Tumblr crosspost (11 July 2019)

[anghraine]

Not at all related to the former vagueblogging, and not actually vague:

I gather that Courtney Milan writes good books, but she’s arguing on Twitter that “in trade” == “in the slave trade” and ???

??????

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It's all the weirder because the context was P&P, where 'in trade' includes figures like Mrs Bennet's father—a rural attorney. Darcy's grandfather would be much more likely to be involved in slavery, IMO.

Comments

[el_staplador]

Yes! My family was in trade. (Wool, to be precise.) It was absolutely not in the slave trade, because Quakers tend to have opinions about that.

(And then there's 'trade' as slang for a sex worker, which is something else again...)

[lizbee]

Please, can we start a meme that by "in trade" Austen intended the audience to understand the relevant characters were sex workers?

(Apologies to anghraine for using an icon from her least favourite adaptation, but well, how can I not?)