towards women. (I mean the "separating" part of your comment.) It is not the case in other cultures, where extended families often live together, and I can't see it was the case in JA's time. Emma, for example, saw no shame in being an old maid, as long as she was living comfortably and retained her social position. She was content to live with her father for his entire life. Of course, Emma was mistress of her home, which Charlotte would not be without marriage. On the other hand, I can't see Charlotte ending up like Miss Bates, who had no siblings to take her and her mother in and lived largely on others' charity. And Miss Bates was certainly not living like a child, although she had never lived away from her mother.