why first impressions are so dangerous (and so hard to overcome)
  • Modern parallels to Regency class dynamics and dating culture
  • What makes this 200-year-old novel still resonate today

Perfect for Jane Austen fans, British literature enthusiasts, and anyone interested in how classic novels illuminate modern life. Whether you're a longtime Austen devotee or discovering her genius for the first time, this episode will make you see Pride and Prejudice with fresh eyes.

Book Recommendations:

Next Episode: The Brontë Sisters - From Austen's drawing rooms to the wild Yorkshire moors!

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Hello, and welcome back to the Brit Lit Book Club. I'm your host, Vanessa, and I'm thrilled you've joined me for another deep dive into the work of British literature. Before we settle in, grab yourself a cup of tea. I am sipping a delightful blueberry hibiscus this morning, and they're simply, perfectly civilized about discussing Jane Austen with a proper cup of tea in hand. Last week, we explored how Jane Austen was a quiet revolutionary using wit and irony to expose the absurdities of Georgian society, and today we're diving into her masterpiece, the novel that has spawned countless adaptations, inspired a million romantic fantasies, and given us one of literature's most swoon worthy heroes, Mr. Darcy. But here's what I want you to forget for the next few minutes, forget Colin Firth emerging from that lake. Forget the ballroom scenes and the romantic declarations. I know, I know it's difficult, but try. Because while Pride Prejudice is certainly a love story, it's also one of the most brutally honest examinations of money, class, and economic survival ever written. When Jane Austen wrote it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be and want of a wife. She wasn't being romantic, she was being sarcastic. It's basically the 1813 equivalent of Yeah. Right, and. She was about to dissect a society where women were commodities In a marriage market where love was a luxury most people couldn't afford, and where your birth determined almost everything about your life. This isn't just a story about Elizabeth Bennett finding true love. It's a story about economic anxiety, social mobility, and what happens when individual worth conflicts with social value. And the really remarkable thing, nearly every theme in this 200 year old novel resonates with our modern struggles around class money and first impressions. Who knew that Georgian England and modern dating apps had so much in common? Right? So let's step into Regency England and see this beloved story with fresh eyes. Let me start with something that might surprise you about Pride and Prejudice. It's essentially a novel about money. Every major plot point, every character, relationship, every conflict in the story comes down to economic considerations. It's less will they or won't they, and more can they afford to. The Bennett family's central problem isn't that they're poor, it's that they're financially insecure. Mr. Bennett has a respectable income of 2000 pounds a year. Which would be quite comfortable for a small family, but he has five daughters and no sons, which means when he dies, his estate will be entailed away to the nearest male relative. The ridiculous Mr. Collins. Yes, that Mr. Collins, the human embodiment of a boiled potato. This isn't just a plot device. It was a legal reality in Regency England. Estates were typically entailed to male heirs to keep family property intact. Women couldn't inherit even if they were the direct children of the owner. So Mrs. Bennett and her five daughters will be left with almost nothing when Mr. Bennett dies. This is why Mrs. Bennett is so obsessed with getting her daughters married. It's not shallow materialism, it's survival anxiety without husbands, her daughters face. Potential destitution. The frantic energy she brings to husband hunting isn't comic relief. It's genuine desperation disguised as social comedy. She's basically running a marriage startup with five products to launch and a rapidly closing market window. Now let's look at how Jane structures the romantic relationships around economic realities. She gives us three very different approaches to marriage, each representing a different way of navigating the tensions between love and money. Heads up. Spoiler alert, if you've never read the book or watched the movie, you might wanna go do that Before listening any further, first we have Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins. Charlotte is Elizabeth's sensible friend who accepts Mr. Collins' proposal, even though she doesn't love him, and when I say she doesn't love him, I mean she actively finds some insufferable, as does everyone with functioning ears. Modern readers often see it as betrayal of feminist principles, but Jane presents it more complexly. Charlotte is 27, practically an old maid by regency standards with no fortune and no prospects. She chooses security over romance and Jane doesn't condemn her for it. When Elizabeth visits Charlotte after her marriage, Jane shows us the compromises. Charlotte has made. She's arranged her living arrangements, so she sees as little of her ridiculous husband as possible. She's trading dignity and potential happiness for economic survival, and Jane makes it clear this is a rational response to an irrational system. As an interesting side note, years after Jane's death. Jane and Cassandra's best friend, Martha Lloyd, who lived with them in Chawton, ended up marrying Jane's brother after he became widowed. It was a marriage of practicality. She needed a husband and he needed childcare. Okay, so then we have Lydia Bennett and Wickham Passion. Without Prudence, they eloped for lust and attraction with no thought for consequences. Wickham has debts. No steady income. Lydia has no money and no sense. It's like watching someone swipe right on every red flag imaginable. Their marriage is a disaster waiting to happen, and it nearly ruins the entire Bennett family because Lydia's scandal could make her sisters unmarriageable. But here's what's crucial. Darcy has to pay Wickham's debts and purchase him a military commission before he'll agree to marry Lydia. Even this romantic disaster requires a financial solution. It's basically a very expensive cleanup operation. Jane shows us that in her world, you can't separate romantic choices from economic consequences. Finally, we have Elizabeth and Darcy, and this is where Jane's social commentary really gets sophisticated. Their relationship represents the possibility of combining love with financial security, but Jane is very clear about the role money plays in their romance. Elizabeth begins to see Darcy differently when she visits his estate at Pemberley. She struck by its beauty, its size and evident prosperity and taste. It represents. Jane even has Elizabeth think,"and of this place I might have been mistress." This isn't shallow gold digging. It's Jane acknowledging that financial security affects how we see potential partners. Let's be honest, we've all had that moment where someone becomes more attractive after we see their beautiful organized bookshelf or their well appointed kitchen. But Jane also shows that Darcy's wealth alone isn't enough. Elizabeth rejects his first proposal when he was rich, but proud. She only accepts him after he's proven his moral worth by helping her family and treating her relatives with respect, Jane suggests that the ideal marriage combines financial stability with mutual respect and affection, revolutionary stuff. Right now let's talk about class because pride and Prejudice offers a fascinating snapshot of British society in transition. Jane shows us a world where traditional aristocracy is being challenged by new money and merit-based achievement. Lady Catherine de Bourgh represents old style aristocracy. People who believe birth alone entitles them to respect and obedience. She's basically the original."Do you know who I am?" person. She expects Elizabeth to defer to her simply because she's a de Bourgh, but Elizabeth refuses to be intimidated, and Jane makes Lady Catherine look ridiculous in the process. It's immensely satisfying. Darcy represents enlightened aristocracy. He has an ancient family name and vast wealth, but he's also willing to judge people by their character rather than their birth. His initial pride comes from social conditioning, but he's capable of growth and change. Character development before it was called character development. Mr. Bingley represents new money trying to establish itself in polite society. He has bought an estate and is attempting to become a country gentleman, but his fortune comes from trade, which makes him slightly suspect to people like the Bennetts, even though they desperately want Jane to marry him. The irony is not lost on Jane Austen. The Bennett family occupies that precarious middle position, educated and well-mannered, but not wealthy, respectable, but not secure. They're what Jane calls pseudo gentry and their anxiety about maintaining their social position drives much of the novel's tension. This was also the position that the Austens were in. So Jane knew a lot about this. What Jane shows us is a society where the old rules about class and social position are breaking down, but new roles haven't yet emerged. This creates opportunities. Elizabeth can marry above her station if she's clever and lucky, but also dangerous as we see with Lydia's near disgrace. Here's where Jane Austen proves herself to be one of the most honest writers about marriage and literary history. She refuses to pretend that love conquers all, but she also refuses to accept the economic necessity must crush individual happiness. She's basically saying it's complicated. Before that became a relationship status, let's examine what marriage meant for women in Regency England. Legally. When a woman was married, she ceased to exist as an independent person. Her property became her husband's. She couldn't sign contracts. She couldn't sue in court, couldn't even have legal custody of her children if her husband died. Marriage was literally called civil death for women. Romantic right, but paradoxically, marriage was also the only path to independence for most women. An unmarried woman remained under her father's authority her entire life. A married woman at least became a mistress of her own household. Even if she couldn't legally own anything in it. This is the impossible situation Jane's heroines navigate, they need marriage to survive, but the wrong marriage could be worse than no marriage at all. It's like choosing between terrible job offers when your rent is. Look at how Jane presents the different marriages in the novel. Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins represent the purely practical marriage. Charlotte goes into it with her eyes wide open. She knows Mr. Collins is ridiculous, but he offers security and social respectability. Jane doesn't condemn Charlotte, but she also shows the cost of this choice. Charlotte must constantly manage her husband's absurdity and has essentially given up on the possibility of genuine companionship and marriage. Interestingly, Jane shows that Charlotte makes the best of her situation. She arranges her home so she has privacy and space away from Mr. Collins. She mastered the art of strategic interior design. She takes genuine pleasure in her garden and her domestic arrangements. She's found a way to build a satisfying life within the constraints of a loveless marriage. But Jane also makes it clear that this isn't ideal. When Elizabeth visits she sees what Charlotte has sacrificed: the possibility of a partnership based on mutual respect and affection. Lydia and Wickham represent the marriage based purely on passion and physical attraction. They elope and a frenzy of lust and excitement, but they have no shared values, no financial planning, and no consideration for anyone else. They're basically teenagers who think love will pay the rent. Jane shows us the aftermath of this kind of impulsive choice. Wickham continues his gambling and flirtations. Lydia quickly becomes bored and demanding their passion burns out, leaving them with debts, social scandal, and no foundation for a lasting partnership. Now let's look at the two successful marriages in the novel, Jane and Bingley, and Elizabeth and Darcy. Because Jane structures these very carefully to show different ways of combining love with practical considerations. Jane and Bingley represent gentle compatible affection supported by adequate financial resources. Neither is passionate or dramatic, but they genuinely like and respect each other. They're the couple who finish each other's sentences and never fight about what to watch on Netflix. Bingley has enough money to support a family comfortably, and Jane's beauty and sweetness make her an acceptable wife for someone of his standing. Their relationship faces obstacles. Darcy and Bingley's sisters convince him that Jane doesn't really care for him. And the Bennett family's behavior nearly ruins Jane's prospects. But these are external barriers, not fundamental and compatibilities. Elizabeth and Darcy represent a more complex and mature relationship. Both are strong-willed, intelligent, and judgmental. Their initial conflict comes from pride and prejudice. His social pride and her prejudice against his apparent arrogance. They're basically enemies to lovers before it was a trope, but Jane shows how they move beyond these initial impressions by testing each other's character and real situations. Elizabeth sees how Darcy treats his servants, his sister, and her own family when they're in crisis. Darcy sees Elizabeth's loyalty to her family, her moral courage, and her refusal to be understanding not just attraction, and crucially Jane makes sure their economic situations are compatible. Elizabeth isn't wealthy, but she's educated and well-mannered enough to fit into Darcy's world. Darcy is rich enough that Elizabeth's lack of fortune doesn't matter. The math works out as it were. Jane is very clear that this kind of marriage combining love, respect, compatible values, and financial security represents the ideal, but she's also clear about how rare and difficult it is to achieve this. It's like winning the lottery, except the odds are slightly better, and the prize is a lifelong companionship instead of cash. What makes Jane's treatment revolutionary is her honesty about the role of money in romantic relationships. She doesn't pretend that love is enough, but she also doesn't accept that money is everything. She shows that the most successful relationships acknowledge economic realities, while also insisting on personal compatibility and mutual respect. The original title of Pride and Prejudice was first impressions. And this theme runs through every relationship in the novel, Jane understood something profound about human psychology. We make snap judgements about people based on limited information, and those judgments are incredibly difficult to change. She basically understood cognitive bias before psychology was invented, but she also understood that first impressions are shaped by our own biases, insecurities, and social conditioning. The novel is essentially about learning to see past surface appearances, to understand people's true character. Elizabeth's first impression of Darcy is terrible. She overhears him telling Bingley that she's"tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" at the ball. Ouch. This wounds her pride and colors every subsequent interaction they have, it's the Regency equivalent of being nagged at a party, and Elizabeth is not here for it. But Jane Austen shows us that Elizabeth's wounded vanity makes her receptive to Wickham's lies about Darcy. She wants to believe the worst about Darcy because he's bruised her ego, so she accepts Wickham's story without questioning it. We've all been there ready to believe the tea about someone we already don't like. Meanwhile, Darcy's first impression of Elizabeth is shaped by his class prejudices. He sees her family's lack of propriety, their modest social position, and their obvious fortune hunting and he dismisses her as beneath his notice, his loss, obviously. The genius of the novel is showing how both characters gradually learn to see past their initial judgments. Elizabeth learns that Darcy's apparent pride, masks shyness and social awkwardness. He's not arrogant, he's just terrible At small talk. Darcy learns that Elizabeth's family's behavior doesn't reflect her own character and values. But Jane doesn't make this process easy or quick. Both characters have to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves. Elizabeth has to acknowledge that her quick wit can become cruel judgment. Darcy has to recognize that his social position has made him arrogant and dismissive of others. Growth is painful as Jane reminds us. The turning point comes when Elizabeth reads Darcy's letter explaining his behavior towards Wickham and his interference in Jane and Bingley's relationship. She's forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew about both men. It's like when you suddenly realize you've been completely wrong about someone for months and have to reassess your entire worldview. Jane shows this process of recognition brilliantly. Elizabeth realizes,"till this moment, I never knew myself." It's not just that she was wrong about Darcey, it's that she was wrong about her own ability to judge character accurately. That's some serious self-awareness. This theme extends to other characters too. Everyone initially misjudges Wickham because he's charming and good looking. They assume he must be trustworthy because he has pleasant manners and tells them what they want to hear. He's basically a walking red flag wrapped in a nice uniform, but nobody sees it. Meanwhile, they misjudged Mr. Darcy'cause he's awkward in social situations and doesn't flatter people. They interpret his shyness as arrogance and his honesty as rudeness. Jane shows how dangerous these snap judgments can be. Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy nearly costs her the chance at happiness. The Bennett family's trust in Wickham leads to Lydia's elopement and near disgrace for the entire family. First impressions can be expensive as it turns out. What makes pride and prejudice So enduringly popular isn't the romance, it's how relevant the social dynamics remain today. We may not have formal class hierarchies anymore, but we still make judgments based on education, income, social background, and cultural markers. We've just replaced gentlemen" with,"has a graduate degree" and"good family" with"good credit score." Think about modern dating. We may not have marriage settlements and entailments. The economic compatibility still matters enormously. In relationships. People tend to marry within their educational and income levels. Financial stress is still one of the leading causes of divorce. Jane knew what she was talking about and we still judge potential partners partly on economic factors. The class dynamics and pride and prejudice translate directly to modern social hierarchies. Instead of titled Nobility and Landed Gentry, we have celebrities, tech billionaires, old money families. Instead of trade money versus inherited wealth, we have new money versus established wealth or different types of professional status. Lady Catherine de Berg would absolutely be on the board of a prestigious charity and have strong opinions about who should be admitted to the country Club. Elizabeth's position, educated, not wealthy, respectable, but not secure mirrors that of many middle class professionals today. People with good educations and cultural knowledge, but limited financial resources trying to maintain their social position in an expensive world. Our initial impressions be shaped by our own securities and biases. We reject people who don't immediately flatter our egos or we're drawn to people who tell us what we want to hear. Like Whickam, the medium has changed, but the human nature has not. The novels examination of how family behavior affects individual prospects also resonates today. Elizabeth worries that her mother's fortune hunting and her younger sister's impropriety will hurt her own chances for happiness. In our connected world, family scandals can still damage individual reputations and opportunities. The internet is forever, as they say. The pressure to present a perfect social media persona mirrors the Regency emphasis on proper behavior and social appearances. Just as the Bennett sisters had to be careful not to damage their reputations. People today worry about how their online presence affects their professional and romantic prospects. We're all curating our own image just like they did in 1813. Jane's insight about economic anxiety driving social behavior remains painfully relevant. Bennett's desperation to marry off her daughters mirrors the modern parental anxiety about their children's economic prospects. The pressure to marry well has become pressure to achieve educational and professional success, but the underlying worry about financial security remains the same. So why does Pride and Prejudice continue to captivate readers more than 200 years after its publication? Why do we keep making new adaptations, writing sequels, and re-imagining the story in contemporary settings? What is it about this particular novel that makes us return to it again and again? I think it's because Jane Austen created something rare in literature, a romance that acknowledges that real world constraints while still believing in the possibility of happiness. Elizabeth and Darcy don't just fall in love. They grow as people. Challenge each other's assumptions, and build a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding. It's aspirational without being unrealistic. The novel offers hope that we can overcome our initial prejudices and learn to see people more clearly. It suggests that while we can't ignore practical considerations like money and social compatibility, we don't have to sacrifice personal happiness to social expectations. We can have our cake and eat it too. We're lucky and willing to grow. Jane's wit and irony, make the social criticism go down easily. We laugh at Lady Catherine's pompousness and Mrs. Bennett's scheming. But we also recognize the serious points Jane is making about social inequality and women's limited options. She's basically smuggling feminism inside a romantic comedy. The characters feel real because they're flawed. Elizabeth is quick to judge and slow to admit her mistakes. Darcy is proud and socially awkward. Jane Bennett is almost too good to be true, but she's also passive and naive. These aren't perfect people. They're recognizable human beings dealing with universal problems. We see ourselves in them, which is both comforting and uncomfortable. And perhaps most importantly, the novel suggests that change is possible. Both individually and socially Elizabeth and Darcy grow beyond their initial limitations. Even the rigid social world of Regency England shows some flexibility. Merit can be rewarded. True worth could be recognized. Love can find a way. This optimism combined with Jane's unflinching honesty about social and economic realities creates a story that's both realistic and hopeful. It doesn't promise that love conquers all, but it suggests that love combined with wisdom, growth, and a bit of luck can create genuine happiness. That's a message we all need sometimes. If today's exploration of pride and prejudice has inspired you to dive deeper into Jane's world or explore how these themes play out in other contexts, I've got some fantastic book recommendations for you. For understanding social context, Amanda Vickery's behind closed doors at home in Georgia and England is great for a daily life and social customs and economic realities for families like the Bennett's. She covers everything from courtship rituals to household management to fashion. For modern adaptations and retellings. Pride and prejudice and other flavors by Sonali Dev moves the story to modern San Francisco exploring how issues of class, race and cultural background affect romantic relationships today. Thank you so much for joining me on this deeper exploration of pride and prejudice. I hope I've convinced you that there's so much more beneath the surface of this beloved romance, layers of social criticism, economic analysis. And psychological insight that make it as relevant today as it was in 1813. And if all this talk about Jane Austen has you dreaming of stepping into her world, well that's exactly what we do on the book Club tour, we spend glorious days exploring Bath where she lived and set North Anger Abbey in persuasion, wandering through her actual cottage at Chawton where she wrote and revised all six novels and visiting her brother Edward's Grand Chawton house. But it's not just about the houses. The Book Club Tour is all about immersive experiences and building friendships. It's less of a tour and more of a life altering experience. You can find out more about experiencing Jane's world firsthand at the thebookclubtour.com, or on Instagram or Facebook@thebookclubtour So we've spent most of this episode exploring the witty social commentary and sparkling romance of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a novel that shows us how love can blossom within the boundaries of propriety and good sense. But what happens when we venture beyond those carefully maintained drawing rooms? Next week, we're trading Austin's elegant ballrooms for the Wild Yorkshire Moores where three remarkable sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. Gave us some of the most passionate, gothic, psychologically complex novels in English literature. If Elizabeth Bennett navigated society with intelligence and grace, the Bronte Heroines will challenge those very social structures with raw emotion, fierce independence, and desires that refuse to be tamed. We're talking about the brooding intensity of Wuthering Heights, the quiet strength of Jane Eyre and the underrated brilliance of the tenant of Wildfeld Hall. So join us next week as we explore how three sisters writing under male pseudonyms from the remote parsonage revolutionized the novel that proved that sometimes the most powerful voices come from the most unlikely places. Trust me, you won't wanna miss this one. Well, my tea's getting cold, so until next time, keep reading and stay curious.