Jane Austen: Women Propensity for Poor
on Wednesday, October 10, 2018Jane Austen Money Quote saying unmarried women are more likely to be poor – reason enough to marry? Jane Austen said:
“Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor. Which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony” — Jane Austen
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This quote from Jane Austen wryly comments on the financial challenges that unmarried women faced at the time. With few career options available, single women were more likely to live in poverty since they could not rely on a husband’s income for support. Austen implies that the “very strong argument” in favor of marriage from a practical standpoint was that it provided economic security and a home.
The quote serves as a reminder of how marital status significantly impacted women’s social standing and livelihoods during the Regency era. For many women, marrying well was essentially a form of financial planning to avoid the “dreadful propensity” of living in indigence without a family to support them.