Women's Roles In Regency England

Musical performance is a matter of entertainment. Music in Regency England was specifically the social responsibility of women. During that time, women existed only to show their attributes in thee look of a husband. At parties women were expected to play the pianoforte, sing or dance for the enjoyment of the people at the party, and to show their musical talent to earn a man’s attention. At the beginning of their lives, especially those who were in higher classes, were taught all the different types of entertainment, which throughout their lives needed to be develop to be the best. Even though, music today, in the 21st century, is considered a form of competition and objectification as it was during Regency England, back then women were objectified …show more content…
Nevertheless, since music was the main duty of women during this time period, women were obligated to show their attributes, specifically those in the music ambit, to attract men. From an early age until their time to get married they are taught how to play the pianoforte, sing and dance professionally so they could put in practice at dinner parties, balls, etc, and in that way give pleasure to those who are there. In the novel Pride & Prejudice, volume 2, Chapter 8, Lady Catherine talks about how women were supposed to practise their music abilities constantly, and that she offers the instruments that she has at home for the use of any women, especially Mrs. Collins who lives very close to her (Austen 169). These demonstrates that even women saw such societal expectation as an obligation, and they encourage each other to practise constantly to be an expert and a good wife given the fact that during the Regency era a good wife was the one who knew how to entertain. Not to mention, music was also a way for women to get entertain themselves, due to the fact that during Regency England there wasn’t as many forms of entertainments as there is today. These is why, women use their musical abilities to give pleasure to themselves. According to Jane Austen’s World, unmarried women sang in different accents or imitating Scottish girls, to …show more content…
To be more specific, the similarities are seen in talent, polifacetiness and fame, as well as the objectification in which society has put these musicians. The differences, on the other hand, are more as how both artist are characterized and the reason why these artists have a passion for music. Due to the fact that during the Regency era, music was only something that the society expected women to do, they were forced to learn and be extremely talented to conquer a good man. Georgiana Darcy is the representation of what a young talented women, worthy of a good husband looked like at the time. To add on, because she was in a higher class, she had the possibility to learn from the people who were experts in music and possess a great skill for musical performance and instrument playing. As a result, her talent was admire by many women and described as one of the bests. During the stay of Elizabeth at the Bingley’s house, Miss Bingley praises Miss Darcy’s talent and tells Mr. Darcy, as her older brother, that she is “delighted to hear her improvement on the harp” (Austen 47). This quote shows how Miss Bingley is indirectly urging Georgiana Darcy to improve her skills in music to be a good