Pride And Prejudice: The Regency Ideas Of The Regency Era

From 1811 to 1820, George IV ruled over a time in Europe known as the Regency Era. The Regency Era was a time of elegance, romance, and follies. During this period, a woman named Jane Austen published Pride and Prejudice which became an instant success. In this novel Austen touches on the ideas of courting etiquette since it was such an important factor in society.Through the Bennett family, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice illustrates the regency notion of courting etiquette in order to examine why the Bennett women had to present superficial versions of themselves everyday to receive and maintain the affection of a man. Women approaching men first showed poor etiquette, and often caused the man to think low of her. Men were the leaders of the family, and were in charge of introducing the family to other people especially men. Due to the low amount of single men, women were always trying to …show more content…
This is why patience and etiquette were important when approaching a man, because first impressions were the most important during this era. Women often acted and looked their best at parties, in hopes that they could capture a mans attention so that he would want to court her. During the Regency Era ," dress for dinner was important because young men and women looking for a companion used dinner parties as a way to meet potential mates." Mrs. Bennett knew how important looks and attitudes were at social gatherings. This is why she always dressed her daughters up with the best clothes and taught them proper etiquette. Men often compared women to other women at social events and this is why it was always a competition between women. The only way to know if you captured his attention was if he asked you to dance. Women wanted to be seen as "the only creature in the room that he asked a second time" to dance with at balls. This is how most courtships would begin during this