The Leisured Class in 19th Century English Literature: An Examination of the Leisure Habits of the Characters in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and The Picture of Dorian Gray

Abstract: This essay examines the leisure habits of the English upper classes portrayed in three 19th century novels, to determine whether gender, wealth, and the urban versus rural distinction, influence patterns of leisure participation within the leisured classes. The novels are Pride and Prejudice (1813), by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre (1847), by Charlotte Brontë, and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), by Oscar Wilde. The analysis suggests relationships between social characteristics and patterns of leisure participation. Female characters appear to participate more frequently in less costly but more time consuming forms of leisure activity, while male characters appear to engage more frequently in more costly but less time consuming activities. Aristocrats, of the ‘upper leisured class’, appear to engage more frequently in costly leisure activities than members of the ‘lower leisured classes’. Urban-based characters appear to engage more frequently in ‘quick and expensive’ leisure activities than country-based characters; although few ‘quick and expensive’ activities appear to have been presented within the sources. The findings in this study might enable comparisons with later periods, to provide insight into changes in patterns of leisure participation.