Social Status of Women and the Function of Marriage in Jane Austen's Novels

U ovome se radu raspravljalo o romanima jedne od najistaknutijih engleskih književnica, Jane Austen. Cilj ovog rada bio je dobiti uvid u problematiku statusa i položaja žena u engleskom društvu te problematiku bračnih običaja u Engleskoj krajem 18. i početkom 19. stoljeća. Te su problematike integrirane u ljubavnu priču te je potrebno dublje iščitavanje teksta kako bi se shvatile poruke naizgled jednostavnih ljubavnih romana. Prva poruka koju Austen prenosi je poruka o nepravednom i podređenom položaju žena unutar društva. Nisu imale nikakvih prava, uskraćivano im je obrazovanje, bile su podređene muškarcima, a njihovo postojanje je svedeno na pronalaženje pogodna supruga koji će moći skrbiti za nju. Što se tiče problematike braka i bračnih običaja, Austen iznosi kritiku ondašnjeg shvaćanja braka jer je brak bio sveden na razinu oruđa kojim obitelji veleposjednika zgrću novac, utvrđuju svoj status u društvu te stvaraju korisne društvene veze. Međutim, Austen ne iznosi samo kritiku takvih brakova, nego u romanima opisuje pozitivne primjere, brakove utemeljene na ljubavi i sličnostima, koje bi čitatelji trebali prepoznati kao uzore.This dissertation will discuss the novels of one of the most prominent English authors, Jane Austen. The goal of this paper is to gain insight into the matter of women's status in English society as well as the problem of marital customs at the end of 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. These issues are integrated into the love story and it requires a thorough readthrough of the novels to understand the message of seemingly simple love novels. The first message Austen is trying to convey is about the unjust and subordinate status of women in society. They had no rights, they were denied education, they were subordinate to men, and their existence was reduced to finding a suitable husband who could take care of her. Regarding the issue of marriage and marital customs, Austen criticizes the contemporary concept of marriage, because it was reduced to a tool with which the gentry is hoarding money, establishes their status in the society and creates beneficial connections. However, Austen does not criticize only such marriages but also describes positive examples of marriages which were founded on love and mutual similarities of characters, which the readers should recognize as something to strive for