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Administratorin im Ruhestand und Tom-Lefroy-Expertin |
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Registriert: Mittwoch 14. Juni 2006, 20:11 Beiträge: 3007
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Hallo allerseits!
Habe gerade gesehen, dass Sonja schon ähnliche Arbeit geleistet hat wie ich, während ich noch diesen Text tippte. Trotzdem poste ich es nochmal, dann prägt es sich richtig ein!
Ich habe in den letzten Tagen bezüglich dieses Themas etwas in meinen Büchern gewälzt und einiges herausgefunden. Zunächst einmal eine gute Definition von Peerage, die ich in der Cultural Guide des Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary gefunden habe, und die wohl viele Fragen löst…
The peerage
Peers of the realm are people who hold the highest ranks in the British aristocracy. As a group, they are sometimes referred to as the peerage. There are two main types of peers: hereditary peers hold titles that are passed from one generation to the next, while life peers have a personal title which lasts for their own lifetime but is not passed on to their children. The peerage is divided into five main ranks. The most senior rank is that of duke (for a man) or duchess (for a woman), a hereditary title which was created in Norman times. There are five royal Dukes, including the Duke of Edinburgh, and 24 other dukes. The second most senior rank is that of marquess (man) or marchioness (woman), of which there are under 40. The third rank is that of earl (man) or countess (woman), of which there are nearly 200. This is the oldest title of all. Next in rank is a viscount (man) or viscountess (woman). The fifth and lowest rank of the peerage is that of baron (man) or baroness (woman), of which there are around 500 with hereditary titles. At present, about two thirds of all peers hold hereditary titles, many of which were originally given by the reigning king or queen to close friends or in return for some service. Senior titles often include the name of the place where the family comes from, e.g. the Duke of Devonshire, the Marquess of Normanby. A woman may be a duchess, marchioness, etc. in her own right or receive the title when she marries a duke, etc. Life peers include the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, usually referred to as Law Lords, who are the most senior judges in the land, the Lords Spiritual, who are the archbishops of Canterbury and York and 24 bishops of the Church of England and, since 1958, many other men and women who have been given a peerage in recognition of their public service. Most of these are given the rank of baron or baroness. There are complicated rules for how to address and refer to members of the peerage. Dukes, for instance, are addressed formally as ‘Your Grace’, marquesses and earls as ‘My Lord’, and viscounts and barons as ‘Lord X ’. There are also rules for addressing members of their families.
life peer
any of the members of the British House of Lords who hold their position as a reward for public service but cannot pass their title on to their children. Male life peers are given the title of baron and are addressed as ‘Lord’, and female life peers are given the title of baroness or countess and are addressed as ‘Lady’, ‘Baroness’ or ‘Countess’. Life peerages are given by the government, often to former Members of Parliament.
hereditary peer
(in Britain) a member of the aristocracy, usually a man, who has received his title from his father and who automatically had the right to vote in the House of Lords until the reform of 2001.
Nun, ein paar Stellen, die ich in P&P über Colonel Fitzwilliam gefunden habe:
“On the following morning he [Mr Collins] hastened to Rosings to pay his respects. There were two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, for Mr Darcy had brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of his uncle Lord -----, […]” (P&P, Kap. 30)
Später findet folgendes Gespräch zwischen Elizabeth und Colonel Fitzwilliam statt:
“Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?“, said she. “Yes – if Darcy does not put it off again. But I am at his disposal. He arranges the business just as he pleases.” “And if not able to please himself in the arrangement, he has at least great pleasure in the power of choice. I do not know anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes than Mr. Darcy.” “He likes to have his own way very well,” replied Colonel Fitzwilliam. “But so we all do. It is only that he has better means of having it than many other, because he is rich, and many others are poor. I speak feelingly. A younger son, you know, must be inured to self-denial and dependence.” “In my opinion, the younger son of an earl can know very little of either. Now, seriously, what have you ever known of self-denial and dependence? When have you been prevented by want of money from going wherever you chose, or procuring anything you had a fancy for?” “These are home questions – and perhaps I cannot say that I have experienced many hardships of that nature. But in matters of greater weight, I may suffer from the want of money. Younger sons cannot marry where they like.” “Unless where they like women of fortune, which I think they very often do.” “Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money.” “Is this,” thought Elizabeth, “meant for me?” and she coloured at the idea; but, recovering herself, said in a lively tone, “And pray, what is the usual price of an earl’s younger son? Unless the elder brother is very sickly, I suppose you would not ask above fifty thousand pounds.”
Aus diesen Stellen erschließt sich also, dass Darcys Onkel ein Earl ist, und folglicherweise zur Peerage gehört, die ein Anrecht auf einen Sitz im House of Lords hatte (ob der Sitz nun auf Lebenszeit oder weitervererbbar war, erschließt sich daraus nicht wirklich, denn es gab beides – vermutlich wurde aber der Titel weitervererbt, denn laut Definition von Oxford wurden ja meist nur Barons, die niedrigsten im Hochadel, zum Life Peer…) Falls er weitervererbt worden wäre, dann hätte jedenfalls Colonel Fitzwilliam als der jüngere Sohn nichts von dem Titel gehabt, da sein älterer Bruder Anrecht darauf hatte. Daher steht Colonel Fitzwilliam vermutlich auch Darcy (der meiner Ansicht nach nicht zur Nobility gehörte – Erklärung folgt gleich ), zur Verfügung, wie er sagt. Als jüngerer Sohn hat er nichts zu melden – und Darcy ist zwar nicht adelig, aber dafür reicher!
Außerdem ist Darcys Onkel ein Lord ----- …, wozu auch Encyclopedia Britannica etwas zu sagen hat: “The prefix “lord” is ordinarily used as a less formal alternative to the full title (whether held by right or by courtesy) of marquess, earl, or viscount and is always so used in the case of a peerage baron (particularly in the peerage of Scotland, where it remains the only correct usage at all times). Where the name is territorial,the “of” is dropped—thus the Marquess of A. but Lord A. The younger sons of a duke or marquess have, by courtesy, the title of lord prefixed to their forename and surname—e.g., Lord John Russell (as a younger son of the Duke of Bedford).”
[Übrigens, - dass ein Mensch zur Peerage gehörte, besagte nicht unbedingt, dass er von Geburt zur Nobility gehörte. Zitat: “Bishops were actually peers for the purpose of membership in Parliament, but by birth they might be members of the gentry.” (aus: “All Things Austen” von Kirstin Olsen)]
Doch zurück zu Darcy… Es mag vielleicht so aussehen, als ob diese Stellen nichts mit Darcys Abstammung zu tun haben – haben Sie aber!
Laut meines vorherigen Zitates zeigt der Namenszusatz “Lord” an, dass man zur Peerage gehörte, daher wird Darcys Onkel (ein Earl) auch Lord Soundso (-----) genannt…
1) Doch Darcy spricht in seinem Brief an Lizzie, als er seinen Vater erwähnt, von „Mr. Darcy“ und von keinem „Lord“, wie es für einen Angehörigen der Peerage (also des Hochadels, der Nobility) üblich gewesen wäre:
“My father was not only fond of this young man’s society, whose manners were always engaging; he had also the highest opinion of him, and hoping the church would be his profession, intended to provide for him in it. As for myself, it is many, many years since I first began to think of him in a very different manner. The vicious propensities – the want of principle, which he was careful to guard from the knowledge of his best friend, could not escape the observation of a young man of nearly the same age with himself, and who had opportunities of seeing him in unguarded moments, which Mr Darcy could not have. […]” (P&P, Kap. 35)
Darcy spricht in seinem Brief von keinen weiteren Geschwistern außer Georgiana. Er ist wohl mit größter Sicherheit der einzige (und damit älteste) Sohn (sonst hätte Mr Darcy Senior ganz sicherlich nicht Colonel Fitzwilliam die Vormundschaft für Georgiana übertragen, sondern Darcy und seinem älteren Bruder – der ja wohl nicht existiert!) Somit hätte Darcy, wäre Mr Darcy Senior vom Hochadel gewesen (was wiederum der fehlende Titel „Lord“ widerlegt!), den Titel von seinem Vater geerbt.
2) Eine weitere Möglichkeit wäre, dass Mr Darcy Senior selbst ein jüngerer Sohn gewesen ist und somit kein Anrecht auf irgendeinen Adelstitel gehabt hat – doch falls es so wäre, ist Darcy folglich auch nicht adelig!
3) Und die dritte Möglichkeit, dass Darcy irgendwie über Colonel Fitzwilliams Familie ein Anrecht auf einen Adelstitel haben könnte, schließt sich auch aus, denn Colonel Fitzwilliam ist der Neffe von Darcy’s Mutter, und über die Mutter wurde ja nichts vererbt:
„My sister, who is more than ten years my junior, was left to the guardianship of my mother’s nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and myself.“ (P&P, Kap. 35)
Den einzigen Schluss, den ich aus all dem ziehen kann, ist, dass Mr Darcy nicht zur Nobility gehörte!!! Zumindest wenn man sich ganz an die Infos aus dem Buch hält!
@Caro: Deine Forschungen bei Wikipedia will ich deswegen nicht völlig in den Wind schlagen. Was du da rausgefunden hast, klingt zwar logisch, – aber für mich ist nur Beweis, was ich von Jane Austen selbst habe! Und dass sie irgendeine bestimmte Adelsfamilie bei Darcy im Sinn hatte, könnte zwar sein, doch es bleibt eben beim Konjunktiv – und eigentlich zeigen die Stellen, die ich gerade zitiert habe, doch, dass dem nicht so war, oder? Es könnte doch auch sein, dass es einfach den Namen DARCY im Englisch gab!)
So, das ist meine Ansicht zu diesem Thema!
Und da auch die Meinungen bezüglich der Gentry so weit auseinander klafften, bin ich gestern in die Landesbibliothek Speyer gefahren, habe mich mit meinem Notebook in den Lesesaal gesetzt und aus „All Things Austen – An Encyclopedia of Jane Austen’s World“ (2-bändig; von Kirstin Olsen) einen Eintrag über die Gentry für euch abgetippt. Da das ganze Ding ziemlich lang ist, kann ich hier nicht alles posten, und zitierte nur Auszüge. Aber vielleicht haben ja einige von euch (Caro, Sonja, Tina, Bruki…???? ) Interesse am ganzen Artikel und wollen, dass ich ihn euch als PN zuschicke (:eek: bitte sagt ja!!! Sonst habe ich ihn ganz umsonst abgetippt…. )
Also, hier noch was zur Gentry, und dann halte ich meinen Mund:
Gentry
The gentry, the class to which Austen belonged, may be thought of as a kind of upper middle class – not always „upper“ in terms of income, but certainly in terms of social status, and often in terms of income as well. The differentiation between the social and the economic definitions of class is an important one, as money was already tending in Austens’s time to blur the distinction between classes, a phenomenon that troubled many. People of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had a very clear notion of rank and class. At the top of the hierarchy, of course, was the royal family. Below that lay the nobility, from dukes down to barons. Below that was the gentry, stretching from baronet and knights at the top of the scale down to penurious, but well-educated, clergymen. Members of the professions – law, clergy, medicine, and the upper ranks of the military – were considered gentlemen, even though they had to work for a living, but the ideal was the gentleman-farmer, who lived of the proceeds of his land and the proceeds of his investments. Below the gentry were tradesmen, prosperous tenant farmers (distinguished from the gentry chiefly by education and family lineage), and successful artisans. Most numerous but lowest in status were the common working people, servants, farm laborers, apprentices, and so on – who might be called anything from the “common”, to “the peasantry”, to “the mob”. […] The answer to all these questions was that it depended on a host of circumstances. Being a gentleman or gentlewoman depended largely on birth and occupation, but what really cemented class membership was behaviour. A good education, good manners, and graceful movements when walking, sitting, and dancing mattered a great deal. […]Another factor was relationship by marriage; marriage into a genteel family could confer a rose reflected glow onto other members of one’s own family, while marriage down the social scale slightly dimmed the family’s social status. Thus, it matters very much that Mrs. Bennet is the daugher of an attorney (a less prestigious member of the legal profession), that her sister married a law clerk (lower still), and that her brother is a London tradesman (not genteel at all). All of these associations reflect poorly on Elizabeth Bennet’s social status and thus her ability to attract a husband from the nobility or even the upper reaches of the gentry. Personal lineage, too, counted; a writer might be a gentleman if he were born a gentleman and wrote for personal pleasure, as did Horace Walpole, but if he wrote to make a living and had been born the son of a tradesman, he was not a gentleman at all but merely a different sort of artisan. […]Money could also be used to buy gentility, at least for the next generation. It could buy a country estate that reflected glory on its owner; it could purchase entry by marriage into a genteel or even noble family, by means of a generous downry; and it could buy expensive education for one’s children, resulting in the kinds of social graces and commonly held opinions that were expected among the gentry. Instances of this sort of social mobility occur in Austen’s works: The Bingley sisters, for all their snobbery, are only one generation removed from trade, and their family has yet to buy a landed estate to seal its membership in the gentry, and Sir William Lucas for all his pride in his title, began in trade as well and came to the king’s attention through his wealth. […]
Es geht noch ein Stück so weiter – mit vielen Hinweisen auf Jane Austens Romane und einem irren Zitat aus einem anderen Buch… Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn jemand Interesse hätte!
Puh! Hab’ ich viel geschrieben – sorry! Ich hoffe, ihr habt alle eine Flatrate – und ich konnte ein bisschen weiterhelfen!
Alethea
_________________ Es ist besser den Mund zu halten und dumm zu erscheinen, als ihn zu öffnen und jeden Zweifel zu zerstreuen. (Verfasser (mir) unbekannt --- Angelika meint, es sei Mark Twain... )
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