Nobody changed their name. Mr. Collins is simply inheriting through a female line of descent.
Chapter 7 tells us that "Mr. Bennet's property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation."
That does not say that Collins is a male-line heir. In fact, it probably means the exact opposite: Collins is inheriting specifically because there is no male-line heir apparent. According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, "default" means "a failing, failure, or omission of that which ought to be done." Thus "in default of heirs male" probably indicates the failure of the male line.
Nothing in P&P says that the entail entirely excludes female lines, and it would have been wildly bizarre for any entail to be written that way. And even if the Longbourn entail were (very foolishly!) written in such a stupid manner, the entail would then fail entirely for lack of a male-line heir... at which point the estate would pass by intestacy, which would deliver it through the female lines anyway.
Look, SOMEBODY has to inherit when Mr. Bennet dies. The entire point of the fee tail system -- the only reason anybody entailed anything! -- was to make sure the land stayed securely within the family. If you write an entail that absolutely forbids female-line inheritance, and then the male line fails... does that mean you want the property to escheat to the Crown while your female-line descendants starve in the hedgerows? That would be crazy. Nobody ever wants their property to escheat, unless there is literally no living relative (of any line) remaining. Escheating while you still have living relatives is a gross legal blunder.
I'm not saying that the male and female lines were equal in precedence. Entails were often written to prefer certain lines of descent over others, and we know from Chapter 7 and Chapter 29 that the Longbourn entail prefers the male line. My point is that entails always kept the property in the family if at all possible. If the male line fails, somebody still has to inherit the land. There is no reason to believe that the Longbourn entail absolutely forbade female-line inheritance, and it would have been extremely unusual for it to do so.
Here's my guess: Grandaddy Bennet (the grandfather of P&P's Mr. Bennet) entailed the estate with a preference for male-line heirs. He had at least one son ("Daddy Bennet") and at least one daughter. The daughter married Old Mr. Collins, and their son is William Collins. Daddy Bennet had a son, Mr. Bennet, who has five daughters and no son.
The entail is probably written so that, when Mr. Bennet dies and the male line fails, Longbourn will be delivered to the nearest (by parentelic descent) surviving male relative of Grandaddy Bennet. The entail would definitely have allowed female-line inheritance following the failure of the male line, because the alternative is either falling into intestacy, which would deliver the property to the female line anyway, or else escheating to the Crown, which would be a legal blunder of biblical proportions.
So who's the nearest male relative of Grandaddy Bennet? If my hypothetical family tree is right, then William Collins is the grandson of Grandaddy Bennet while Jane's hypothetical future son ("Charles Junior") is his great-grandson, one generation more remote. Thus William Collins is the closer relative by parentelic descent, and is Longbourn's heir apparent even if Jane has a son.
- Alan -
Chapter 7 tells us that "Mr. Bennet's property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation."
That does not say that Collins is a male-line heir. In fact, it probably means the exact opposite: Collins is inheriting specifically because there is no male-line heir apparent. According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, "default" means "a failing, failure, or omission of that which ought to be done." Thus "in default of heirs male" probably indicates the failure of the male line.
Nothing in P&P says that the entail entirely excludes female lines, and it would have been wildly bizarre for any entail to be written that way. And even if the Longbourn entail were (very foolishly!) written in such a stupid manner, the entail would then fail entirely for lack of a male-line heir... at which point the estate would pass by intestacy, which would deliver it through the female lines anyway.
Look, SOMEBODY has to inherit when Mr. Bennet dies. The entire point of the fee tail system -- the only reason anybody entailed anything! -- was to make sure the land stayed securely within the family. If you write an entail that absolutely forbids female-line inheritance, and then the male line fails... does that mean you want the property to escheat to the Crown while your female-line descendants starve in the hedgerows? That would be crazy. Nobody ever wants their property to escheat, unless there is literally no living relative (of any line) remaining. Escheating while you still have living relatives is a gross legal blunder.
I'm not saying that the male and female lines were equal in precedence. Entails were often written to prefer certain lines of descent over others, and we know from Chapter 7 and Chapter 29 that the Longbourn entail prefers the male line. My point is that entails always kept the property in the family if at all possible. If the male line fails, somebody still has to inherit the land. There is no reason to believe that the Longbourn entail absolutely forbade female-line inheritance, and it would have been extremely unusual for it to do so.
Here's my guess: Grandaddy Bennet (the grandfather of P&P's Mr. Bennet) entailed the estate with a preference for male-line heirs. He had at least one son ("Daddy Bennet") and at least one daughter. The daughter married Old Mr. Collins, and their son is William Collins. Daddy Bennet had a son, Mr. Bennet, who has five daughters and no son.
The entail is probably written so that, when Mr. Bennet dies and the male line fails, Longbourn will be delivered to the nearest (by parentelic descent) surviving male relative of Grandaddy Bennet. The entail would definitely have allowed female-line inheritance following the failure of the male line, because the alternative is either falling into intestacy, which would deliver the property to the female line anyway, or else escheating to the Crown, which would be a legal blunder of biblical proportions.
So who's the nearest male relative of Grandaddy Bennet? If my hypothetical family tree is right, then William Collins is the grandson of Grandaddy Bennet while Jane's hypothetical future son ("Charles Junior") is his great-grandson, one generation more remote. Thus William Collins is the closer relative by parentelic descent, and is Longbourn's heir apparent even if Jane has a son.
- Alan -