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Allusion
Explanation and Analysis—Marriage Laws:
When Lydia tells Elizabeth about the events that led to her wedding with Wickham, she alludes to the marriage laws in place during that time period:
“Well, I was so frightened I did not know what to do, for my uncle was to give me away; and if we were beyond the hour, we could not be married all day.”
Lydia’s fear that they would be “beyond the hour” is an allusion to the Hardwicke Marriage Act (or Clandestine Marriages Act) of 1753, a strict marriage law in England that dictated weddings could only happen between 8 in the morning and noon. These laws were a response to the lack of formality of weddings in England at the time. In addition to mandating certain marriage hours, the laws also established other requirements, such as marriages needing to take place in a church and in front of witnesses.
Referencing these strict marriage laws is Austen’s way of highlighting how, at this point in England’s history, marriage was becoming more and more formalized, and any wrong move could not only lead to tarnished reputations but also legal repercussions.
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