Jones 2009: 1-23 - The commodification of wo/men in the English marriage market

Hazel Jones, Jane Austen and Marriage

Main argument

Marriage in Austen’s time (late 18th and early 19th century) was a period of flux and contradiction. Companionate marriage (affection, respect, compatibility) was increasingly the ideal, but marriages of convenience persisted. Austen’s novels reflect this and show there is no “one size fits all.”

Why marriage was so high-stakes for women

Women depended on husbands for status and financial security. Where money and land were at stake, parents could veto a match. Daughters of all ranks were vulnerable.

Austen vs. conduct literature

She mocks its moralizing. Her heroines are fallible, intelligent individuals who learn from mistakes, not silent, submissive wives.

The Advantage of Choice

Men held the advantage because eligible, wealthy men were scarce and women depended on marriage. A man like Darcy could act like a connoisseur (expert judge). Choice was also complicated by money, character, connections and family.

men’s power to choose or withhold (whom to court or propose to), tied to the scarcity of eligible men.

The Power of Refusal

After the man proposes, the woman holds the power to accept or refuse. Austen’s heroines use it, and in her novels no means no. Refusal can change both people. Real life was messier, with persistence and pressure.

women’s main form of agency in courtship, the ability to say no.

Companionate marriage

marriage based on affection, respect, compatibility and friendship rather than purely money or rank.

Marriage of convenience / mercenary marriage

marriage contracted mainly for money, status or security (Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins).

Parental veto

parents’ power to forbid or sanction a match, strongest where money and land were involved.

Conduct literature

advice books on how to attract a spouse and fulfil marital roles. Written largely by Church of England clergymen (Gregory, Blair, Fordyce, Gisborne). Conservative, urged female deference, and ran to many editions.

Refined helplessness

the conduct-book ideal that women should cultivate delicate dependence, which supposedly stimulated the male protective urge and softened the male heart.

Reasonable correction

a husband’s supposed right to physically discipline his wife. Courts upheld it into the 1730s, and a judge defended it in 1782, causing a general outcry.

Who were the conduct writers and what did they argue?

Mostly Church of England clergymen. They argued that God made men stronger intellectually and physically, so women should defer to men, accept protection with gratitude and cultivate refined helplessness. Their advice centered on catching husbands, dress and deportment. Radical voices (Wollstonecraft, Hays) argued for female rationality and education instead.

How did attitudes toward marriage change in Austen’s lifetime?

Companionate marriage was increasingly the ideal, and arranged or mercenary matches drew more criticism. The 1782 outcry over wife-beating shows shifting attitudes. Parental pressure and financial need still shaped many marriages. Austen shows the mix: some matches succeed after a short acquaintance, while others fail from haste.

Why did men have the advantage of choice?

Eligible, wealthy men were scarce, women depended on marriage for status and security, and convention said men propose. Men could withhold attention or marry late. Men faced their own constraints, though, such as income, family and waiting for a living.

What limits did women face in choosing?

They could not initiate proposals and had to hint or encourage. They depended on being asked, and parents and family could push or block a match. They could use judgement and refuse, but refusing could be costly.

Describe a refusal in Austen and its consequences.

Elizabeth refuses Darcy’s first proposal. Darcy then has to re-evaluate his ungentlemanly conduct, and Elizabeth her prejudices. The refusal drives growth in both and leads to a better-informed second proposal.

Compare women’s agency and constraints in courtship.

• Constraints: dependence, no initiating, parental veto, scarce men, conduct-book ideals.

• Agency: judgement, refusal, hints and encouragement, defying family.

• Use specific cases, place them in the 1790s-1820 period, and note exceptions.