35052
W. Britain
Jane Austen described the character Mrs. Bennet in her novel Pride and Prejudice as a “woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married: its solace was visiting and news.” Mrs. Bennet is a pretty savage caricature and her role in the story is mainly one of comic relief. She is portrayed as a small-minded, vulgar woman with no self-awareness or tact. While the character of Mrs. Bennet was lacking in decorum, she was aware of the importance of fashion on one’s standing in society. To that end she sports a fashionable, high empire waistline, a must-have paisley shawl, and a delicately beaded reticule handbag.