Today people use clothing, automobiles, houses, and fancy jewelry to show their social standings. Way of life was quite different in England around the time of 1775. The English had different views and customs than we do today. Property was a very important aspect of living during the time period of Pride and Prejudice. .
Throughout English history it was accustomed for people to marry in their social class. For example, the poor would marry other poor, and the noble would marry other noble. If a woman were middle class she would normally marry a man in the middle class if she married. Rarely she could get lucky, and a high class man or a rich man would fall in love with her and marry her. It was very uncommon for a woman to marry a man who was in a lower state of status. Mr. Bennet was a gentleman. Being a gentleman meant that he did not have to work. Other men would work on his property and he would get enough money to support himself and his family. It is obvious that property is strongly related to money and social standing. If Mr. Bennet had not owned as much property as he did, his daughters would not have married such high class gentlemen. .
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Property also gave a man a good reputation. Mr. Bennet had a good reputation because he was a gentleman. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy also had good reputations. Mr. Bigly and Mr. Darcy were extremely rich because of the massive amount of property that they owned. Because of his good reputation, Mrs. Bennet heard about Mr. Bingley's coming to Netherfield, and she asked Mr. Bennet to go introduce himself to Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet introduced himself, and his family was invited to a ball where Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy would be present. Jane and Elizabeth met their future husbands at this ball. The couples may have met each other somehow, but it is highly unlikely that they would have fallen in love if they did not have well respected reputations. They did not fall in love immediately, but the growth of their relationships would have ceased if they did not have well respected reputations.
