At the turn of the 18th century, the state of the future of England was not looking positive. The isles were engulfed in the Napoleonic Wars with a new post-Revolution power, and they were losing their edge in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the West Indies. Mutinies were becoming a common occurrence among the fleets and regiments of the country. The home front was dealing with food shortages, a spiraling economy, revolutionary riots, and the suspension of trial rights upon arrest. The icing on the cake was the expected French invasion of England while the standard army of “regulars” was occupied elsewhere on the globe. Demand called for a larger militia, and William Pitt’s government did just that by expanding the numbers from 118,000 volunteers
…show more content…
Joining the militia would let young men hide their past by camouflaging them with a social class boost. Austen’s infamous story villain George Wickham was a great tool for her to represent this principle. His method of concealing his past was so characteristic of the influx of sorry young recruits brought in during this time period. The historian J. R. Western described this Georgian era militia as “a disgrace”, concluding that they were made up of “needy individuals in search of a living and youths of impecunious family who wanted a military career on the cheap”. These harsh allegations were truly justified because they were caused by a lack of enforcement to the property and income qualifications imposed by Parliament. The shortage of officers to meet the demand of the impending invasion allowed men to bypass these restrictions and secure junior officer positions very easily. After securing his lieutenant position, Wickham could then hide behind a shiny red uniform and constant movement between villages and towns. He not only masked his massive financial debt but was also able to project whatever persona he pleased to further his plans. The Spy, a British newspaper, …show more content…
One of the earliest feminist works, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, warned these women of their dangerous appetite: “Nothing can be so prejudicial to the morals of the inhabitants of country towns as the occasional residence of a set of idle superficial young men, whose only occupation is gallantry.” The militia are certainly idle. Constantly we are graced by their presence at balls, parties, and gatherings, but we do not hear of their military duties. The girls’ lustful nature is explored extensively throughout the novel as we see Lydia and Kitty every few pages expressing their delights with the soldiers in Meryton. The center of their ensnarement lies in the crazy fantasy of the excitement that “dashing, brightly-coloured uniforms [bring] to a sleepy market town.” Women flocked to their camps for flirtatious fun. These facilities meant to protect the homeland were “captivating bait for lewdness and dissipation”. John Keats wrote a letter in 1817 in which he described a particular base as a “Nest of Debauchery” that made him sick. Lydia fantasized about the militia presence in Brighton as "the streets of that gay bathing place covered with officers … all the glories of the camp; its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and the gay,
Joining the militia would let young men hide their past by camouflaging them with a social class boost. Austen’s infamous story villain George Wickham was a great tool for her to represent this principle. His method of concealing his past was so characteristic of the influx of sorry young recruits brought in during this time period. The historian J. R. Western described this Georgian era militia as “a disgrace”, concluding that they were made up of “needy individuals in search of a living and youths of impecunious family who wanted a military career on the cheap”. These harsh allegations were truly justified because they were caused by a lack of enforcement to the property and income qualifications imposed by Parliament. The shortage of officers to meet the demand of the impending invasion allowed men to bypass these restrictions and secure junior officer positions very easily. After securing his lieutenant position, Wickham could then hide behind a shiny red uniform and constant movement between villages and towns. He not only masked his massive financial debt but was also able to project whatever persona he pleased to further his plans. The Spy, a British newspaper, …show more content…
One of the earliest feminist works, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, warned these women of their dangerous appetite: “Nothing can be so prejudicial to the morals of the inhabitants of country towns as the occasional residence of a set of idle superficial young men, whose only occupation is gallantry.” The militia are certainly idle. Constantly we are graced by their presence at balls, parties, and gatherings, but we do not hear of their military duties. The girls’ lustful nature is explored extensively throughout the novel as we see Lydia and Kitty every few pages expressing their delights with the soldiers in Meryton. The center of their ensnarement lies in the crazy fantasy of the excitement that “dashing, brightly-coloured uniforms [bring] to a sleepy market town.” Women flocked to their camps for flirtatious fun. These facilities meant to protect the homeland were “captivating bait for lewdness and dissipation”. John Keats wrote a letter in 1817 in which he described a particular base as a “Nest of Debauchery” that made him sick. Lydia fantasized about the militia presence in Brighton as "the streets of that gay bathing place covered with officers … all the glories of the camp; its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and the gay,