Pride and Prejudice

Does Jane Austen’s work have relevance to relationships today?

When I think about this question, I believe there are different answers for the different countries in this world. A woman in Western Europe or America is approaching a relationship/partnership differently than a woman let’s say in Eastern Europe or in a third world county. In the circles that I grew up in, a woman and a man are of equal standard, and they both treat one another with respect. Due to our education today, women are able to earn their own money and don’t have to depend on a man. In Austen’s novel the women had barely any knowledge other than playing an instrument, reading or how to do the housework, so at a very young age families were looking to find their daughters a suitable home for the future. Today the time of marriage gets pushed back, women have jobs and a career, there fore children often get born later in time of a relationship.

In countries like Eastern Europe for example, I believe that women are more likely to look for a husband with money, usually older in age and ready for family. The women’s educations might not be as important in such countries and so they can’t be independent and they want to get married at a young age – similar to the women in Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is set in England in the early 19th century and the one thing that I can see as a major similarity to today, that people –now and then – strive for success, safety and comfort.