Austen the Influence of Class

Austen

The Influence of Class and Wealth on Friendship in the Novels of Jane Austen: A Comment on Irony

Jane Austen is the creator of some of the most memorable stories and characters to emerge from English novels; her men and women alike are rendered with a sharp eye for detail and a compassion that is apparent even in her treatment of some of the more dastardly of her villains. Yet there is also a large degree of inequality in the rendering of her characters made necessary by the extremely stratified society of which Austen was a part, and about which she wrote. Women are generally inactive creatures, and the busier among them are seen through Austen's eyes with at least a small amount of contempt as they try to pull strings forcing certain people and events to come together. Men, on the other hand, are generally painted most positively by Austen at the height of their action, often in saving women from physical, financial, or social danger. This imbalance is the source of much of the conflict in Austen's novels.

A similar dichotomy exists between the different classes as they are presented in Austen's novels. The characters are all generally of the middle class, but there is a wide and complex range of different stations within this middle class, and the various positions that the different characters in the novel occupy have huge effects both on what they are able to do and how they are portrayed during the course of their respective books. In Persuasion, Anne Elliott must attempt to negotiate a marriage for herself that satisfies both practical and emotional requirements. She also encounters and befriends a Mrs. Smith, a widow who is left impoverished and who ironically cannot marry to improve her situation precisely because her situation is so bad. This illustrates a common theme in Austen's novels: ironic changes in circumstance that solidify friendships and marriages.

The case of Mrs. Smith in Persuasion is only one of many examples from Austen's novels where an ironic twist of fate changes the financial and social situation of one or more characters in a way that alters friendships, but it is one of the most complete and complex. Mrs. Smith and her husband had originally been a part of the same social position as Anne Elliott and her family. Due to the ill advice and misguided friendship of William Elliott -- Anne's cousin -- Mr. And Mrs. Smith lost their fortune, and Mr. Smith's death left Mrs. Smith hopeless. Meanwhile, Mr. Elliott is trying to court Anne to solidify his position as her father's heir, but the knowledge of what he did to the Smiths plays a large part in Anne's decision to reject him.

The irony here is twofold: first, Mrs. Smith's ruined fortunes have no prospects of improving because they have been ruined (by Mr. Elliott's intervention, it should be noted), and second, Mr. Elliott's own chances at improving and solidifying his own situation by marrying Anne was ruined by his having taken advantage of the Smiths. The irony in Persuasion does not end here, however, but is actually carried to happier conclusions. Captain Wentworth, who had previously been rejected by Anne due to his own lack of wealth and station, returns from war in greatly improved circumstances and both wins back Anne and charitably assists Mrs. Smith out of her poverty. In a way, then, Mr. Elliott's less-than-scrupulous treatment of the Smith's set the stage for his downfall in more than one way, by souring his own chances with Anne Elliott and allowing Captain Wentworth the opportunity to play hero in Anne's eyes.

The ultimate lesson here, however, is that women of this class are completely at the mercy of the men involved -- or not involved -- in their lives. This is a fact that Austen herself most certainly appreciated as an unmarried female of the same social set she was writing about, which explains the centrality of this concept to so many of her novels. Persuasion is far from the only Austen novel where conflicts between emotional love and the necessary practical considerations of marriage arise, nor the only one where ironic changes in circumstance lead to the formation and/or solidification -- as well as the dissolution -- of friendships. Similar circumstances occur in Emma and Pride and Prejudice, for example, and Anne Elliott could certainly have taught Emma Wodehouse and Elizabeth Bennett something about love and politics as these two heroines of these respective novels also navigate the waters of their social class and end up finding themselves husbands, whether or not they even knew they were looking.

Elizabeth Bennett regarded most men with disdain -- most people, as a matter of fact -- and was especially dismissive of the idea of marrying someone just for the social connections and/or wealth he could provide. Her mother continually pressures her to accept various proposals of marriage to secure a rise in her station and future wealth and security, but Elizabeth is determined to live her own life and make her own decisions as much as possible. Anne learns, through her misguided rejection of Captain Wentworth and her friendship to Mrs. Smith, that such self-determination is essential both to happiness and to achieving the type of secure future being sought. Where she could really help Elizabeth, however, is in not letting the practical concerns of her social station and family members get in the way of finding love. Though this could not be the primary goal of most women of Austen's social class, Anne proves most effectively that it can be intermingled with the more practical necessities of marriage.