Education

“They...had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town.” (Page 17)

Seminaries are boarding schools that provide higher education for young women. Beginning in as early as the seventeenth century, boarding schools of this kind were founded in many towns throughout Great Britain. Although they proliferated over the course of two centuries, many were unable to afford sending their children to attend these schools. Instead, middle class children were often taught by their parents. Girls were usually taught the fundamental skills of being housewives. The children of the upper class were able to attend boarding schools. As an alternative to being sent to a seminary, upper class girls were also instructed by governesses. These privileged young women were commonly taught reading, writing, arithmetic, foreign language, and music. Austen includes this information in order to characterize the Bingley sisters as being respectable and simultaneously conceited. Most during this time period did not have the opportunity to acquire a decent education, and thus felt crossly about those who did. Having experienced both an education at home and at a boarding school, Jane Austen was likely familiar with those who, due to their high education and wealth, believed themselves “entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others.”

"A History of Education." A World History Encyclopedia. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. http://www.localhistories.org/education.html.

"Jane Austen." Web. 08 Mar. 2010. http://hermes.hrc.ntu.edu.tw/lctd/asp/authors/00177/introduction.htm.