Characteristics of The Regency Era - Essay Example

Characteristics of The Regency Era The Regency era is the period the existed during the ruling of Prince of Wales i.e., from the year 1811 till 1820. The Prince who took over the throne of the king, who was also his father, was popularly known for his lack of self-control in a number of areas of his life. He drank a lot, ate a lot and spent most of his time with woman. This is the reason that he lost his respect in the eyes of many and this includes Jane Austen as well. In her book, Persuasion she ridicules the king and his ways of living his life of extravagance. But looking on the positive side, the regency period served to be good for the field of art and architecture, literature and music. On the negative side, the gap between rich and poor was widened further due to inflation of food prices and overcrowding of cities. The gap between the rich and the poor was increase and those that belonged to the upper class often looked down upon those who lived the lives of lower class people. The upper class enjoyed their lives in luxury whereas the lower class people struggled for their bread and butter on a daily basis. Based on what is written in the article, it is clearly mentioned that the regency period is not considered to be a good reign in the old times as the ruler was not a good person and hence he only did what was best for himself. This is even reflected in the way that the writer has written her novel Persuasion in which the author has regarded the king with high disrespect. Strohmeier, Svenja. Victorian Morality And Conduct. Germany: Anchor Academic Publishing, 2014. Print. The regency period is also a representation of morality and conduct. The lead characters of the novel demonstrate high level of morality in terms of their behavior as individuals which is also reflected in their actions. In the regency period the middle class people of England were considered to be the highes in all ranks among other European countries and although the industrialization was leading to the displacement of antique structures yet the men and women both had high standards and moralities within themselves. In the novel, Anne Elliott who plays the leading role in the novel was displayed as an independent woman who believed and could differentiate between right and wrong. The regency period was also a portrayal of the good faith and the Christian code of conducts. Women in the regency period were also believed to be uptight and often refrained from showing their emotions. Based on the article, it could be said that the regency period although however, bad as it may seem also had a certain sense of ethics and good code of conduct among people which was easily displayed in their actions. The people respected the women, although this could be taken negatively but their ways of living held high standards and code of conducts that we often tend to seek in the current era. The good manners were mostly portrayed among the female gender of the society who were always required to act in a formal manner no matter what whereas this was not expected as much from the male gender of the society. Joannou, Maroula. Women's Writing, Englishness And National And Cultural Identity. Houndsmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print. The regency period as described in the novel Persuasion by Austen in 1818 shows a period of overindulgence and sexual misconducts. According to Austen, the regency period existed from 1811 to 1820 which was when the Prince of Wales took over the throne as George IV, this era is popularly known as the period wherein recklessness and exorbitance where on their peak and this was all characterization of George IV himself. George IV who took over the role of the king after his father was declared as mentally unwell was famously known for his acts of self-indulgence and other shameful behaviors which the country had never seen before and because of the self-indulgence the king wasted the country’s capital on himself and on his luxurious wants and needs. Since the king was the type who practiced such unethical behavior therefore, this was often reflected in the land that he ruled, poverty was seen everywhere since the country’s reserves were diminishing fast and hence, people were also often seen indulging in shameful behaviors especially those that involved sexual misconducts. Sales, Roger. Jane Austen and Representations Of Regency England. London: Routledge, 1996. Print. Persuasion which is written by Jane Austen mainly revolves around the topic of worthlessness and luxuriousness of life. It is also based on certain mentions of historical events Persuasion displays the lead character i.e., Anne Elliot as a strong independent women who has no right to the throne yet she possess all the qualities to take over the throne. Yet the novel somewhat portrays the regency period wherein women are dependent on the male of the society which shows the theme of marginalization in the regency period of that time. There is plenty of evidence within the novel which points towards the sexual misconduct that the regency period is widely known for. Roger Sales has described the regency period based on a novel which was written by Janes Austin and talks about the three basic characteristics that he has derived from the novel itself which signifies the era of those times and how the Georgian society of those times looked like. One of the basic character that is shown in the novel is the fact that the women of those times were often deprived of their rights and were considered to act in a certain manner rather than what they actually want and hence there existed a huge difference between both of the genders. This marginalization was the fact that the male were thought to be the dominant genders whereas the female were always thought of beings that relied on those dominant people for everything in their life such as the wellbeing etc. Warren, Renee. 'Regency Period Description'. Janeausten.org. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. The Regency period as explained by Jane Austen is quite different than what we see today. The Regency period initiated when Prince of Wales took over his father’s role of Prince Regent in 1811. George III suffered from medical condition known as porphyria and gradually lost his sense of rational thinking and became weak which is when his son George IV took over. Jane Austen dislikes the new king as he was selfish and self-indulgent. He spent a lot on himself and lived a life of luxury, one which the country treasury could not afford. Although the level of dislike towards the king was quite high, yet Austen has dedicated the book to the king with high regard and respect. Jane Austen is a writer whose most of the novels are often filled with disgust and dislike towards the king who had taken over George III and served as the Prince Regent hence, his period of rule is known as the regency era. Renee Warren, like many others whose articles that we have reviewed also writes about the fact that the disregard that Austen has for the king shown in a number of places and the novels are often centralized towards the regency era. According to Jane Austen, the Regency era served to be quite a negative period of time especially for the people who belonged to the lower class since the Prince of Wales often thought about himself and hence did not care much about the people that he ruled over. Unlike his father, Prince of Wales liked to spend on himself a lot and hence poverty was quite high in those days. But although the Author has quite a pessimistic view about the prince, yet she has ended the book on a positive note by appreciating the king, be it in a taunting manner or with a true heart, this is something that the readers are left to ponder upon. Lee, Joyce. 'True Worth And Second Chances: Social Flexibility In Persuasion'. Jane Austin Society of North America. N.p., 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. The multifaceted dance and moves of English society amid the Regency period describe all of Jane Austen's compositions. Be that as it may, in Persuasion which is Austen's last finished novel, the customary social request hints at unpretentious yet huge change as far as expanding portability.This theme of societal advancement influences the improvement of different subjects all through the novel, and in addition the reader's view of each of the characters; in a bigger sense, the advanced social portability shapes the basic theme of Persuasion, recognizing it as the most idealistic of every last bit of her works. However, Austen does not completely advocate the entire alteration of the social framework. Truth be told, she protects the qualities and standards of the social structure: being focused on one's family, leading one's self with refinement and agreeability, staying inside of one's legitimate social class. This means that the regency period promoted social mobility between classes which allowed the people of various social classes to mingle. Dancing in the regency period was the most renowned way of meeting young eligible bachelors and a moment where the females could escape from their adults and mingle with the opposite sex. Dances in the regency period were given away by their fathers at grand ball which were arranged in a particular season. These dances often consisted of complex steps so much that the young people were given special lessons in order to dance in these grand balls. Crossref-it.info,. 'Gender And The Changing Role Of Women'. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. In Jane Austin's final novel; Persuasion, gents and ladies are for the most part demonstrated seeking after their hobbies in particular circles. The men indulge in hunting and are aware of the latest news whereas on the other hand, the women are busy with housekeeping and exercising their achievements. A common feature of the regency period was that the ladies were often seen in a powerless position always relying on men. Yet again we see another article that writes about the challenges that the women of those period had to face and how they had to contribute an extra bit in order to be equal to the men in the society. Unlike today , the regency period often demoralized and devalues the women. The regency period was a particularly difficult time for women since they were completely dependant on men. Women could not work hornorable jobs and were most often seen in the form of governesses, writers and tutors of children. In order to gain financial security women had only one option and that was to marry a well settled man. A man with a good fortune was liked and searched by all. However, women do have a say in their marriages which is portrayed in a number of Austen’s novels because they are often found rejecting men because they simply do not love him. Regency Interpreter,. 'The Regency Interpreter Looks At Jane Austen's Persuasion, Part 1 - Random Bits Of Fascination'. Random Bits of Fascination. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. The novel displays the regency period mostly in a negative way such that the women are not allowed to marry who they want and the marriage is usually based on the amount of dowry being provided in the marriage. On the other hand, a woman is seen being dependent on their father or husband and are not taught to be self-dependent which makes it very difficult for Anne to marry whoever she wants. This also shows that women had very less freedom in society and their lives were mostly controlled by others. Since we are talking about marriage in this article, it would be helpful to know that the during the regency period, whenever a gentleman felt a certain liking for a women, he had to talk to the girls parents to show his interest. In most of the circumstances it would be accepted since in those times it was quite bad to turn down a man, the only time a man would be rejected was when the girl didn’t like him. After the arrangement were done, the man and women are engaged, a contract which cannot be broken and if broken is considered as disgraceful. The marriage in the regency period followed strict ruling which needed to be accepted by law and also by the church. Read More