"The concept promoting equal social, political, and other rights for women and men." Austen was fully aware of the gender expectations and customs of the period. Women were expected to marry, and their living condition was mostly determined by male relatives. Also, women had little choice in who they married. Through her novels, she questioned many long-established practices that benefited men or women. For example, in "Emma", Emma thinks it is unfair that Mr. Knightley gets to stay home and look after his wife while Elizabeth must go out to work. By writing about these issues, Austen helped women realize that they weren't powerless against society's expectations for them. She also challenged certain practices that still exist today. For example, in "Pride and Prejudice", Mr. Darcy refuses to let his sister marry his friend because he wants only virgins for himself. This is one reason some people think Pride and Prejudice is sexist - because virgins are given more attention than others. But this behavior is not unusual - especially in wealthy families at that time. Men often decided what role they would play in life, and if they didn't like the choices others had made, they could change them. This is why some people say that Austen's characters show us how things should be done, not how they actually are done.