Lizzy C. Wrote:
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> I think you might be overestimating the desirability of an
> estate specifically in a woman's name. Most men
> expected to have (or in Bingley's case, purchase)
> an estate of their own.
But the man could have his wife's estate transferred to his own name, because under the common law at that time, the husband was the legal owner of his wife' property.
What they wanted from
> their wives was an infusion of cash: to improve
> the estate, to set aside as marriage portions for
> younger sons and daughters, etc.
yes, if they had an estate of their own but had little spare money e.g. Knightley in Emma, though of course Knightley was NOT marrying Emma for her money, but other men in his position could be thinking of that. In Bingley's case however, he was wealthy but landless -- he was of the new landless wealthy.
Longbourn is probably about the size of
> estate that Bingley will be purchasing, and his
> cash on the side (since he wouldn't need to buy)
> would set them up very nicely.
> I don't think the encumbrance of the mother and
> four sisters (for whom he would reasonably be
> expected to "do something" upon their marriages,
> as well) should be underestimated, though ......
>trying to install Jane as mistress of Longbourn and get
> Mrs. B to curtail expenditures would be like
> pulling teeth. A man would not be crazy for not
> wanting to move into Longbourn as her son in law!
>
I think Bingley would be generous and not think too much of the financial encumbrance, especially as part of the income would come from his wife. But I agree it would be crazy to move into Longbourn with Mrs Bennet as MIL! However, they could fix her up in a house of her own.
> Finally, there's the wait. There's no knowing how
> long Mr. B may live, and while being an
> "insignificant country squire" may mean something
> locally, being his heir won't mean much.
Well, perhaps Mr B is no more, and Jane already the owner of Longbourn. Being heiress could also men someone who had already (rather recently) inherited.
> So to sum up, yes, I think being the heiress would
> make Jane significantly less objectionable to the
> fashionable Bingley sisters, but I don't think it
> would actually recommend her to them.
Actually, I think there were two additional factors in canon as to why Jane became so objectionable to Bingley's sisters, esp Caroline, after they had initially quite liked her in their way. Caroline became jealous of Jane's sister Eliz after Darcy's comment on "fine eyes", and then Darcy's disapproval of the match encouraged her to do all she could against it. Minus these factors, although they would of course prefer Georgina or another better match than Jane for Bingley, I think they would have been able to be resigned to it and tolerated it, instead of actively scheming against it. Passive discouragement is very different from active scheming. If Jane were the sole heiress or owner of Longbourn I don't believe there would be even any passive discouragement. And if Jane was already the owner, they could well be eager for the match
They are probably unreasonable in the size of estate they
> think their brother can purchase and keep up, but
> they clearly don't think much of the genteel
> society available in that county.
They would think that with their brother's money, and his wife's estate (and Longbourn has a village of Longbourn sitting on it, just as Mansfield Park has the village of Mansfield, Barton Park the village of Barton in S&S, Kellynch the village of Kellynch in Persuasion. Hartfield, in Emma, has no village of Hartfield and is only part of Highbury) -- the Bingleys of Longbourn would become a most prominent, leading family in the neighbourhood. I think the size and importance of Longbourn is often underestimated in fanfics and adaptations (esp P&P3). Remember that Mrs Bennet dismissed most of the houses within ten miles of Longbourn as "deficient in size and importance". (Well, that would create some difficulty in getting another house for Mrs B wouldn't it?! But hopefully, she can be convinced that as a widow, she would have to put up with some deficiency!)
Actually, in my plot idea, although the main change is Jane being the sole heiress or owner of Longbourn, a main focus is also the E&D relationship -- where D has no objection to the match, but Eliz was suspicious of Bingley's real feelings, D had been attracted to Eliz, but was horrified when he found out that Eliz had interfered to separate Jane from Bingley, D became conflicted and angry and begun to have doubts about Eliz's character and motives -- because if Jane were to remain unmarried and childless, Eliz would be the next heir.
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> I think you might be overestimating the desirability of an
> estate specifically in a woman's name. Most men
> expected to have (or in Bingley's case, purchase)
> an estate of their own.
But the man could have his wife's estate transferred to his own name, because under the common law at that time, the husband was the legal owner of his wife' property.
What they wanted from
> their wives was an infusion of cash: to improve
> the estate, to set aside as marriage portions for
> younger sons and daughters, etc.
yes, if they had an estate of their own but had little spare money e.g. Knightley in Emma, though of course Knightley was NOT marrying Emma for her money, but other men in his position could be thinking of that. In Bingley's case however, he was wealthy but landless -- he was of the new landless wealthy.
Longbourn is probably about the size of
> estate that Bingley will be purchasing, and his
> cash on the side (since he wouldn't need to buy)
> would set them up very nicely.
> I don't think the encumbrance of the mother and
> four sisters (for whom he would reasonably be
> expected to "do something" upon their marriages,
> as well) should be underestimated, though ......
>trying to install Jane as mistress of Longbourn and get
> Mrs. B to curtail expenditures would be like
> pulling teeth. A man would not be crazy for not
> wanting to move into Longbourn as her son in law!
>
I think Bingley would be generous and not think too much of the financial encumbrance, especially as part of the income would come from his wife. But I agree it would be crazy to move into Longbourn with Mrs Bennet as MIL! However, they could fix her up in a house of her own.
> Finally, there's the wait. There's no knowing how
> long Mr. B may live, and while being an
> "insignificant country squire" may mean something
> locally, being his heir won't mean much.
Well, perhaps Mr B is no more, and Jane already the owner of Longbourn. Being heiress could also men someone who had already (rather recently) inherited.
> So to sum up, yes, I think being the heiress would
> make Jane significantly less objectionable to the
> fashionable Bingley sisters, but I don't think it
> would actually recommend her to them.
Actually, I think there were two additional factors in canon as to why Jane became so objectionable to Bingley's sisters, esp Caroline, after they had initially quite liked her in their way. Caroline became jealous of Jane's sister Eliz after Darcy's comment on "fine eyes", and then Darcy's disapproval of the match encouraged her to do all she could against it. Minus these factors, although they would of course prefer Georgina or another better match than Jane for Bingley, I think they would have been able to be resigned to it and tolerated it, instead of actively scheming against it. Passive discouragement is very different from active scheming. If Jane were the sole heiress or owner of Longbourn I don't believe there would be even any passive discouragement. And if Jane was already the owner, they could well be eager for the match
They are probably unreasonable in the size of estate they
> think their brother can purchase and keep up, but
> they clearly don't think much of the genteel
> society available in that county.
They would think that with their brother's money, and his wife's estate (and Longbourn has a village of Longbourn sitting on it, just as Mansfield Park has the village of Mansfield, Barton Park the village of Barton in S&S, Kellynch the village of Kellynch in Persuasion. Hartfield, in Emma, has no village of Hartfield and is only part of Highbury) -- the Bingleys of Longbourn would become a most prominent, leading family in the neighbourhood. I think the size and importance of Longbourn is often underestimated in fanfics and adaptations (esp P&P3). Remember that Mrs Bennet dismissed most of the houses within ten miles of Longbourn as "deficient in size and importance". (Well, that would create some difficulty in getting another house for Mrs B wouldn't it?! But hopefully, she can be convinced that as a widow, she would have to put up with some deficiency!)
Actually, in my plot idea, although the main change is Jane being the sole heiress or owner of Longbourn, a main focus is also the E&D relationship -- where D has no objection to the match, but Eliz was suspicious of Bingley's real feelings, D had been attracted to Eliz, but was horrified when he found out that Eliz had interfered to separate Jane from Bingley, D became conflicted and angry and begun to have doubts about Eliz's character and motives -- because if Jane were to remain unmarried and childless, Eliz would be the next heir.