The more I reread Jane Austen's books, the more I notice these age ranges and age gaps between couples. I feel like we often forget how young the female characters are when we discuss and judge their choices - especially Marianne Dashwood and Lydia Bennet. I'm surprised to hear that Charlotte Lucas is older than Mr Collins! I remember her being dangerously close to old-maid age, but I also thought he was older than her. Also surprised to hear Caroline Bingley is so much younger than I thought. And yes, that definitely changes my perception of her. Wow, this was so interesting and I've learned a lot.
It's so interesting! Glad you enjoyed the video. So many of the female characters are just so young. And yes, it's quite interesting that Mr Collins is younger than Charlotte. I feel like maybe that will help her make him a bit of a better person.
I’ve been reading “What Matters in Jane Austen” and I love it! It’s so interesting to remember that all of these women are quite young. It really hits home how much more grown up girls who we would consider children had to be in that time period, but yet they still have some of the same flighty tendencies that teenagers of our time would have. Great video, Katie!
It certainly does! I guess adult life started earlier then. I sort of think Jane Austen's 16/17 is equivalent to today's 20/21 - but still, characters like Catherine Morland and Marianne Dashwood do feel quite young, which is always interesting to look at.
About the elder Bennets - the book I have that celebrated the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice points out that marrying a poorly educated girl from a lower class because you are physically attracted to her is the mistake of a young man, and that makes sense to me, so while she is likely to be in her early 40's, he would be perhaps five or six years older. And as for not having more children in those days of large families - it's entirely possible that something about the birth of Lydia (the fifth child in about 6 years) made it harder or impossible for Mrs. Bennet to have more children, although they kept hoping for a son and didn't give up until some years after Lydia's birth. It's possible there were a few miscarriages, or that she could not conceive. As for the Bingleys - I have read somewhere that Bingley was 24 (he and Darcy must have been in school together so there would not be too much age difference between them), and picture Caroline as about Jane Bennet's age. I picture Louisa as late 20's - does the book say he is the eldest? In any event, particular friendships do not mean the friends are very close in age - after all, Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Elizabeth only 20, and that is probably a more equal, less patronizing, friendship than Miss Bingley and Georgianna Darcy. The Gardiners are interesting, though - if Mrs. Bennet is early 40's, I imagine her brother to be late 30's, the youngest of the three children, and Mrs. Gardiner as a few years younger, which makes sense, since they have five or six young children. It would made her a fit age for that kind of almost older sister relationship with Jane and Elizabeth. It's interesting how we tend to give these characters back stories as we get to know them better, isn't it? It seems to me that the most romantic relationships tend to be between people with two to seven or eight years between them.
It is true that something about Lydia's birth may have made having more children trickier for the Bennets. Mr. Bingley 'had not been of age two years', which means he must be just under 23 at the start of the book, as he'd have come of age at 21. I suppose he might be nearly 24 by the end of the book. So, Caroline is described as 'his younger sister' and Louisa as 'his eldest sister'. I reread Pride and Prejudice after having already filmed this video or would have spoken about this more, because it sort of suggests that Louisa is older than Charles and Caroline younger, although theoretically it could mean that Caroline is the younger of his two sisters, and Louise is the elder of his two sisters, which tells us very little of where they sit in comparison to Charles. It's true, I'm not sure how old the Gardiners are. I'll have to think of that! It's very interesting whose age Jane chooses to tell us and who she doesn't.
@@katiejlumsden Doesn't she say something about Mr. Collins lost all chance of improvement by gaining the patronage of Lady Catherine at such a young age? And I really don't see Lydia changing much as she grows up, somehow.
This was so interesting. I think in regards to Mrs Bennet, it could also be that her last birth was so hard that the doctors told her to stop, that she'll die if she keeps going. Which happened quite often. So she's not necessarily that old just because she stopped having children.
There is this line, though: 'Five daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years after Lydia's birth, had been certain that he would.' Which kind of suggests that they were expecting they might get pregnant after for a while after Lydia was born before they despaired of it. Although of course there might have been a lot of other medical reasons why she might have stopped having children.
Mrs Dashwood and Colonel Brandon is exactly what I said to my mum this month! But her view was that Mrs Dashwood was a very loving wife and not likely to be ready to remarry any time soon. That presentation of Caroline Bingley makes so much sense and does massively change things. It also makes sense of things like Sir Lucas offering her help at court (if he thinks she is newly "out") and her quite odd behaviours of just picking Jane as a friend, that's quite an immature approach to friendship if you think about it. Regarding Mrs Bennet though, I'm not sure that I agree as it could be Mr Bennet whose fertility starts to decline with age, or it could be that something happened at Lydia's birth or on a subsequent miscarriage that caused Mrs Bennet harm and prevented future pregnancies in that way. I think I prefer her to be younger.
I do think your mum's probably right - it would be too soon for Mrs Dashwood. Caroline Bingley is such an interesting character - she is quite immature when you think about it.
also, she is less likely to give him an heir. Brutal, but reality - he is ready to marry again after Eliza's mother's death. Had the daughter Eliza Williams been a son, that might not have been an issue for him.
This was so interesting! I think I always picture the characters as being older than they're supposed to be, probably because of the actors that are cast to play them.
Oh wow this is so interesting! Adaptions have definitely shaped how I view the characters in terms of age. I love the 1995 adaption of p&p but some of the actors are definitely a little older than they were intended in the book. For some reason I never thought about caroline bingleys age in the book, and now i'm kind of mind blown. The way she behaves makes so much more sense realising shes probably not even out of her teens
Thanks! I do think it's really interesting to think of Caroline Bingley as much younger than she's often portrayed; it certainly makes her actions a bit more forgivable.
My perceptions of the characters' ages in Jane Austen are always incorrect. I swear Mr. Collins will always be a balding middle-aged man in my mind. This time when rereading Sense and Sensibility, the relationship between Marianne and Colonel Brandon did rub me the wrong way. Perhaps age was a part of that. In Lady Susan is it acceptable that Lady Susan and her daughter both share the same love interest? I always viewed it as a sign of Lady Susan's transgressiveness and selfishness. Perhaps women were sometimes about 5-10 yrs older than their husbands, and that was perfectly acceptable then as well? As for aging Mrs. Bennet... It is hard! You're absolutely right. She would have kept trying to have children until she couldn't in her situation. Also, I never thought that Caroline Bingley was particularly old. At the oldest I imagined that she was the same age as Lizzy Bennet, but it would make more sense if she was closer to Georgiana Darcy's age. Something else to consider when thinking about age is that in the world of Jane Austen (especially in the country) society was quite small and claustrophobic. The amount of people there were to interact with was limited, so people of varying ages might be closer friends than you'd otherwise imagine. Georgiana Darcy and Caroline Bingley could be a few years apart and be friends simply because of how much time they are in each other's company. And as far as Emma, are there really so many choices of suitors besides Knightly, Elton, and Churchill? And of course Churchill is taken and Elton is repulsive. Anyway, I'm glad you posted this! So many interesting things to think about. :)
Mr Collins is just always old in everybody's heads I think! So, Lady Susan's being interested in a man 12 years her junior is considered a bit transgressive in Lady Susan, but women marrying younger men wasn't that uncommon statistically at the time. The man Jane Austen was engaged to for 24 hours was five years younger than her. Interesting that you've never thought Caroline was that old; I certainly used to, and I think she seems older in a lot of the adaptations. It is true, that the kind of claustrophobic country societies and the amount of people that people of this class actually meet probably does mean that couples and friends have greater age differences. Even just Lizzy and Charlotte are such great friends when Charlotte is 27 and Lizzy is 20, and they seem to have been friends for years. I now, at 26, have plenty of friends seven years older than me, but I didn't when I was 20, and I don't have any friends really who are under maybe 22. I guess there were sort of less life stages, especially for women, in the Regency period.
I constantly forget Mr. Collins is so young. Maybe by his mid 30s he will grow to be the most likeable character? I still imagine him outliving Charlotte Lucas and marrying Mary Bennet afterwards. And though I love Anna Chancellor as Caroline Bingley (especially considering her being a relative of Jane Austen's), she does come across as Mr. Bingley's older sister.
It's very interesting, isn't it! I do wonder if Mr Collins will be improved as he grows up. Surely living with a sensible woman like Charlotte would have some good effect on him?
I think they say that Caroline Bingley is to keep house for her brother. Would that be normal for a 19 year old? Wouldn’t she be at home with their parents or an aunt and uncle maybe., since she is not married.
No, it wouldn't very be unusual at that time. If you think girls did get married at 16, they'd then be keeping house for their husbands. I strongly get the impression that the Bingley's parents are both dead. Certainly their father is, for Caroline says that it's a pity that 'my father should have left so small a collection of books', which implies he's dead. Mr Bingley, as her brother, is effectively, her guardian, but she can be his housekeeper. It probably means she's 17-19 rather than 16 though.
I think in Emma it says that she becomes mistress of Highbury at 16 due to her sister's marriage, likewise Elizabeth Elliot in Persuasion when her mother dies. I'd imagine that a family like the Bingleys would have a very good housekeeper to do most of the work, and having Caroline "keep house" might have been a convenient way to tempt her pride to encourage her to come to the country with her brother when she seems so keen on town.
Where do you find Bingley's age as 22? Is it all because it says that he just came in to his inheritance? Was 21 the normal age back then? I thought there were instances where the person was 25 or so before he came in to all his money.
21 was indeed the normal age to be considered 'of age' as it were, which is the term used in the book; even though some property did not pass down until the age of 25 or even older, you were considered 'of age' as a man in the nineteenth century at the age of 21.
Aww this makes me think that Caroline Bingley was the kid sister with a huge crush on her big brother’s best friend. Then when a girl closer to their age gets close to her crush she gets jealous and obvious. Poor dear.
Edward Ferrars is 23 as we are told he became engaged to Lucy at age 19 and it has subsisted for 4 years. Also, I wouldn't take Marianne's idea of a man's "marriageable" age as gospel, as men did not have the biological ticking clock women do, so did not have a "window of opportunity" for marrying, as shown in Persuasion where Sir Walter, at 54, is still considered a marriageable prospect - "Sir Walter's continued singleness requires explanation" being the quote by Austen (the objection was more about Mrs Clay being too low status, plus Mr Elliot didn't like being cut out of his presumed inheritance). In fact, older men are generally more favourable matches as a) they are more likely to have their own money vs still waiting to inherit it from their fathers, b) their habits are set and will be well known by now instead of having secret seedy/wasteful habits, and c) less likely to still be in the "sowing their wild oats" stage of their life. Though on the flip side, some men do still marry as early as women, but these early marriages are usually arranged by their parents for money and/or alliance as very few men inherit money early enough to be able to make their own marital choices.
What a great idea for a video, I always think these characters are older (probably because of the adaptations) but them almost all being between 16 and 25 makes me change my perception of them. Mr. Collins 25 🤣
I bought that book due to one of your mentions of it in another video. I just received it in the mail; different cover though, not as cool as your cover. =)
It may have been because of money if they had more children and kept having daughters their financial situation would get worse or it could be for health - Mrs. Bennet had five children in a short space of time it could have certainly left her unable to have any more children.
Sometimes age and maturity don't go hand in hand. Before and during Willoughby, Marianne Dashwood i would say is too young for Colonel Branden. But after Willoughby Marianne seems to age rapidly and is more equal to Colonel Branden in terms of disposition making their relationship more believable at least to me.
I found it a bit weird 36 year old Mr Knightly married 20 year old Emma and there be no comment on the age difference. I get the impression gentlemen either had to establish themselves in their professions or inherit their estate before they could think about marriage. I don't think young gentlemen were expected to remain virgins until they married, even Mr Darcy, but for young ladies it was different. Life expectancy for a person in their 30s may not have been so much different to a person's in their 20s. Lots of women died in childbirth. Men might die in warfare. Medicine was not as advanced. It was unlikely a marriage would last twenty years anyway.
@@katiejlumsden I think the reason is his social status. He's by far the most wealthy and consequential person in their circle. Also notice that when Mrs Weston suspects that Mr Knightley is romantically interested in Jane Fairfax, the age gap (which is similar to that of Mr Knightley and Emma) is never indicated to be a problem.
Im not sure what age Mr Collins is, but by his behavior, he seems older than Jane.And Jane seems to be a teanager thinking Mr. Collins is very uncool and old!
@@katiejlumsden In Calormen, the country of Narnia's adversary, it was routine for 14 yr old girls to be married off to 50 yr old men. 14 yr old child wife Lasaraleen, a friend of the book's 14 yr old main female human character (in this book, 2 key characters are talking horses) Aravis, views her life's situation as positive, totally usual and perfectly fine. She can't understand why any 14 yr old girl wouldn't want to have the same kind of married life that she has. Aravis was very soon to be married off to a 50 yr old man herself, but deciding she didn't even like the fellow, decided to flee her native land Calormen and live elsewhere. Whether or not Calormen marriages are all arranged, only some, or hardly at all, I don't recall. I'd imagine that in eg. film adaptations of this book, that the directors would duck some controversy by making the likes of characters Lasaraleen & Aravis (& incidentally the main male human protagonist Shasta) 18 instead. I also don't recall whether or not some Calormen women live in harems of rich men. It's been about 3 years since I read HHB last.
I find it interesting the way Austen’s novels are adapted for TV, as you said. I might be wrong, but I think Kate Winslet was 18 at the time she played Marianne, but she was, I think, one of the few actresses that more or less matched the age of the character. As much as I love Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant, they were not in their early 20s when they filmed S&S.😄 I did really like your point about Caroline Bingley. I will think back to that when rereading the book!
Edward Ferrars is 23 as we are told he became engaged to Lucy at age 19 and it has subsisted for 4 years. Also, I wouldn't take Marianne's idea of a man's "marriageable" age as gospel, as men did not have the biological ticking clock women do, so did not have a "window of opportunity" for marrying, as shown in Persuasion where Sir Walter, at 54, is still considered a marriageable prospect - "Sir Walter's continued singleness requires explanation" being the quote by Austen (the objection was more about Mrs Clay being too low status, plus Mr Elliot didn't like being cut out of his presumed inheritance). In fact, older men are generally more favourable matches as a) they are more likely to have their own money vs still waiting to inherit it from their fathers, b) their habits are set and will be well known by now instead of having secret seedy/wasteful habits, and c) less likely to still be in the "sowing their wild oats" stage of their life. Though on the flip side, some men do still marry as early as women, but these early marriages are usually arranged by their parents for money and/or alliance as very few men inherit money early enough to be able to make their own marital choices.
The more I reread Jane Austen's books, the more I notice these age ranges and age gaps between couples. I feel like we often forget how young the female characters are when we discuss and judge their choices - especially Marianne Dashwood and Lydia Bennet.
I'm surprised to hear that Charlotte Lucas is older than Mr Collins! I remember her being dangerously close to old-maid age, but I also thought he was older than her. Also surprised to hear Caroline Bingley is so much younger than I thought. And yes, that definitely changes my perception of her. Wow, this was so interesting and I've learned a lot.
It's so interesting! Glad you enjoyed the video. So many of the female characters are just so young. And yes, it's quite interesting that Mr Collins is younger than Charlotte. I feel like maybe that will help her make him a bit of a better person.
i realize I'm kinda randomly asking but do anybody know a good website to stream new tv shows online ?
Caroline being that young changes a lot. I find that really interesting.
It really is so interesting!
I’ve been reading “What Matters in Jane Austen” and I love it! It’s so interesting to remember that all of these women are quite young. It really hits home how much more grown up girls who we would consider children had to be in that time period, but yet they still have some of the same flighty tendencies that teenagers of our time would have. Great video, Katie!
It certainly does! I guess adult life started earlier then. I sort of think Jane Austen's 16/17 is equivalent to today's 20/21 - but still, characters like Catherine Morland and Marianne Dashwood do feel quite young, which is always interesting to look at.
Oh wow, I can hardly imagine Caroline as younger than Lizzie, but you're probably right! That certainly changes things!
It really does change how you read her.
About the elder Bennets - the book I have that celebrated the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice points out that marrying a poorly educated girl from a lower class because you are physically attracted to her is the mistake of a young man, and that makes sense to me, so while she is likely to be in her early 40's, he would be perhaps five or six years older. And as for not having more children in those days of large families - it's entirely possible that something about the birth of Lydia (the fifth child in about 6 years) made it harder or impossible for Mrs. Bennet to have more children, although they kept hoping for a son and didn't give up until some years after Lydia's birth. It's possible there were a few miscarriages, or that she could not conceive. As for the Bingleys - I have read somewhere that Bingley was 24 (he and Darcy must have been in school together so there would not be too much age difference between them), and picture Caroline as about Jane Bennet's age. I picture Louisa as late 20's - does the book say he is the eldest? In any event, particular friendships do not mean the friends are very close in age - after all, Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Elizabeth only 20, and that is probably a more equal, less patronizing, friendship than Miss Bingley and Georgianna Darcy.
The Gardiners are interesting, though - if Mrs. Bennet is early 40's, I imagine her brother to be late 30's, the youngest of the three children, and Mrs. Gardiner as a few years younger, which makes sense, since they have five or six young children. It would made her a fit age for that kind of almost older sister relationship with Jane and Elizabeth.
It's interesting how we tend to give these characters back stories as we get to know them better, isn't it? It seems to me that the most romantic relationships tend to be between people with two to seven or eight years between them.
It is true that something about Lydia's birth may have made having more children trickier for the Bennets. Mr. Bingley 'had not been of age two years', which means he must be just under 23 at the start of the book, as he'd have come of age at 21. I suppose he might be nearly 24 by the end of the book. So, Caroline is described as 'his younger sister' and Louisa as 'his eldest sister'. I reread Pride and Prejudice after having already filmed this video or would have spoken about this more, because it sort of suggests that Louisa is older than Charles and Caroline younger, although theoretically it could mean that Caroline is the younger of his two sisters, and Louise is the elder of his two sisters, which tells us very little of where they sit in comparison to Charles. It's true, I'm not sure how old the Gardiners are. I'll have to think of that! It's very interesting whose age Jane chooses to tell us and who she doesn't.
Just bought What matters in Jane Austen, very excited to read it!
I really hope you like it!
Forgive Mr. Collins!?! I don't see him changing.
Perhaps, perhaps. I vary on whether I have any hope for his character or not!
@@katiejlumsden Doesn't she say something about Mr. Collins lost all chance of improvement by gaining the patronage of Lady Catherine at such a young age? And I really don't see Lydia changing much as she grows up, somehow.
This was so interesting. I think in regards to Mrs Bennet, it could also be that her last birth was so hard that the doctors told her to stop, that she'll die if she keeps going. Which happened quite often. So she's not necessarily that old just because she stopped having children.
There is this line, though: 'Five daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years after Lydia's birth, had been certain that he would.' Which kind of suggests that they were expecting they might get pregnant after for a while after Lydia was born before they despaired of it. Although of course there might have been a lot of other medical reasons why she might have stopped having children.
@@katiejlumsden Oh interesting! Then I agree with you, she might have been too old. What a surprisingly difficult character to guess the age of....
@@samantha.irenes Fertility issues can happen at any age.
Mrs Dashwood and Colonel Brandon is exactly what I said to my mum this month! But her view was that Mrs Dashwood was a very loving wife and not likely to be ready to remarry any time soon. That presentation of Caroline Bingley makes so much sense and does massively change things. It also makes sense of things like Sir Lucas offering her help at court (if he thinks she is newly "out") and her quite odd behaviours of just picking Jane as a friend, that's quite an immature approach to friendship if you think about it. Regarding Mrs Bennet though, I'm not sure that I agree as it could be Mr Bennet whose fertility starts to decline with age, or it could be that something happened at Lydia's birth or on a subsequent miscarriage that caused Mrs Bennet harm and prevented future pregnancies in that way. I think I prefer her to be younger.
I do think your mum's probably right - it would be too soon for Mrs Dashwood. Caroline Bingley is such an interesting character - she is quite immature when you think about it.
also, she is less likely to give him an heir. Brutal, but reality - he is ready to marry again after Eliza's mother's death. Had the daughter Eliza Williams been a son, that might not have been an issue for him.
This was so interesting! I think I always picture the characters as being older than they're supposed to be, probably because of the actors that are cast to play them.
Oh wow this is so interesting! Adaptions have definitely shaped how I view the characters in terms of age. I love the 1995 adaption of p&p but some of the actors are definitely a little older than they were intended in the book. For some reason I never thought about caroline bingleys age in the book, and now i'm kind of mind blown. The way she behaves makes so much more sense realising shes probably not even out of her teens
Thanks! I do think it's really interesting to think of Caroline Bingley as much younger than she's often portrayed; it certainly makes her actions a bit more forgivable.
This was so great! I always find people's ages in books so interesting!
Thanks!
My perceptions of the characters' ages in Jane Austen are always incorrect. I swear Mr. Collins will always be a balding middle-aged man in my mind. This time when rereading Sense and Sensibility, the relationship between Marianne and Colonel Brandon did rub me the wrong way. Perhaps age was a part of that. In Lady Susan is it acceptable that Lady Susan and her daughter both share the same love interest? I always viewed it as a sign of Lady Susan's transgressiveness and selfishness. Perhaps women were sometimes about 5-10 yrs older than their husbands, and that was perfectly acceptable then as well? As for aging Mrs. Bennet... It is hard! You're absolutely right. She would have kept trying to have children until she couldn't in her situation. Also, I never thought that Caroline Bingley was particularly old. At the oldest I imagined that she was the same age as Lizzy Bennet, but it would make more sense if she was closer to Georgiana Darcy's age. Something else to consider when thinking about age is that in the world of Jane Austen (especially in the country) society was quite small and claustrophobic. The amount of people there were to interact with was limited, so people of varying ages might be closer friends than you'd otherwise imagine. Georgiana Darcy and Caroline Bingley could be a few years apart and be friends simply because of how much time they are in each other's company. And as far as Emma, are there really so many choices of suitors besides Knightly, Elton, and Churchill? And of course Churchill is taken and Elton is repulsive. Anyway, I'm glad you posted this! So many interesting things to think about. :)
Mr Collins is just always old in everybody's heads I think! So, Lady Susan's being interested in a man 12 years her junior is considered a bit transgressive in Lady Susan, but women marrying younger men wasn't that uncommon statistically at the time. The man Jane Austen was engaged to for 24 hours was five years younger than her. Interesting that you've never thought Caroline was that old; I certainly used to, and I think she seems older in a lot of the adaptations.
It is true, that the kind of claustrophobic country societies and the amount of people that people of this class actually meet probably does mean that couples and friends have greater age differences. Even just Lizzy and Charlotte are such great friends when Charlotte is 27 and Lizzy is 20, and they seem to have been friends for years. I now, at 26, have plenty of friends seven years older than me, but I didn't when I was 20, and I don't have any friends really who are under maybe 22. I guess there were sort of less life stages, especially for women, in the Regency period.
I constantly forget Mr. Collins is so young. Maybe by his mid 30s he will grow to be the most likeable character? I still imagine him outliving Charlotte Lucas and marrying Mary Bennet afterwards. And though I love Anna Chancellor as Caroline Bingley (especially considering her being a relative of Jane Austen's), she does come across as Mr. Bingley's older sister.
It's very interesting, isn't it! I do wonder if Mr Collins will be improved as he grows up. Surely living with a sensible woman like Charlotte would have some good effect on him?
I will have to reread P&P now, with Caroline Bingley's age in mind! I will try to find a copy of John Mullen's book too, it sounds very interesting.
It really is so interesting!
I think they say that Caroline Bingley is to keep house for her brother. Would that be normal for a 19 year old? Wouldn’t she be at home with their parents or an aunt and uncle maybe., since she is not married.
No, it wouldn't very be unusual at that time. If you think girls did get married at 16, they'd then be keeping house for their husbands. I strongly get the impression that the Bingley's parents are both dead. Certainly their father is, for Caroline says that it's a pity that 'my father should have left so small a collection of books', which implies he's dead. Mr Bingley, as her brother, is effectively, her guardian, but she can be his housekeeper. It probably means she's 17-19 rather than 16 though.
I think in Emma it says that she becomes mistress of Highbury at 16 due to her sister's marriage, likewise Elizabeth Elliot in Persuasion when her mother dies. I'd imagine that a family like the Bingleys would have a very good housekeeper to do most of the work, and having Caroline "keep house" might have been a convenient way to tempt her pride to encourage her to come to the country with her brother when she seems so keen on town.
Where do you find Bingley's age as 22? Is it all because it says that he just came in to his inheritance? Was 21 the normal age back then? I thought there were instances where the person was 25 or so before he came in to all his money.
21 was indeed the normal age to be considered 'of age' as it were, which is the term used in the book; even though some property did not pass down until the age of 25 or even older, you were considered 'of age' as a man in the nineteenth century at the age of 21.
Aww this makes me think that Caroline Bingley was the kid sister with a huge crush on her big brother’s best friend. Then when a girl closer to their age gets close to her crush she gets jealous and obvious. Poor dear.
Right?! It's very interesting.
Aww when you put it like that, I almost feel sorry for Caroline!
I always wondered about the Col. Brandon, Marianne hook-up. If a man tried that in this day and age he'd be brought up on charges. Strange.
Edward Ferrars is 23 as we are told he became engaged to Lucy at age 19 and it has subsisted for 4 years.
Also, I wouldn't take Marianne's idea of a man's "marriageable" age as gospel, as men did not have the biological ticking clock women do, so did not have a "window of opportunity" for marrying, as shown in Persuasion where Sir Walter, at 54, is still considered a marriageable prospect - "Sir Walter's continued singleness requires explanation" being the quote by Austen (the objection was more about Mrs Clay being too low status, plus Mr Elliot didn't like being cut out of his presumed inheritance). In fact, older men are generally more favourable matches as a) they are more likely to have their own money vs still waiting to inherit it from their fathers, b) their habits are set and will be well known by now instead of having secret seedy/wasteful habits, and c) less likely to still be in the "sowing their wild oats" stage of their life. Though on the flip side, some men do still marry as early as women, but these early marriages are usually arranged by their parents for money and/or alliance as very few men inherit money early enough to be able to make their own marital choices.
Sorry, I confused the name of Elizabeth Bennet in my last comment and refered to her as Jane and her opinion of Mr Collins.
What a great idea for a video, I always think these characters are older (probably because of the adaptations) but them almost all being between 16 and 25 makes me change my perception of them. Mr. Collins 25 🤣
Thanks very much! Yep, Mr Collins is 25 - madness!
I bought that book due to one of your mentions of it in another video. I just received it in the mail; different cover though, not as cool as your cover. =)
I hope you enjoy it!
It may have been because of money if they had more children and kept having daughters their financial situation would get worse or it could be for health - Mrs. Bennet had five children in a short space of time it could have certainly left her unable to have any more children.
Sometimes age and maturity don't go hand in hand. Before and during Willoughby, Marianne Dashwood i would say is too young for Colonel Branden. But after Willoughby Marianne seems to age rapidly and is more equal to Colonel Branden in terms of disposition making their relationship more believable at least to me.
Very true. I do think she grows up a little.
I found it a bit weird 36 year old Mr Knightly married 20 year old Emma and there be no comment on the age difference. I get the impression gentlemen either had to establish themselves in their professions or inherit their estate before they could think about marriage. I don't think young gentlemen were expected to remain virgins until they married, even Mr Darcy, but for young ladies it was different. Life expectancy for a person in their 30s may not have been so much different to a person's in their 20s. Lots of women died in childbirth. Men might die in warfare. Medicine was not as advanced. It was unlikely a marriage would last twenty years anyway.
Yeah, it is a bit odd that the Mr Knightly-Emma age difference isn't commented on that much - whereas the Brandon-Marianne one one is quite a lot.
@@katiejlumsden I think the reason is his social status. He's by far the most wealthy and consequential person in their circle. Also notice that when Mrs Weston suspects that Mr Knightley is romantically interested in Jane Fairfax, the age gap (which is similar to that of Mr Knightley and Emma) is never indicated to be a problem.
Im not sure what age Mr Collins is, but by his behavior, he seems older than Jane.And Jane seems to be a teanager thinking Mr. Collins is very uncool and old!
Jane Austen specifically says he's 25, but yes, he reads a little older - although, I feel like his silliness works with him being younger.
I found that ages in A horse & his boy/Lewis were far more interesting/scathing than, say, P&P...& it was written, at least ostensibly, for kids.
Interesting. I don't remember The Horse and His Boy that well.
@@katiejlumsden In Calormen, the country of Narnia's adversary, it was routine for 14 yr old girls to be married off to 50 yr old men. 14 yr old child wife Lasaraleen, a friend of the book's 14 yr old main female human character (in this book, 2 key characters are talking horses) Aravis, views her life's situation as positive, totally usual and perfectly fine. She can't understand why any 14 yr old girl wouldn't want to have the same kind of married life that she has. Aravis was very soon to be married off to a 50 yr old man herself, but deciding she didn't even like the fellow, decided to flee her native land Calormen and live elsewhere. Whether or not Calormen marriages are all arranged, only some, or hardly at all, I don't recall. I'd imagine that in eg. film adaptations of this book, that the directors would duck some controversy by making the likes of characters Lasaraleen & Aravis (& incidentally the main male human protagonist Shasta) 18 instead. I also don't recall whether or not some Calormen women live in harems of rich men. It's been about 3 years since I read HHB last.
I find it interesting the way Austen’s novels are adapted for TV, as you said. I might be wrong, but I think Kate Winslet was 18 at the time she played Marianne, but she was, I think, one of the few actresses that more or less matched the age of the character. As much as I love Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant, they were not in their early 20s when they filmed S&S.😄
I did really like your point about Caroline Bingley. I will think back to that when rereading the book!
Yeah, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant were definitely a bit old for their characters in their film!
Gosh it’s just so funny thinking of them as so young!
Isn't it!
Edward Ferrars is 23 as we are told he became engaged to Lucy at age 19 and it has subsisted for 4 years.
Also, I wouldn't take Marianne's idea of a man's "marriageable" age as gospel, as men did not have the biological ticking clock women do, so did not have a "window of opportunity" for marrying, as shown in Persuasion where Sir Walter, at 54, is still considered a marriageable prospect - "Sir Walter's continued singleness requires explanation" being the quote by Austen (the objection was more about Mrs Clay being too low status, plus Mr Elliot didn't like being cut out of his presumed inheritance). In fact, older men are generally more favourable matches as a) they are more likely to have their own money vs still waiting to inherit it from their fathers, b) their habits are set and will be well known by now instead of having secret seedy/wasteful habits, and c) less likely to still be in the "sowing their wild oats" stage of their life. Though on the flip side, some men do still marry as early as women, but these early marriages are usually arranged by their parents for money and/or alliance as very few men inherit money early enough to be able to make their own marital choices.