] Note that Mr. Gardiner lives within view of his "own warehouses," emphasis on the plural. He owns warehouses in the commercial heart of London. That alone establishes the fact that he's far better off than a mere shopkeeper or merchant.

Sure but he works for it too. That makes him middle class. And we don't know how much he makes. Perhaps he sells things that are very large and so require two or more store houses.

Perhaps the markup is poor on what he trades. He's successful at it but needs to sell a good deal to do well.

] The second clue is that the Gardiner family is able to spend each Christmas at Longbourne. Such a trip would most likely last at least two weeks, and no mere tradesman could afford to be away from his business for that long.

I didn't say he was a mere tradesman. I said he was in trade - which is the truth. He lives in an unfashionable part of town. And he presumably keeps a close eye on his business - suggesting that he is heavily involved in it. That is the life of a man in trade.

] Mrs. Gardiner brings news of the latest London fashions, indicating that not only does she know about them, she can afford them.

That is

1. general chatter on Mrs. Bennet's part and
2. Not what is meant. Anyone can be more fashionable when they live in the city. They are at the source of new fashion. Whereas in the country they must wait to find out what is new.

But all it means is that her sleeves, skirts and such would be the right colours and lengths for that season. It says nothing about the quality of clothing she could afford. When one gets a new dress, it is usually in the latest fashion - whether you buy it at Sears or Chanel.

For example when I go to New York I people watch to see what the women are wearing. I come home and my sister asks me what the popular trends are. That does not mean I am wearing them myself or that my clothes are fashionable. When you live in the city you are closer to the source. You are closer to shops and the magazines.

It is never said Mrs. Gardiner is very fashionable herself. it is only suggested that her clothing is perhaps more fashionable. And this is Mrs. Bennet who makes the comment. She could just be delusional or just complimenting her sister. Perhaps Mrs. Gardiner simply likes herself in green or frilly skirts or whatever she was wearing.

] The third clue is that the Gardiners can afford their own carriage.

I have searched and cannot find any reference to the Gardiners owning a carriage. They use one but it never says it is theirs. It could be rented. But if they did, it merely means they are well off. They have a working head of the family. So he might need his own carriage. And he might be able to afford it.

] Furthermore, the Gardiners can plan to take a four-week pleasure trip, again with their own carriage and servants. In the end, the trip had to be shortened, but again what shopkeeper could even CONSIDER doing such a thing?

I did not say he was a shopkeeper. Darcy takes them for people of fashion. But that does not mean his children would be raised as gentry.

Making enough money to lift the next generation out of trade is VERY hard. You not only have to provide for your own life, but make enough to ensure your children never have to work. London is expensive to live in. It is expensive to be genteel - especially in town.

] The great irony is that while the landed gentry looked down its collective noses at people in trade, it was in fact trade and commerce which made the British Empire great.

This was an irony that Jane Austen was not likely to fully grasp, because it did not fully happen in her lifetime. And P&P is not a social critique of that kind. Even in Persuasion Fredrick Wentworth is was raised as the son of a poor country gentleman. A

s I said - I wonder what evidence Austen provides that shows Mr. Gardiner was that wealthy or successful. Or that he was planning to raise his children as gentlemen or gentlewomen. Austen may have suspected that the age of gentry was waning but she did not write about it.

Her view in P&P I can only see as creating a gulf between the Gardiners and Darcy - it is a gulf Darcy is willing to cross for Elizabeth. And when he does, he finds the Gardiners are good and kind people worthy of respect.

] As for the Gardiners not being "people of fashion," Elizabeth is indulging in a bit of private sarcasm, completely expecting Mr. Darcy to "decamp" the instant he learns who they are.

No it is not.

That he was surprised by the connexion was evident; he sustained it however with fortitude

Darcy was surprised - Elizabeth was right. He took them for being a part of his own class. He has not much, if any, social contact with people of Mr. Gardiner's class.

Elizabeth's claim it equality with Mr. Darcy is not based on her intelligence or rising fortunes but the firm fact that her father is a gentleman. These are in many ways hard and fast rules. The Gardiners are middle class.

] So, I stand by my conviction that the Gardiners are well off. They certainly aren't as rich as the Bingleys or the Darcys, but few people are. With parents described as gentlemanlike, well bred, agreeable, educated, amiable, and intelligent, the Gardiner children ARE going to be raised to have the manners and deportment of ladies and gentlemen, even if they do not own an estate.

What? Did I say they were going to be raised in squalor without education? The sons at least will be educated and raised to do what their father has done - they will work. The daughters will marry. Perhaps they (like Mrs. Bennet) have the best chance of moving up a few rungs.

However, Darcy suggests that with such connections Jane is unlikely to marry well. I can't imagine what he thinks of the little Gardiners' prospects.