Age difference
Posted by Carolyn B on November 25, 1997 at 19:29:16:
In response to Charlotte was "on the shelf", written by Constanza on November 25, 1997 at 09:02:24
] Remember that Charlotte was 27, that is almost an old maid not very plain in Mrs. Bennet's words and living in a town where she didn't have any chances of ever making a more suitable match.
Since I'm now wondering about how Mr. Collins' relative youth (age 25 - see thread below) sheds new light on his character.... Did he know how old Charlotte was when he proposed? Given the information flying around the countryside about people's income, would a woman's age also be common knowledge? When Lady C. asks Elizabeth her age, I gather she is being uncommonly rude, so I assume Mr. Collins would not inquire after Charlotte's age??
So just as a random speculation: assuming he did not know her age, would he have proposed to her if he had known that she was older than him?
And I always get very nervous when I start reading about 19th C. heroines on the verge of old-maidhood at 27 like Charlotte and Anne Eliot since that means I'm past it ; p
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.
