Edward Copeland talks about how Jane Austen always mentions
the amount of money people make and how in a lot of her books it’s one of the
first things she discusses. He uses Pride and Prejudice as an example. He says
on page 129 that Pride and Prejudice starts off with the announcement of the
arrival of Mr. Bingley with his fortune of 4,000 or 5,000 pounds a year and is
followed by the arrival of Mr. Darcy and the invigorating news of his 10,000 pounds
a year. He’s talks about Jane Austen’s real life also and what type of money
she had to grow up with and I think that is a big factor in why it plays such a
big role in her books. I think this can contribute to my understanding of money
in Jane Austen’s books because of all the emphasis on how money was treated in
her day.
I agree with you one hundred percent. I recognized the same thing while reading that the male characters, Bingley and Darcy had a good fortune. In the beginning chapters of Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennett is almost forcing it upon Jane to be around Bingley for his money. Also from reading earlier chapters in The Cambridge Companion it tells us that Elizabeth marries Darcy. We don't know this yet in the book whether or not it is through love or money. I just think that it is interesting how Jane Austen made the two main characters go after, rich men.
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