Or as independent as possible, considering Austen was writing at a time when it was impossible for women to own property. Austen advises you to guard your cash with your life but not to do anything purely for money. Emma refuses Mr. Elton’s deeply embarrassing overtures of love, concluding that he’s only after her because of her fortune. On the other hand, Pride and Prejudice’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet refuses Mr. Collins even though marrying him would mean financial security for her increasingly broke family. If you sense material goods are at the core of something that’s supposed to be more profound, then walk away and, if you’re an Austen heroine, go and do some tapestry or take a stomp around the grounds of a stately home.