What were Elizabeth Bennett’s prospects in the real world?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Brava! And, BTW, I went to college with the sister of your Col. Fitzwilliam . . . hmmm, PP, where did you say you went to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Brava! And, BTW, I went to college with the sister of your Col. Fitzwilliam . . . hmmm, PP, where did you say you went to college?

I am DYING. THIS is hysterical and SO on point!!

[Anonymous]

Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

No, it was a clerk of her Uncle Phillips, a solicitor.

Mrs. Bennett married up. Her father was a solicitor and her sister married one of his clerks, who then took over his practice. Mrs. Bennett, nee Gardiner, married a gentleman, i.e., someone who did not have to work for a living because he owned property. If Jane had married the clerk, she would have moved down in social standing and Mrs. Bennett would NOT have been satisfied with that.

When Lizzie tries to refute Lady Catherine deBurgh's statement that d'Arcy is out of her social class, she says something close to "He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter," deBurgh says something like "that is true as far as it goes ...but who are your mother, your uncles?"

And when d'Arcy sees Elizabeth when she and the Gardiners visit Pemberley, he asks to be introduced to them. Lizzie thinks it ironic that he is being asked to be introduced to people who he would not have deigned to talk to because of their class. She mentions that he is surprised by the connection. He had thought Mr. Gardiner was a gentleman.

Oh and there is no world in which Col. Fitzwilliam was going to propose to Lizzie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Vanlife insta influencer Wickham and Lydia is too on point, I’m DYING.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

The modern Pemberly wouldn't be a fancy mansion in Greenwich. It'd be a private island off the coast of Maine or Massachusetts owned by the Darcys since the 19th century when a rich Darcy ancestor bought it as a summer place (google the Forbes). Or a large ranch in Colorado. Darcy would be a keen environmentalist preservationist.

Lady Catherine would be the head of her family foundation who thinks she can control people through her charitable donations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Disagree only about the Hunsford couple. Charlotte's problem disappears in the modern world. She has what it takes to live today in modest, independent, and respectable comfort without the man, even as a public interest lawyer with not great pay.

Also, Collins does not have what it takes to work in BigLaw. What's a minimally-educated position that comes with housing that you can get today by flattering a single vain patron? Maybe a celebrity entourage member who gets to live in the guesthouse? He appeals to Lady Catherine but doesn't seem able to appeal to anyone else, and he doesn't seem bright enough to have a successful professional life without people skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Disagree only about the Hunsford couple. Charlotte's problem disappears in the modern world. She has what it takes to live today in modest, independent, and respectable comfort without the man, even as a public interest lawyer with not great pay.

Also, Collins does not have what it takes to work in BigLaw. What's a minimally-educated position that comes with housing that you can get today by flattering a single vain patron? Maybe a celebrity entourage member who gets to live in the guesthouse? He appeals to Lady Catherine but doesn't seem able to appeal to anyone else, and he doesn't seem bright enough to have a successful professional life without people skills.

The other thing is that Charlotte is probably too practical to go into a less well-compensated field. She's not short on intelligence or self-discipline, so she doesn't have to compromise the way she did in a system that counts only dowry, connexions (sic!), and looks.

[Anonymous]

Yes, todays charlotte could be an accountant. She probably still makes a sensible match with someone who is not too exciting, because that’s still the best route to economic and social stability, but she wouldn’t need to marry someone she actively disrespected or was grossed out by. We all know lots of people like this and they typically have very good marriages!

[Anonymous]

I think your charlotte and Collins is spot on. Another idea for Collins: he is the smarmy bagman for some very conservative politician (who is related to Darcy). He spends all day working and traveling with the politician and his greatest aspiration is to run her presidential library back home in Alabama some day.
He needs Charlotte to be the perfect wife.

Also love van life wickham, who probably pressured Georgiana into doing girls gone wild back in the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Disagree only about the Hunsford couple. Charlotte's problem disappears in the modern world. She has what it takes to live today in modest, independent, and respectable comfort without the man, even as a public interest lawyer with not great pay.

Also, Collins does not have what it takes to work in BigLaw. What's a minimally-educated position that comes with housing that you can get today by flattering a single vain patron? Maybe a celebrity entourage member who gets to live in the guesthouse? He appeals to Lady Catherine but doesn't seem able to appeal to anyone else, and he doesn't seem bright enough to have a successful professional life without people skills.

The other thing is that Charlotte is probably too practical to go into a less well-compensated field. She's not short on intelligence or self-discipline, so she doesn't have to compromise the way she did in a system that counts only dowry, connexions (sic!), and looks.

I bet modern Charlotte Lucas is a single mother by choice, working hard and being practical but still getting the things she wants when she hits 35 and still isn’t married.

[Anonymous]

Okay everyone: talk to me about DCUM Austenland Mary.

I think Mr Bennett’s fiscal impropriety here is not having saved for college at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a love match to a member of the landed gentry really be so far outside the realm of possibility? It was a fantasy but is there anything specific that would make it impossible? Or just a love match to somebody in the church? Or even a trade?

I think that if Elizabeth didn’t find a love match she would have remained single.

One of her problems was her rural isolation and apparently small extended family. I think her best bet would have been meeting a man through the Gardiners, but he would have been a professional man in their circles, not a gentleman. Still could have been a man of sense and education and the son of a gentleman, but someone in line to inherit an estate.

The Gardiners were affluent London merchants (not a barrister). Mr. Gardiner was Mrs. Bennett's brother, and he would have been the son of the country solicitor that was Mrs. Bennett's father, and who was also father to Aunt Phillips, whose husband was also an attorney.

This shows that the social boundaries between the minor gentry and affluent professionals and solicitors and merchants was always fluid. Mrs. Bennett did comment there had been a fellow merchant friend of Mr. Gardiner who showed interest in Jane and she'd have been satisfied with that match.

Darcy was a much higher rank. By the standards of the day, the provincial gentry and working merchants were far below him in social status. Although he had no title, he was the grandson of an earl and his family's fortune, estate, and history placed him very high up in the social ranks. It was a different world from the Bennetts. I daresay a decent comparison to today would be comfortably off UMC people with net worth of 5-10M to someone worth 100+M.

Funny comparison. So in DCUM-land, the Bennetts live in MoCo in a nice $1.5M home which they bought for the good schools because sending 5 kids to private is too much. They fret about their home prices going down with affordable housing going up in the area, and gossip about the tech guy building a McMansion nearby (Mr. Bingley). Mr. Bennett brings in a reliable income as a fed, but he's really checked out and just in it for the benefits and steady paycheck. Mrs. Bennett used to work before they had kids, but now she's a SAHM and she obsesses a lot about getting the kids into a good college.

Whereas Mr. Darcy is like from the NYC old-money social scene. His family's name graces a wing of the Met (where he is on the board) and several college buildings. He has homes in NYC, the Hamptons and somewhere in the south of France. He works, but it's for like "managing the family investments" or some other very flexible "finance" job, but which is definitely not a 9-5.

Hah, yes. And Mrs Bennett posts constantly on DCUM about how their HHI of $200K or whatever is really poor in this area and they can’t afford anything.

I love everything about this analogy. So who would mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas be in DCUM Austenland? What about colonel firzwilliam? Also Mr wickham? What would the dcum equivalent of Lydia running off with wickham be?

Also where would pemberley be located in the DMV? My money is on middleburg maybe. Brighton is clearly Annapolis.

I'll take a shot at this:

Charlotte is a public interest lawyer. She believes in what she does, but she works long hours for not great pay. She's a bit frumpy and with her long hours, she never found someone to settle down with. She's always wanted kids. Now she's mid-30s and fears her fertility window closing. Mr. Collins is also a lawyer -- he's not very attractive, he's balding and has a paunch and an abrasive personality but his Biglaw firm has promised him that he'll make partner in a couple of years in which case the big bucks start rolling him. He promises her that she can stay home after he makes partner and raise the kids. Charlotte's tempted -- she likes her job but she's burnt out, she's having hard time supporting herself on her pay, and if she marries Mr. Collins -- she could have a beautifully appointed house in Bethesda, kids and hired help. She doesn't love Mr. Collins, but he'll be working so much in Biglaw, she'll hardly ever see him!

Colonel Fitzwilliam is a a distant relative of Mr. Darcy who has the impressive name but not much of the money. His family had just enough money to send him to good schools and give him a small trust fund. He studied visual arts and filmmaking in college and is not interested a "regular" job. He adjuncts at NYU and that small income combined with his small trust fund is enough to get by, but he's looking for someone with real money who can fund his vanity art film project and the lifestyle to keep up with his friends and relatives like Mr. Darcy who are on the NYC benefit social scene and then summer in the Hamptons. What he can offer is a share in the old family beach house in Montauk -- he gets two weeks a summer.

Lydia has left HS to go live the vanlife with Mr. Wickham, who's going to document their trip on IG and Tiktok. He is an "influencer" who thinks he can make a living this way. He will pressure Lydia to start an onlyfans. Mrs. Bennett is beside herself because this is not what UMC kids who go to Churchill do! She's afraid the other moms in her mom friend group will ostracize her.

I don't think Pemberley is in the DMV. If the DMV is Hertfordshire, Pemberley is nowhere nearby. Sorry to knock the DMV but like Hertfordshire, it is not considered "fashionable" like NYC or LA. Remember Mr. Darcy only visited because his new money friend Mr. Bingley was considering buying a place here and he is very dismissive of the local social scene. Pemberley is classic old money. Pemberley is in Greenwich, CT.

Disagree only about the Hunsford couple. Charlotte's problem disappears in the modern world. She has what it takes to live today in modest, independent, and respectable comfort without the man, even as a public interest lawyer with not great pay.

Also, Collins does not have what it takes to work in BigLaw. What's a minimally-educated position that comes with housing that you can get today by flattering a single vain patron? Maybe a celebrity entourage member who gets to live in the guesthouse? He appeals to Lady Catherine but doesn't seem able to appeal to anyone else, and he doesn't seem bright enough to have a successful professional life without people skills.

The other thing is that Charlotte is probably too practical to go into a less well-compensated field. She's not short on intelligence or self-discipline, so she doesn't have to compromise the way she did in a system that counts only dowry, connexions (sic!), and looks.

I bet modern Charlotte Lucas is a single mother by choice, working hard and being practical but still getting the things she wants when she hits 35 and still isn’t married.

Quite possibly a single mother by choice! The thing is I think she wouldn't have found barriers to an excellent education and might well have gotten herself a very high-paying job. Why not? Public education is free and she knows how to stay the course to get what she needs.

I also think she would have higher value in the marriage market today if she wanted a husband. We're not all wealthy beauty queens... a woman of sense and education has options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay everyone: talk to me about DCUM Austenland Mary.

I think Mr Bennett’s fiscal impropriety here is not having saved for college at all.

Mary works at an entry level position at a national nonprofit or think tank in DC and lives in her parents' in law suite in the basement. She attends trivia via meet up groups regularly and is willing to help with pick and drop offs for her nieces and nephews weekend games.

[Anonymous]

Hilarious retelling of DCUM P&P!

There is actually a modern-day P&P written by Curtis Sittenfeld (author of Prep)

- Bennett family lives in Cincinnati, Darcy comes from Old Money in San Fran but he is also a surgeon
- Jane and Lizzie are employees in unremunerative professions, Mary is a perpetual student, Kitty and Lydia are party girls obsessed with their bodies
- Mr. Collins is a tech wiz kid
- I won’t spoil about Wickham in case someone decides to read it, but an interesting character for sure