“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

– Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

Why this quote, tonight? Why this picture, along with it?

Let me explain myself. The quote and picture describe two different perspectives on what an adult woman (or man) should be seeking.

First off, this novel is full of spectacular social commentary about the time. Although it was a bit of a “dry” read for me at times, with sentences so long my ADHD could barely contain itself, its rewarding as well. This opening line from the novel is pretty widely known, and it speaks volumes to me how different generations react to it.

I had a conversation with my momma a year or two ago about what I wanted out of life (I’ll just jump right into the heavy stuff). She described the way that when she was in her early twenties, she was positive that she would have and wanted a marriage and a family, but didn’t have a lot of ideas yet about careers.

With a sudden realization after she said this, I realized I felt the exact opposite. Though I had already been dating man-go-round for at least a few years at that point, I wasn’t sure (and still am not) what I wanted for the future as far as a family, or for marriage. I did know, however, that my career would be important to me and that I would continue to grow it in the direction I was interested.

If I were to play feminist for a minute, I’d note that the beauty of the women’s movement in the 1960s and beyond cleared a path for it to be okay to prioritize marriage and family OR a career- or both. My point is not that men or women should not choose one or the other, its that I finally believe society in the U.S. has gotten to a place where its okay to not follow one prescribed path. And that is a beautiful thing, to me.

So maybe Mr. Bennet thought that any upper class gent would want a wife, or assumed his daughters all wanted to marry a wealthy gent.

But Ms. Go-Round (that’s me!) isn’t quite sure what her priorities are yet. Hooray for Modern Times.

Do you feel more committed to either family or career? Or do you care equally about them? If you have a family, did this change for you once you got married or had kids, or did you always feel this way?

Meri