Brandon Mayhew

Mr. Coon

English AP

Donald Grey, “A Review on Money”

Although short in content, this article—in my opinion—holds its own weight because of its subject's impact in the novel. Indeed, the separation of class in the novel creates the all-important pride and prejudice the book focuses on; both the novel’s conflict and basic plot are driven by economics because social rank was determined chiefly through possession.

With this noted, Grey uses a series of different conversion methods in his “A Review on Money.”  He basically takes three “gentleman,” Mr. Bennett, Bingly, and Darcy, and compares their individual income adjusted for the year 1989.  Mr. Bennett would have made around “$66,000 to 165,000,” Bingly around “$165,000” and Darcy, respectively, “$330,000 to 800,000.”  Grey further notes that these values are relatively incalculable because of their then purchasing power.   Labor at the time was very cheap, and Grey notes that, “in 1810 the nominal annual income of an agricultural worker was ₤42, of skilled laborers between ₤52 and ₤90, of clerks ₤178, of clergymen₤283, and of lawyers ₤447.”

Even for Austen’s contemporary elite, different classes are forged among themselves with no real socitial differences.