Oh to be Elizabeth...

With every new exposure to period drama, I am increasingly convinced that I would have belonged very well in Jane Austen's England. Aside from the lack of women's rights, and the unjust system of social hierarchy, the 17th Century would have been a wonderful time to have lived. Only if you moved in the higher circles, obviously. And didn't have to marry a horrendous man for his £10,000 a year.

Oh, to live the life of ladies. Ladies who were encouraged to read, to write, to sing. To spend their time enjoying beautiful scenery and wholesome company. These pleasures were their life, rather than things to be sacrificed because of their lives.

And wouldn’t it be fantastic to live in a society where dance skills were not only obligatory; but a virtual necessity? There would have been no drug-driven maniacs brandishing glow sticks at Miss Elizabeth Bennett. Everyone was expected to be accomplished, to appreciate the arts. As opposed to today's offerings, which consist of drunk uncles butchering 'My Way' on the karaoke, and light switches being passed off as 'Art' at the Tate Modern. Back then, music came from instruments, not mixing decks. People sung in tune, with melodies and harmonies and symphonies. And with nobody suggesting that I ‘Smack my bitch up’ or ‘Superman that hoe’.

And believe it or not, people actually spoke to each other. They valued one another's company and kept engagements. Rather than screening phone calls from family members, or cancelling dates with a last minute text. And because they spent their time reading and writing, rather than watching Jeremy Kyle, the majority of them were well read. Or if not, at least literate.

And the men. The men were gentleman. Even the scoundrels were confined by manners when out in society. You certainly wouldn't get some drunk chav spilling his Stella over you and grabbing your backside, whilst grunting obscenities into your ear. No, in Jane Austen's England they were all poise, charm and manners. Even the ugly ones, which advantageously rendered them much more attractive. There was courtship, stolen glances. Men had to ask a father's permission for his daughter's hand, before they asked the lady herself (which really is just common sense, because let's face it, there can be no more rigorous screening filter than a daughter's father).

Yes, I think the 1800's would have been a most delightful time to be a lady.