Jane Austen successfully demonstrates to the reader the idea of social destiny. Marriage was the most important problem for women of the English society of the later eighteenth century. Females were confined to home life with no opportunity for a career. Even education for women had to be provided by governesses within the home. Women who had no chance of getting married and winning economic security had to depend on charity or work as a governess, such as Jane Fairfax; therefore, most young ladies spent all of their time and effort looking for a suitable husband, just as Harriet. .
Regardless of how you are as a person, your qualities, likes and dislikes, if you are not in a high position in the social hierarchy, you ultimately need to marry a male of high status in order to survive in the social standings. We see that both Jane Fairfax and Harriet Smith are two different people with two different personalities, but due to their low social standings, their destinies can only be encouraging only if they marry someone with higher social standings. Only women like Emma Woodhouse, who was a part of the wealthy, landed gentry with a sizable fortune of her own, would chose to remain unmarried. .
Jane Fairfax is portrayed by Austen as a pleasant young lady of Emma's age who serves as a foil to her. Jane has been educated in London and has acquired elegance in manners and mind under the considerate and parent- like care of the Campbells. Jane, who is poor and orphaned, is faced with the prospect of earning a living by working as a governess, which she considers a lowly job. She, therefore, gets secretly engaged to Frank Churchill, hoping to free herself from the hard luck of working as a governess. This is the typical dream of a lady with low social standings, which Jane Austen successfully demonstrates. Jane Fairfax has an edge over certain female characters due to the fact that she has been outside Highbury and has an insight into life outside of Highbury, thus making her a more broad-minded, independent lady.