The women from the first class of courtesan, the honest courtesan, were often born into patrician or merchant family they were raised as educated and cultured women. But in a society that dictated exorbitant dowries that could often bankrupt a family, extra daughters were often given no opportunity to marry. They could go into a convent and become a nun, but that still required a dowry, though not as large. They could remain in the household an ageing spinster tending to family member, forever dependent and submissive perhaps to a new mistress of the household if it should pass to a brother and his wife. Or circumstances, like poverty from funding a dowry to an older sister, or failed commercial activities could encourage a young woman to consider the life of a courtesan. Often, in these situations, a courtesan could end up being the sole support of their family.
– Kristin Gleeson, Veronica Franco and the Courtesans of Renaissance #Venice https://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2026/08/veronica-franco-and-courtesans-of.html
I guess the Venetian equivalent of Jane Austen, i.e. the fortunes of the unpropertied gentry woman, would have been quite a different genre 
Convent, caregiver, or courtesan, what a slate of choices!
@ljwrites companion in Austen's time, too (though "companion" might fall under "caretaker" depending on the household), and @Satsuma hit on the governess angle already.
oddly was having this conversation with friends a few days ago, specifically how it would be something like, "oh, and then you throw yourself on the mercy of your family who DO have money" -- which leads right back to Jane Eyre 🤔
@titania @ljwrites which was certainly a justifiable fear! I think the man is perhaps a little too obsessed with his own sense of propriety to throw them out just because, but I’d full willing believe he’d latch on to any scandal he could argue they were involved in as an excuse to, if Charlotte couldn’t talk him out of it
@titania @Satsuma oh wow, what a nightmare. And I fully believe Collins would have made staying at the house even more miserable than being thrown out. Speaking of which, he's still inheriting the house, right? So will Mrs. Bennet and any unmarried sisters (Mary and Kitty, IIRC) still be reliant on him, unless Jane and Elizabeth can set them up with a home or bring them into their own homes? Looked at that way, Darcy's initial advice against Bingley or himself marrying any of the Bennet sisters starts to look a lot more reasonable xD
@ljwrites got it in one, yeah. Social mores would demand that Jane or Lizzie be the ones to take care of their unmarried family -- so yes, Mr. Darcy's going, "er, Bingley, DON'T DO THIS" is really, *really* reasonable considering the norms of the time! like yes, Mr. Darcy could have been more delicate about it, but considering that he had a genuine impression that Mrs. Bennett had put Jane up to flirting with him to begin with (with the sole purpose of: MARRY WELL SO YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF US), seeing his friend potentially entering a loveless marriage with a nightmare MIL seems like something you'd want to avoid at whatever cost...
@titania @Satsuma And even if it is a love match it comes at the cost of being burdened with a MIL and three SILs, all of them objectionable in their own ways, and oh yeah, BEING FAMILY WITH FUCKING WICKHAM. But the guys' choices were imperfect, too, like they could have married rich socialites but at the cost of boredom for life. Of course, for most men real or fictional the latter isn't an actual problem, but Jane Austen's romantic heroes were cut from a different cloth lol.
@Satsuma ah, yes! certainly does (and was the FEAR in P&P, that they'd have to rely on Mr. Collins). @ljwrites