| The feudal laws of primogeniture meant that a daughter could not inherit her father's estate, and if her father died without a male heir, his wife and daughters would have to move out of the family home – a situation illustrated in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The inheriting male heir might be a very distant relation, and perhaps completely unknown to the widow and her daughters. If a lady came from the super rich aristocracy, a father could pay for an act of parliament which would allow his daughter to inherit his wealth, with her husband taking the family name. This was however extremely rare.
Love
However important money was to a marriage, it was only in the Regency period when marrying for love started to become a viable option for the upper classes. In a culture obsessed with the cult of politeness, the love match became the era's literary ideal. The novels of the day focused on the suitability of partners along a different set of criteria, where manners and elegance were ranked as important as wealth and status. Previous to this era, the rich married to consolidate their fortunes and to increase their Courtly or governmental influence.
Licentiousness
The Regency was also a period of licentiousness, where extra-marital sex among the upper classes was not uncommon. A powerful marriage where an heir had been secured, enabled both husband and wife to have numerous discrete affairs.
However the licentiousness of the period shocked many: the pre-reformers of the emerging middle classes were appalled at what they saw of their grandparents' behaviour. A revolution in sexual relations was on the cards.
The Importance of Marriage for Women
For women, making the best marriage possible was of utmost importance. Their financial future, as well as their position in society depended on it (single women were often deemed mentally ill). During the early nineteenth century women married relatively late as a family would wait until the daughter had completed her education and perfected her accomplishments. Once this was the case, a relative or close family friend would 'out' the lady during the season, perhaps travelling to the capital or one of the fashionable spa towns, such as Brighton or Bath, where they would act as chaperone and introduce a lady to society.
Time would be of the essence for females during the "season". She would, by this time, be in her early twenties and deemed of appropriate age to marry. If she was to circulate in fashionable society during the season, she would only have a couple of years before either her reputation would be tarnished as either too fast, fussy or worse...
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