Jane Austen Throwdown: Mrs. Ferrars' Parenting Style

Mrs. Ferrars, Jean Marsh

While aware that almost all of Jane Austen's parents have their character flaws, I have chosen one parent who has been on my mind lately: Mrs Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility. Which child was the most negatively affected by her lack of parenting skills, whether by personality or economic circumstance or choice of mate?

Which sibling was most affected by Mrs. Ferrar's motherly style?

Fanny, Claire Skinner

Mrs. Fanny Dashwood

As snobbish as her mother, Mrs. Dashwood thinks only of her own consequence and comfort. She convinces her husband to disregard his promise to his dying father of making sure his step family is financially secure, and is manipulative and cruel in her actions towards the Dashwood women after Mr. Dashwood's death. Fanny echoes her mother's sentiments about Edward's choices in life, and favors Robert,  Meanspirited, self-absorbed, and myopic about her own fortune, this bitter nut did not fall far from the matriarchal tree.

Edward, Dan Stevens

Edward Ferrars

As eldest son, Edward is commanded to do his mother's bidding. He felt that had he been given some employment and something useful to do in his earlier years, his 18-year-old self would not have had the time to pursue his romantic inclinations towards Lucy Steele, and that he would have soon gotten over his tendre towards this most unsuitable woman. He is disinherited by his mother when she learns about his engagement to Lucy, and must make his own way in the world on a barely livable income, watching his brother reap the financial rewards that were his by right. Imagine what good deeds Edward and his thrifty Elinor might have accomplished had his mother approved of his marriage to a more worthy woman than Lucy ( which she failed to see) and provided him with a larger income.

Robert, Leo Bill

Robert Ferrars

Robert, an effete snob if ever there was one, is as mean-spirited as his sister. Although he is recipient of his brother's fortune, he lack of empathy for Edward's situation. He also lacks his sister Fanny's instinct for self-preservation, and makes the mistake of marrying Lucy Steele. After sitting in his mother's proverbial doghouse for a while, he and Lucy are welcomed back with open arms and her full support. But Lucy is as calculating and manipulative as ever and makes his life hell, so that soon all the couple does is quarrel. In Robert's case, beware what you wish for.

Which sibling was most affected by Mrs. Ferrars' motherly style?
	Fanny Dashwood
	Edward Ferrars
	Robert Ferrars
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Jane Austen Character Throwdown

In last week's house throwdown, Norland Park won shades down over Rosings. However, we're not through yet with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, whose house was thoroughly rejected. This week pits two formidable ladies against each other. Let's see who you will cast as the

Most Formidable Woman

Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Pride and Prejudice

Proud, imperious, bossy, and insufferable. And those are among Lady Catherine De Bourgh's better qualities. In my estimation, she tosses off one of Jane's best lines: "There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient." We should be happy that Lady Catherine has such a high opinion of herself, for she was the means by which Darcy and Lizzy were reunited. Had she not dashed off to Longbourn to persuade Lizzy to give up all and any claims to Darcy's affections, he might never have heard of her impertinence in not promising to enter into an engagement with him. The last words Lady Catherine utters in the novel sums up her character nicely: "I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet. I send no compliments to your mother. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased." Lady Catherine never fails us in our opinion of her.

Mrs. Ferrars, Sense and Sensibility

Edward Ferrars' momma is not a nice lady, and that's the sweetest thing we can say about her. Proud, spiteful, and as motherly as a cuckoo bird who allows others to rear its offspring, she holds the monetary sword of Damocles over her eldest son's head, always threatening him with disinheritance if he does not obey her in all things. As soon as she learned about Edward's engagement to Lucy Steele, she rewrote her will, leaving her fortune to her second (and favorite) son, Robert. The irony of the plot was that Robert wound up marrying Lucy AND keeping the fortune, but all was not lost for Edward. He married the woman he loved and achieved his ambition to become the rector of his own parish. As for Mrs. Ferrars, her values were so askew that she preferred Lucy and Robert over Elinor and Edward. Lucy and Robert"settled in town, received very liberal assistance from Mrs. Ferrars, were on the best terms imaginable with the Dashwoods, and setting aside the jealousies and ill-will continually subsisting between Fanny and Lucy, in which their husbands of course took a part, as well as the frequent domestic disagreements between Robert and Lucy themselves, nothing could exceed the harmony in which they all lived together." Hah! Oh, how I would like to be a fly on the wall during those times of family bickering, no doubt encouraged by Mrs. Ferrars herself.

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Jane Austen Character Throwdown: Most Formidable Woman

Lady Catherine de Bourgh Mrs. Ferrars