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Sex in the Regency Era

 

Septimus wants to sleep with Lady Croom. Lady Croom wants to sleep with Lord Byron. Mrs. Chater wants to sleep with everyone.

 

Such sexual shenanigans may seem shocking to our modern sensibilities, so accustomed are we to envisioning the past as a very moral, prudish time. Indeed, there were strict standards when it came to young, unmarried women, particularly those of higher classes, for whom a successful marriage was the only way to ensure their security. For these women, their virtue was their prized possession, and courting customs of the time were set up to see that it was well-protected. Unmarried men and women could not be alone together, travel together unchaperoned, exchange gifts, or even shake hands. Any exchanges were under the watchful eyes of parents, relatives or other chaperones, until a couple was engaged; marriages usually occurred quickly after engagements were arranged, to further guard against scandals.

 

However, for everyone else - men of all marital statuses, and married women - the same rules did not seem to apply. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, England was experiencing something of a sexual revolution, and men and women up and down the island were taking full advantage of it.

What caused England's 18th century sexual revolution?

  • The Enlightenment: The Age of Enlightenment, which lasted from the 1650s until the 1780s, was a period that saw unprecedented emphasis on reason, intellectualism and individualism, and rejected conformity and the influences of institutions such as the Catholic Church. The Englightenment changed the way people thought about many things, including sex. Rather than being a purely procreative act, people began to look at the pleasurable and natural aspects of sex. Shifts in the influence of religion on people's daily lives meant that people started to see sex as something less sinful and more fun and natural. Later,  the shift towards Romanticism, in which emotions and liberalism ruled, further inspired illicit affairs.

  • Change in laws: In England, up until the mid-17th century, sex outside marriage was an illegal, punishable offense for both men and women. The last execution for adultery in England happened in 1654. Once adultery was no longer punishable by death, that removed another potential barrier.

  • Urbanization: Part of  what helped authorities keep track of who was sleeping with whom was policing of people by their own neighbors. In small villages with low populations this was easy enough, but starting in the 18th century, more and more people began to move to urban areas like London, where there was more privacy from prying eyes.

  • Royal affairs: Extramarital affairs by royals were nothing new, but the Prince Regent, George, was particularly lustful, entertaining several mistresses throughout his regency and reign as king, and reportedly having several illegitimate children by them. George married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, but the marriage was an unhappy one, and George continually tried to divorce her. Although not successful in obtaining a divorce, the two did live separately for many years, and Caroline had a close male companion who was presumed to be her lover. With such an example on the throne of England, is it surprising that other nobles threw off the mantle of morals and began to live it up as well? 

Sources/Further Reading

An Interview with Faramerz Dabhoiwala on the 18th Century Sexual Revolution

The Economist - "Pleasure principles"

IsabelleGoddard.com - Courtship and marriage

Rakes, Rogues and Romance: Scandalous couples of the Regency - the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

Rakes, Rogues and Romance: Scandalous couples of the Regency - Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley

AmandaForeman.com - The Georgians: A true age of sexual discovery

Susanna Fullerton - "Jane Austen and Adultery"

 

 

 

 

 

 

While extramarital affairs were by no means totally acceptable, they were generally tolerated among the aristocracy, if conducted discreetly. Indeed, it is likely Mrs. Chater's indiscretion in her activities at Sidley Park with Septimus and Lord Byron that draw the ire of Lady Croom, more than the indiscretions themselves. After all, Lady Croom is herself given to lustful impulses, dallying with Byron, Septimus and later, Count Zelinsky.

 

Extramarital affairs were a common past-time among the nobility, perhaps as a result of arranged marriages which left one or both parties unsatisfied. Although these affairs sometimes became grounds for divorce, generally they were tolerated, especially for men.

 

Some of the most scandalous affairs of the Regency era include:

 

Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb

During their brief but intense (and very public) affair in 1812, 

Lamb was married to William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Although Caroline and William eventually separated, he forgave her for the Byron affair, and the two remained close until her death in 1828.

 

Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Perhaps scandal runs in the family - Caroline Lamb's aunt,

Georgiana Spencer Cavendish found herself embroiled in a most unusual affair, even by today's cynical standards. Cavendish was married to William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, with whom she had four children. William already had an illegitimate daughter from a previous relationship, whom Georgiana raised with her other children. In 1782, the couple met Lady Elizabeth Foster, who was separated from her husband. Foster became William's mistress, with Georgiana's full knowledge, and bore him two children. Meanwhile, Georgiana engaged in an affair with Charles Grey, a future Prime Minister, and bore his child. Because of this indiscretion, William threatened to divorce her, but rescinded the threat when Georgiana agreed to let Grey's parents raise the child. Foster continued to live with the Cavendishes as William's mistress, eventually marrying him, with Georgiana's blessing, after Georgiana's death in 1806.

 

Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley

This famous literary couple's relationship got off to an inauspicious start in 1814. Percy was already married, to Harriet Westbrook, who was pregnant with the couple's second child. This didn't stop him from running off to Switzerland with 16-year-old Mary Godwin, who was the daugher of Percy's friend William Godwin. When Percy and Mary returned to England in 1815, Mary was pregnant, although the child died soon after birth.  Percy's wife also gave birth to a son, Charles. Percy, however, never returned to Harriet, and in December 1816, Harriet, at this point pregnant by a lieutenan colonel in the British Army, drowned herself in the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Thus freed from his marriage, Percy wasted no time in marrying Mary, who by this time had given birth to a second child, a son. Later, it was rumored that Percy also had an affair with Mary's sister, Claire Claremont, who had also been romantically involved with Lord Byron.

 

 

 

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