One of the dominant topics in the literature of Jane Austen is that of class distinctions. This was a major concern of English culture at the time. Class determined the chances that a person had in life to an enormous extent, including the partner they could have, the education they could receive, the job opportunities they got and the people and places they could frequent. Jane Austen was able to portray how important this was to people while at the same time offer some criticism. She was able to question whether this was really the best way for society to conduct itself.
