> All other things being equal, a long engagement
> probably should be avoided, but sometimes
> circumstances have to be taken into account.
> There was a world war being fought, after all, an
> existential war from Britain's standpoint, and
> Wentworth was a professional warrior.
>
> > Wentworth had imprudently spent all his earlier
> > prize money (something not likely to inspire
> > confidence in a parent or loving godmother such
> as
> > Lady Russell).
>
> But let's not forget that her parent, the only one
> who could raise an objection that could be legally
> enforced, approved the marriage. Grudgingly and
> gracelessly, true, but approved it, nonetheless.
Her only living parent, Sir Walter was a fool and a great snob. If he had been a sensible person, it was he who should have reasonably pointed out the rational objections that Lady Russell did, instead of insulting Frederick with "all the negative of great astonishment, great coldness, great silence, and a professed resolution of doing nothing for his daughter. He thought it a very degrading alliance" (chap 4). Fred's pride must have been hurt, and when Lady R made her rational objections, Fred was unable to distinguish between silly Sir W and sensible Lady R.
> And Darcy [you mean Wentworth!] was responsible for no one but himself.
> How was he supposed to know that he was going to
> meet the girl of his dreams visiting his brother
> the assistant parson?
But to Lady R, it naturally indicated an imprudent, spendthrift character -- and that he was confident he would soon be rich could appear as boastful. Anne's mother had married Sir Walter because she had been infatuated by his good looks, was disillusioned when she realized what a silly, conceited man she had married, and just managed to keep him within his income while she lived.
He still have an income,
> even on the beach, and he'd been given a command.
> As a master and commander on sea duty, his annual
> income, sans prize money, would be about 200
> pounds. That'd be about 11,000 pounds judging by
> the RPI, and nearly 150,000 pounds based on
> average income. And it would be all Anne's while
> Wentworth was at sea. Not a huge amount, but still
> about 10 time more than the average annual income
> in Great Britain at that time.
>
I'm not sure about how to convert Regency incomes to modern day equivalents, but in JA novels, 200 pounds a year is regarded as a very small income. 200 a year may be 10 times the average income when you include the working class and peasantry, but JA's standards were always for the gentry. For the gentry, the average income was 700 a year. In S&S, Edward and Elinor decided that 350 to 400 a year (half the average gentry income) was not enough for them to get married. It was after Edward's lukewarm reconciliation with his mother and she gave him 10,000 pounds, bringing in an additional income of 500 a year, so that their total income would be between 850 to 900 a year, that they decided that they had an income quite sufficient for their wants.
> probably should be avoided, but sometimes
> circumstances have to be taken into account.
> There was a world war being fought, after all, an
> existential war from Britain's standpoint, and
> Wentworth was a professional warrior.
>
> > Wentworth had imprudently spent all his earlier
> > prize money (something not likely to inspire
> > confidence in a parent or loving godmother such
> as
> > Lady Russell).
>
> But let's not forget that her parent, the only one
> who could raise an objection that could be legally
> enforced, approved the marriage. Grudgingly and
> gracelessly, true, but approved it, nonetheless.
Her only living parent, Sir Walter was a fool and a great snob. If he had been a sensible person, it was he who should have reasonably pointed out the rational objections that Lady Russell did, instead of insulting Frederick with "all the negative of great astonishment, great coldness, great silence, and a professed resolution of doing nothing for his daughter. He thought it a very degrading alliance" (chap 4). Fred's pride must have been hurt, and when Lady R made her rational objections, Fred was unable to distinguish between silly Sir W and sensible Lady R.
> And Darcy [you mean Wentworth!] was responsible for no one but himself.
> How was he supposed to know that he was going to
> meet the girl of his dreams visiting his brother
> the assistant parson?
But to Lady R, it naturally indicated an imprudent, spendthrift character -- and that he was confident he would soon be rich could appear as boastful. Anne's mother had married Sir Walter because she had been infatuated by his good looks, was disillusioned when she realized what a silly, conceited man she had married, and just managed to keep him within his income while she lived.
He still have an income,
> even on the beach, and he'd been given a command.
> As a master and commander on sea duty, his annual
> income, sans prize money, would be about 200
> pounds. That'd be about 11,000 pounds judging by
> the RPI, and nearly 150,000 pounds based on
> average income. And it would be all Anne's while
> Wentworth was at sea. Not a huge amount, but still
> about 10 time more than the average annual income
> in Great Britain at that time.
>
I'm not sure about how to convert Regency incomes to modern day equivalents, but in JA novels, 200 pounds a year is regarded as a very small income. 200 a year may be 10 times the average income when you include the working class and peasantry, but JA's standards were always for the gentry. For the gentry, the average income was 700 a year. In S&S, Edward and Elinor decided that 350 to 400 a year (half the average gentry income) was not enough for them to get married. It was after Edward's lukewarm reconciliation with his mother and she gave him 10,000 pounds, bringing in an additional income of 500 a year, so that their total income would be between 850 to 900 a year, that they decided that they had an income quite sufficient for their wants.