Answer to second Jane Austen "charade"

Banknote, so the "first" is bank and the "second" note.

Return to Charade


A nursery rhyme that was current in the 18th and 19th centuries expresses even more directly how money could override personal charms (or the lack thereof):

What care I how black I be?
Twenty pounds shall marry me;
If twenty won't, forty shall,
For I'm my mother's bouncing girl.

(Here "black" is like "dark" in "tall, dark, and handsome", and means olive complexion, dark eyes, dark hair etc. -- as opposed to "fair", which meant blond-haired, blue eyed, creamy complexion etc., and was conventionally considered prettier.) Of course, among Jane Austen's gentlefolk a young lady would need a "portion" of much more than £40 in order to feel a similar insouciance.



Group Read Board Pride & Prejudice Board Emma Board Sense & Sensibility Board Persuasion Board Mansfield Park Board Northanber Abbey Board Austenuations Board Jane Austen's Life & Times Board Lady Catherine & Co. Board Library Board Virtual Views Board Ramble Board Meetings Board Newcomers' Board Milestones Board Help Board Pemberleans Board




- Jane Austen | Republic of Pemberley -

Quick Index Home Site Map JAInfo

© 2004 - 2011 The Republic of Pemberley

Get copyright permissions