This reminded me of how careless Mr. Bennett had been and how capricious the 'happily ever after' really was for these women. We laugh at Mrs. Bennett's preoccupation with seeing her girls married but she was justified in her concern. We were all shocked at Charlotte marrying Mr. Collins but she secured her own place in the world and lessened the burden on her immediate family. She didn't have the luxury of hoping and waiting.
@Wednesdaywoe1975
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed. Mrs Bennett is the one who cares about her daughters. Mr Bennett was selfish. In the 2005 version, Donald Sutherland plays the father's realization of the bind he put his daughters in, but that's not really in the book.
@troberts1
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it's bothered me that Mr. Bennett never saved money to increase his daughters fortunes to help make them more marriageable. By saying "oh my son will take care of them" he's just deferring the problem to another generation. He chose "forever dependent on his heir" rather than "married and secure with their own families." He was not thinking of their happiness and barely of their security, especially when he didn't even have an heir yet.
@anayadegani626
8 ай бұрын
@@troberts1 even if he has a son, the son does not have to necessarily support his sisters. While it is usually done it is not compulsory. In Sense and Sensibility Eleanor's brother does not support them and she,her mother and sisters are forced to leave and go to a small cottage.
@edithengel2284
8 ай бұрын
@@anayadegani626 Good point!
@anayadegani626
6 күн бұрын
@@edithengel2284 Thank you
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
‘Is there a way around the entail?’ is the rejected title for ‘Downton Abbey’. 😂
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂
@lorisewsstuff1607
2 жыл бұрын
Hahahaha 🤣
@s6r231
2 жыл бұрын
There's no dowager in P&P to go about insisting that the entail be smashed! We've been robbed.
@davriecaro3036
2 жыл бұрын
@@s6r231 Though since we are talking about Lizzy's son. Wouldn't Mrs.Bennet fill that role? 🤣
@robinlillian9471
2 жыл бұрын
In Downton Abbey, the Lord's eldest daughter married the male heir and had a son, so it wouldn't have been going around the entail. This was why Mrs. Bennet was so happy when Mr. Collins wanted to marry one of her daughters. Unfortunately for her, Lizzie turned him down, and he didn't want the younger ones after that.
@AMoniqueOcampo
2 жыл бұрын
Okay, I know your channel is about Jane Austen/Regency/Victorian, but now that you talked about your heritage, my curiosity is piqued. I wanna know more about your roots!
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw! Thank you! I’ve been thinking of doing more videos that cover Native aspects!
@kaceynm
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood Please do! 😊
@Jen321able
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood I'd also love to see that
@Ailorn
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood please do!
@douginorlando6260
2 жыл бұрын
Her roots? I think that’s her natural hair color … but she has also been known to wear fabulous red wigs
@lijuowl
2 жыл бұрын
I think another way of putting the "line" point in this case would be, that since Lizzy is married to Mr Darcy, she is now part of HIS family, not the Bennetts anymore.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Yes! I was literally just thinking about explaining this in a future video. 😂 Lizzy’s son would be part of the Darcy male line and him inheriting Longbourn would have transferred it into the Darcy male line.
@londongael
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood True, but I don't think he'll worry - he'll have Pemberley (should he be fortunate enough to exist).
@Nanenna
2 жыл бұрын
Ah! I forgot about the unborn generation thing! Okay, now it all makes sense. Personally I feel that in an era before paternity tests the whole male line thing is inferior because there's no way to guarantee relation. Even now with paternity tests there's just so much contention, deception, and drama about it. Going by the mother's line just makes so much more sense from a purely logical standpoint. But men's egos be so fragile 9_9
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂 That’s why men in the era were so obsessed with women’s virtue. They were worried that their heir would end up not really being theirs. 😂
@Draconisrex1
2 жыл бұрын
Not any more fragile than women's. But, I guess if you want to be sexist, that's a way to go about it.
@ElizabethJones-pv3sj
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood Amongst the nobility an affair on the part of a woman who had already produced an heir and a spare was not terribly uncommon and many families would look the other way so long as she made it easy for them to do so by being discreet. Below the nobility this was less acceptable, when you only have one house it's much harder to discreetly sneak your lover in during your husband's absence.
@AdrianColley
2 жыл бұрын
The real rule is "the lifetime of any person positively identified in the entail plus twenty-one years". The "unborn generation" thing is just an approximate explanation.
@winterinbloom
2 жыл бұрын
@@Draconisrex1 It's hardly wrong to comment on the fragility of the male ego when that fragility led to unfair control over women's lives.
@rhiannanhughes5252
2 жыл бұрын
One question I have is if Mr Collins is a male line descendant, why isn't his last name also Bennett like the rest of the family?.
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
It is likely that Collinses were a cadet branch of the Bennet family. Probably some generation back a younger son of Bennet family took surname Collins because of adoption. For example, Jane Austen's own brother Edward changed his surname to Knight as he was adopted by Knight family - childless but wealthy relatives of his father.
@silvercityroyal
8 ай бұрын
The million dollar question my friend!
@brubs2556
2 жыл бұрын
I think it's also important to note that women were raised to eventually marry and become a part of another family. So if property was passed to them, then it could cease to be the property of the Bennet family and just become property of whoever marries them. Like, if Longbourn could be passed on to Jane, then it go on to belong to Mr. Bingley.
@DavidBrowningBYD
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly, had I lived in those times, I would likely have adopted the predominant mind view of the time, which was one of unconscious privilege for men. In P&P the only objection we see to male primogeniture is from Lady Catherine, who came into her marriage with substantial property of her own. Of course her marriage settlement would have excluded any kind of entail away from her, because she was the center of the universe.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Lady Catherine would be pleased that, despite any unconscious privilege you might end up with historically, that you do still recognize her rightful place as center of the universe. 😂
@Crose182
2 жыл бұрын
honestly i think that's the biggest issue. people say they would love to be a super feminist back in that time. but honestly, most people would adopt these values, if you were raised in that time period you'd have to. i'm not a super feminist but I'm a feminist. I don't think that I would have been back then tbh.
@orbitingcomic
2 жыл бұрын
@@Crose182 Disagree with this based on how independent-minded the person in question is. People do in fact realize when society has set up bul*s**t rules that don't make any sense, even if everyone around them is adhering to those rules. Just like kids tend to know when the adults around them are acting stupidly. Case in point, in P&P, Mr. Bennet acknowledges that Lizzy had better foresight and parental instincts than he did when she tried to prevent Lydia from being left alone without any guidance in Brighton. He is the actual father, but she is the one thinking like a father figure in this case, and Mr. Bennet, being independent-minded, acknowledges that fact. No matter whether you live in 1820 or 2020, if you're paying attention to people around you and have a fairly wide experience of humanity, it's going to be obvious that intelligence, wisdom, confidence, etc. is evenly divided between the sexes. And it's going to be obvious that the society you live in has decided not to acknowledge that and to pretend it isn't happening. Then you get to choose whether to believe society or to believe the truth of what you can see with your own two eyes. Obviously, this would be impacted by factors like whether the women you see around you have received enough education to make use of their intelligence, or whether the particular women you happen to know in your personal life are admirable people or not. I can easily understand someone being completely blinded by society's views on women if the majority of the women in their lives were never taught beyond a primary school level, or maybe happen to be jerky people, or ridiculously gossipy or are behaving in some other way that reinforces the stereotype rather than challenging it.
@Midorikonokami
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood I mean, she does suck all the light out of a room...
@fsantos4199
2 жыл бұрын
@@Midorikonokami daaamn, cosmological burn 🔥
@rodgomola
2 жыл бұрын
I must applaud your skill for making so much content based on Jane Austen -an author who wrote only seven novels- and still keep it interesting.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw, thank you!!! 😂
@Amy-ky5wr
2 жыл бұрын
She also goes into the real history of the period and how it relates to the books - that could go on forever. For people interested in that period of history, Jane Austen - plus - info on historical context, can be a portal to deeper understanding. Maybe in 200 years from now, someone will do the same with an author writing today, to help people understand what life was like in 2022. Hi to all the people reading this from 2222! :-) that's what we called a smiley face, you see, from the side!
@Jemini4228
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah the point you said about 'respecting' women is so true. Like pulling out a chair or taking a heavy bag or showering her in gifts before you are married in any way makes up for excluding women from property ownership and the workplace, allowing no women (even richer ones) to vote, treating them as son factories and the myriad other ways they were systemically disadvantaged.
@Anastas1786
2 жыл бұрын
The "incontestability of masculine superiority" aside, I can think of at least one other reason a man (or even a _woman_ who'd managed to inherit in her own right) born and raised in a society with a strong preference for male primogeniture might pass over his (or her) own daughters and granddaughters when drawing up wills and entails: If all goes well, your daughters and granddaughters _shouldn't need _*_your_*_ money_ to survive and maintain the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. As a "Man (or Woman) of _Quality",_ you endeavor to raise the girls of your family to become Women of Quality themselves. Assuming this goes well, they should have no trouble whatsoever attracting men of equal, possibly greater, but at worst only _slightly_ lesser wealth to your own, who, thanks to male primogeniture, stand to inherit _their own_ money, which they will be expected to use in part to maintain their wives, your daughters. Your eldest son, meanwhile, is going to _need_ the promise of your money, your land, and your big, fancy house to attract a wife to help him run the place, enhance his social status, and help make more male heirs to secure the future of said big, fancy house. Unless your family's social connections are _utterly spectacular,_ the other Men and Women of Quality looking for husbands for their daughters are going to be prioritizing men who stand to inherit large fortunes and fancy houses, which he can't offer if you split things up equally among all your children or even all your _male_ heirs. Giving too much to the other children/younger males also casts doubt on his business savvy/financial sense. "Did you hear the Lady is splitting up the Estate _evenly_ between _all_ her grandchildren?" "Imagine! All that land and money, split eight ways!" "Do you suppose she doesn't _trust_ her eldest to run so much?"
@texanbritt
2 жыл бұрын
I was really hoping that you’d go into explaining the logistics as to why Lady Catherine Bourgh was able to secure her daughter an inheritance, this was something that has always confused me about this novel. I’ve since read that Lady Anne was the heiress of Rosings park, but I can’t find out why this was permissible for her, but not for other female descendants such as the Bennett girls.. do you happen to know? Thanks for your videos, I love them!! 👌
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
That’s a great question! The answer is that every family got to make a choice about who could or could not inherit in an entail. And the de Bourghs chose a different path than the Bennets. I think I talk more about Anne de Bourgh’s situation in my video on entails: kzitem.info/news/bejne/tIZ8y3Zom4GAYGU
@dorothywillis1
2 жыл бұрын
Not every family had an entail! And entails could be broken if the inheriting son agreed to it once he was 21 years old. That's what Mrs. Bennet planned to have happen. It never occurred to her that a son might not agree to giving up his inheritance! But at least she had a Plan, which was something. Her husband was content to let everything take its chance.
@MilkyWhite1
2 жыл бұрын
“Your father’s estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think. For your sake,” turning to Charlotte, “I am glad of it; but otherwise I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. It was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family. ~ Pride & Prejudice So there is either no entail on the de Bourgh estate or it passes through both sexes so that sons are preferred but if there are no sons, then it can go to a daughter.
@MilkyWhite1
2 жыл бұрын
@@dorothywillis1 I don't think they would have questioned or attempted to break the entail if there was a son. The son would inherit all and support both the mother and unmarried daughters.
@ameliecarre4783
2 жыл бұрын
That also means that whoever inherited Sir Lewis's title had to support this title without Sir Lewis's estate or money. Fair for Anne, to be sure. But let's hope for her relative, young Sir Whatever De Bourgh (I assume his name would likely be De Bourgh too) that he had money and land of his own, otherwise he would have found himself in the position of Mr William Elliot in Persuasion, who probably understood he shouldn't count on Sir Walter not squandering everything in his lifetime, and made his own fortune (by conning people, it seems, including marrying a socially inferior but rich enough girl who loved him but he didn't care for).
@marijeangalloway1560
2 жыл бұрын
A major reason for entail in the male line, given the thinking of the time, was not only to secure male inheritance of family property and monetary resources, but also to secure the continuance of the family surname as inextricably associated with that property-----so you would have the Darcys of Pemberley, the Bertrams of Mansfield Park, the Eliots of Kellynch, etc. An old and respected name handed down through the generations is commonly associated with property inheritance, and can only be accomplished, of course, through the direct male line, as women change their surnames to those of their husbands upon marriage. This is one explanation why even a male in the direct line who would inherit THROUGH a female was ineligible: the family name would be lost. How, then, does the heir of Mr. Bennet of Longbourn have the surname COLLINS? What is the exact relationship between them? The term "cousin" does not tell us how many times removed the kinship may be; the two families seem to have had nothing to do with each other before Mr. Collins' visit in the novel, which, together with the different surname, doesn't suggest a close blood tie. The surname disparity alone would seem to be indisputable evidence that Mr. Collins is inheriting through a previous Bennet female line; otherwise his name would also be Bennet. Are prior Bennet females, such as, say, Mr. Bennet's aunts, privileged to have offspring who inherit over the newer generation represented by his daughters? How does a Collins inherit an entailed Bennet property? Was it somehow from a generation in which the property was not entailed? We do have, in Austen's writings, one case in which, for reasons of gaining inheritance through the female line, a man does in fact change his surname: in "Emma," Mr. Frank Churchill is the son of Mr. Weston, but changed his name to secure an inheritance from his mother's relations (though his doing so does not meet with everyone's approval).
@vbrown6445
2 жыл бұрын
One of Jane Austen's brothers also changed his name in order to inherit. It's possible that a male Bennet earlier in the line changed his name to Collins to inherit from another relative, or changed his name when he married a woman with property whose family required him to change his name.
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
The cadet branch of the Bennet family might have changed the last name for one of those reasons. Mr Collins comes from a cadet branch of the Bennet family
@laurelanne5071
2 жыл бұрын
Seeing that in Regency terms a yet-to-be-married woman of my age is an old maid, and I have no siblings, I guess it's time to make friends with my closest male cousin!
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂
@asdabir
2 жыл бұрын
😅
@tessat338
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I keep thinking of all my male cousins. They are all one to thirty four years younger than I am.
@reneeq8079
2 жыл бұрын
When you talked about the evidence from the book all I could imagine was how much mrs Bennett would be going on about her nerves and needing a grandson.
@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765
2 жыл бұрын
One question that often gets asked is 'why is mr collins a collins and not a bennett?' and most of the answers fall apart when you consider the 'male blood line' aspect of entailment. one solution that does make sense though is that the family were originally collins and that, one or two generations back, there was no entail, the property passed to a daughter who was married to a bennett, thus taking the property out of the hands of the collins male line and into the hands of the bennett male line. I can't think of another way for this to have happened. another twist on this is that a mr collins died without an entail, his wife inherited and remarried a bennett. I've seen it suggested that the bennett name went with the property thus requiring that the name be adopted by the inheritor, but in that case we would expect that collins would need to adopt the bennett name on inheriting also, and this is never hinted at as I remember, and mr collins is absolutely the kind to have highlighted that as a benefit for lizzie in marrying him
@samantharawson8996
2 жыл бұрын
Except it was moderately common for men marrying "up", or even if they were marrying an only daughter, for the man to take the female's last name (and sometimes in cases of formal or informal adoption, which we see in Emma, where Frank Churchill's father is Mr Weston, as he took his Aunt's family name when informally adopted)
@siramea
2 жыл бұрын
men often changed their names when money was involved. Some Collins might have inherited something and changed hos name as a result.
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
More likely that Collinses were a cadet branch of the Bennet family. Probably some generation back a younger son of Bennet family took surname Collins because of adoption. Jane Austen's own brother Edward changed his surname to Knight as he was adopted by Knight family - childless but wealthy relatives of his father.
@raraavis7782
2 жыл бұрын
I always figured, there was no way to circumvent the entail - simply because of how the matter was portrayed in the book. Sure sucked, to be a woman back then. I mean, I get the point of keeping an estate intact...but you could make a good argument, for leaving it to the oldest daughter, actually. Men did have the option of learning a trade/profession, after all. They could always just work for their living. Women weren't allowed to do any well paying jobs, the most they could do was work as a maid or nanny or companion. Excluding females from inheriting, while at the same time having them face destitution, if they didn't marry well... that's just not reasonable.
@davidjones332
2 жыл бұрын
It is worth recording that, until the passing of the Married Womens' Property Act of 1870 (and subsequent amendments), when a woman married in England everything she possessed immediately became her husband's property and came under his control -hence the number of heiress-hunters who infest Jane Austen's novels. By the same token a woman could not give evidence in court against her husband until, if I remember correctly, well after WW2, because she was, effectively, his property.
@Nina-rt6xn
2 жыл бұрын
@@annawild7117 Abortion existed before feminism
@suhanipanda859
2 жыл бұрын
@@annawild7117 are you married
@tymanung6382
2 жыл бұрын
@@annawild7117 Birth problems--- failed Caesarian--- often caused choices between saving mothers or (male) children---- often doctors + (male only?) family members chose to save the son. (US slang----Save a son, kill his mom.) But, if son was killed before he could inherit or marry + own son, he could not produce a new son, though his mother, before menopause, could.
@junomance
2 жыл бұрын
i freaking love ur videos so much!!! i’m reading pride and prejudice all the way through for the first time rn (i’ve seen the movie so ik what’s gonna happen) so it’s really cool to learn about situations in the book for thoroughly but also i’m a big history fan so i also get to learn about the regency era in general from u!!! many thanks! keep it up and i hope you have an awesome day (:
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw! I’m so glad the videos are helping your first read of P&P!!!! That was my original dream, that these videos would be helpful like that! Thanks for making it come true! 😃😃😃
@carololiveira4831
2 жыл бұрын
It’s really cool to see different kinds of inheritance laws and entails at play in Jane Austen’s books, because it was just the reality at the time. Maybe exploring each and comparing them could be nice? Like a follow-up video to a follow-up video to the entail one ^^ Or not, if you’re tired of this topic, haha
@AdrianColley
2 жыл бұрын
Personally, I never tire of this topic.
@catherinelincoln9830
2 жыл бұрын
Interestingly Anthony Trollope’s family was affected by inheritance laws. Anthony’s father was the heir presumptive of his uncle’s estate but the uncle married unexpectedly in middle age and begat a son. Anthony’s father spiraled into deep depression, so his mother Fanny started writing novels and travel books, including “The Domestic Manners of Americans” , then Anthony and his brother Tom also became successful authors!😃👍
@Eiandha
2 жыл бұрын
Love your videos! I don't know if this is in the scope of the video but one fact that I find interesting is that the 'entaili' legal document had to be 're-created' when inheritance occurred. And it was 're-created' by the inheritor. So that means that Mr. Bennet, when he inherited, renewed the document with the male-only inheritance clause. He had the legal power to change that if he was so inclined. Mrs. Bennet never mentions that fact. She blames Mr. Collins. This could have been because she wasn't aware of the legalities, of course.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
That’s interesting! 😃 I think I talk a little bit about how that all works in the video I mentioned about entails: kzitem.info/news/bejne/tIZ8y3Zom4GAYGU
@Eiandha
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood Just went back and watched it. Great explanation! From the quote you included, it does look like Mrs. Bennet knew or thought Mr. Bennet had done it.
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
I may or may not have mentioned this, but Mr. Dashwood and Mr. Bennet were lousy AF and really didn’t save enough for their daughters.
@Elf0304
2 жыл бұрын
In Mr. Dashwoods defense he intended to save but died a year after inheriting.
@breannanorthrup5498
2 жыл бұрын
honestly, it doesn't matter. The advantageous marriages of Jane and Elizabeth makes it totally clear that the rest of the family will be taken care of. Jane and Elizabeth really don't need a dowry and at the very least it can be sent to help the others girls. But most likely they will help their sisters beyond any need they may have.
@haleyspence
2 жыл бұрын
Oh yeah, I have a headcanon where shortly after they settle into their new lives, Jane and Lizzy put their heads together and arrange matches for Mary and Kitty. A respected and stuffy clergyman (& excessively genuine and also an abysmal musician who can't be stopped) for Mary and a higher-ranking naval officer who just really really likes being around her, is physically incapable of experiencing embarrassment (a proper big-hearted-himbo) for Kitty. (This same head-cannon has Georgianna Darcy and Mariah Lucas run off together)
@dorothywillis1
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for a good explanation of entails and what they entailed! They never caught on over on the other side of the pond. Too many younger sons who had had to get out and scratch for themselves didn't want it to happen to their children.
@PantheraQueen
2 жыл бұрын
Your videos are so fun and informative. I enjoy watching them
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy them!!! 😃
@SharmClucas
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the insight to the mindset of the time period. I had an ancestor who I think must have been from this time period. She ran away from her arranged marriage partner, taking her children with her, one of which was a newborn. The husband found and took the kids from the nursery while she was working, and since the baby didn't have a wet nurse the poor kid died as a result. She ended up getting a divorce, came to the US, got remarried, and all her children from the first marriage came to the US and found her once they were old enough to get away too. I'm descended from her second marriage. I'd long been wondering how it was legal for the guy to act this way, even if he was nobility, because he straight up killed his own child with no repercussions and my ancestor couldn't get the baby back even to save his life. It's still awful but it makes sense now.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
I am so sorry to hear that! That is heartbreaking. 💔 I’m so glad her other children were able to get away! In the era, their belief in the absolute right of fathers (practically no matter how horrible he was) to total control over their children was serious business. When women started questioning this right, more from love of their children than them trying to take on the patriarchy, they were the ones condemned by the much of the public.
@princessusagiharmony606
2 жыл бұрын
It’s fairly simple the women of the time belonged to her husband and any children they had belonged to him she stopped being a person as soon as she married and if the husband died she would be under the care of the eldest son even if he isn’t biologically hers if the eldest son is hers and he a child she is given a little more freedom until he’s of age, it’s only in Scotland where women have had a bit more right were they could inherit land there is some court documents I think around this time. One of my ancestors was going to be forced to marry a clan chief being that clans previous chiefs wife he also tried to marry her daughter before but she got away thankfully and so did my ancestor she got help escaping from the priest who wasn’t going to marry the woman to a man against her will. It was a world away from the one we live in know for women’s rights.
@leonieblah8806
2 жыл бұрын
There was a case in England almost exactly the same as what you described but more in the 1860 era and it resulted in a change in the law.
@SharmClucas
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood I was a kid when I first heard the story and it really stuck with me. My grandmommy tried to explain it but I was naïve and couldn't understand how a society could have rules that were so obviously wrong.
@SharmClucas
2 жыл бұрын
@@leonieblah8806 I don't know what time period it was, so this case might have been my ancestor. I think she was my great great great grandmother? Could you link me to info on the case? I'd love to look it up and see if I recognize any names.
@whimsy-chan1188
2 жыл бұрын
Female line inheritance makes so much more sense - a woman is definitely more certain a child is actually hers.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
That’s such a good point!
@mikespangler98
2 жыл бұрын
But then men have no particular stake in the future since they don't know if the child they are expected to use their butts to support is actually theirs. Once you are past a tribe it gets very hard to generalize that your effort benefits others. In more dramatic terms, should I work myself into an early grave to support a kid that probably the tribal Chad's, or go hang out with the 80% of the other men who aren't getting any? So the next question is how many matriarchal societies grew past the tribal stage?
@chriscarson7384
2 жыл бұрын
Ellie, I am a new subscriber, so please forgive me if you have already answered this question about Mr. Collins. If you have, could you please supply a link to that video? My question: How is it possible for Mr. Collins to be Mr. Bennet's heir, but not share the Bennet name? Presumably Mr. Collins is the son of Mr. Bennet's uncle, or great-uncle, or perhaps a male cousin. But since the inheritance always went through the male line, there would not normally be a situation where that heir had a surname other than Bennet? Thank you! Love the channel.
@troberts1
2 жыл бұрын
Re your point at 4:41 : "Daughters are never of so much consequence to a father." - Lady Catherine.
@ritan2
Жыл бұрын
A really excellent video! I love how you have responded the big question that was just nagging out there. But I especially like that you brought a different cultural perspective to the table. Indigenous people in North America as well as several nations in West Africa traced inheritance through the female line, and in fact, this was seen/used as proof that such people were inferior to the English (despite the fact that the female line was much easier to prove).
@SuperEkkorn
2 жыл бұрын
great video as always! but what tickles my curiosity is what would happen if mr. collins didn't exist? if mr. bennet was an only child, had only sisters, or he didn't have any male cousins (if his father's brother didn't have any male heirs for instance), what would happen then? would longbourn then pass to jane?
@mrsverge
2 жыл бұрын
AFAIK they'd go back and check every line for generations if need be. Some entails went to relations the families didn't even know about.
@dorothywillis1
2 жыл бұрын
Good question. What happened if there were no male heirs? I have a feeling the Crown would take the goodies.
@heikeelendt8414
2 жыл бұрын
I've just had an idea along the same line. What if Mr Collins died before Mr Bennet and he and Charlotte didn't have any children? Supposed there aren't any other male heirs in their generation, wouldn't Longbourn go to the girls? Maybe a question for an attorney. (I've loved P&P since I read it for the first time and I'm enjoying your videos very much!)
@MsJubjubbird
2 жыл бұрын
@@heikeelendt8414 Good thing they have an uncle who is a lawyer
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
They would go through the Bennet ancestors all the way back to the original owner who set up the entail. And if really the entire male line all died out then there would probably be a clause in original entail document to describe what to do in such situation. That was really up to the wishes of the original owner of the estate / entail setter. He could stipulate that the property gets equally distributed among daughters or it would go to the eldest daugher or first born mail grandchild. If there is no clause, then it might even go the the Crown.
@AdrianColley
2 жыл бұрын
Reminder that "entail" was a layman's term for what lawyers call a "strict settlement". By the Regency period, true entails were no longer considered good enough for estate protection, and the landed gentry used trusts for that purpose instead.
@sarahanan7015
2 жыл бұрын
The Bennet sisters, Dashwood sisters, and Anne Elliott: "Only men can inherit and we're screwed!" Emma Woodhouse: "Sorry, can't hear you over how handsome, clever, and RICH I am!"
@marilynmcphail9221
2 жыл бұрын
Could Mr. and Mrs. Bennet adopt a son, or even adopt one of their own grandsons? I could see Lydia having no qualms giving up her son and Wickham would for money.
@erracht
2 жыл бұрын
Good question. Was the entail contingent on being a biological heir?
@edithengel2284
2 жыл бұрын
@@erracht Yes, it was, so adoption wouldn't work as a workaround.
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
Adopted children could inherit only if the property was not entailed. The very purpose of an entail was to ensure the property stays in the family intact in the main male line of succession. So no, neither adopted not illegitimate children would inherit entailed property.
@lunatickgeo
2 жыл бұрын
Also, a son by one of the Bennet sisters would technically belong to his father's family, he wouldn't be a Bennet. Allowing that grandson to inherit the land would mean passing on the estate to a whole other family, which sort of defeats the purpose of an entailment.
@claireconolly8355
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely you would make your eldest daughter the heiress and then her subsequent son or daughter etc. Just make it a requirement that the man marrying in must change his name or double barrel to the daughter's last name. I really would love to see more real life examples of this if it happened, soooo fascinating. Thank you for the best videos x
@MsJubjubbird
2 жыл бұрын
Ironically, I think Lizzie would be much better estate manager that Mr Collins
@tymanung6382
2 жыл бұрын
@@MsJubjubbird Like Bathsheba Everdine in later English novel, Far From Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy?
@hana3703
2 жыл бұрын
I rewatched pride and prejudice again but this time, my mom watched it with me. She asked me the same thing like “Can Mr. Bingley inherited the estate since he’s a male?” I don’t actually know the right answer but I just go with my gut and said no because he’s not really related to Mr. Bennett and she also asked me “If Jane and Bingley’s child is a male, can they inherit the estate?” I also said no. I didn’t have any explanations but I don’t actually think it can go to their children. Thank you for this, now I can explain it to my mother more clearly.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
That’s what watching P&P with my mom is like too!!! 😂 Moms have all the relevant questions. I’m so glad the video was helpful! 😃
@nancyleeds4002
2 жыл бұрын
Love your videos! I have another question...if the entail can only pass from male heir to male heir why is Mr. Collins' last name not Bennett? Wouldn't the only way that name changed be for it to have passed through a woman remarrying?
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
That’s a great question! I think I discuss what might be happening in that situation in this video: kzitem.info/news/bejne/raqrvZOHZmmado4
@nancyleeds4002
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood Thank You!! True confession I had never read any Jane Austen (am in my late 30s) but always loved the Gwenyth Paltrow Emma...stumbled across one of your videos and have since read Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion because of you!
@kamunurkamunur3468
11 ай бұрын
It is likely that Collinses were a cadet branch of the Bennet family. Probably some generation back a younger son of Bennet family took surname Collins because of adoption. For example, Jane Austen's own brother Edward changed his surname to Knight as he was adopted by Knight family - childless but wealthy relatives of his father. In Austen's "Emma" Frank Weston was adopted by his wealthy but childless aunt and changed surname to Churchill.
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
I’ve been waiting for a video for quite some time. Happy to see this!
@beachhum
2 жыл бұрын
Nope. Collins is identified as the heir already. He is the next male heir of the Bennett family. Elizabeth’s son would be a Darcy. I would not set up an entail, but it wasn’t up to women. Sadly.
@flamethrow868
2 жыл бұрын
The most important point of entail, especially for nobles, was the protection of the line. If the entail allowed a daughter to inherit, the family will basically 'die out' since everything they had would be then transferred to another family, including their estate, titles etc. I'm guessing that the person who actually get the estate and title prefers to keep it down the male line only because, after all, if one of his direct descendent would be 'stupid enough' (thinking like they would at the time) to not have any eligible kids, then it's better that everything goes to a far off family member, that would still be his descendant.
@tymanung6382
2 жыл бұрын
Some people say that entail question was also part of Emma Woodhouse s story, that Jane Austen s EW was inspired by a real EW, 16?00s landowner + sole heiress of old, famous. wealthy feudal landowning family, which entirely vanished into her husband s feudal family wealth. land, name, etc. Such possibility seemed to terrify feudal origin landowners (they were protected, often not too technologically advanced static predecessors of modern. more technological advanced but market dependent modern agribusiness.)
@unaanguila
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing and for the subs!
@deaniej2766
2 жыл бұрын
Since Charlotte was in an "interesting condition" near the end of the book, if she had a daughter and one of the Bennett girls had a son, could that grandson of Mr. Bennett inherit if Mr. Collins predeceased Mr. Bennett. In other words could Mr. Collins leave Longbourn to his daughter if he had never taken possession? If he died of disease or accident before Mr. Bennett died of old age, who could then name the heir or heirs since the entail would end with Mr. Collins death? Provided there were no other possible heirs male in Mr. Collins generation, that is.
@cat_luvr6895
2 жыл бұрын
"In other words could Mr. Collins leave Longbourn to his daughter if he had never taken possession?" No, I don't believe so, because of the strict male entail situation. "If he died of disease or accident before Mr. Bennett died of old age, who could then name the heir or heirs since the entail would end with Mr. Collins death?" Again, if Charlotte did not give birth to a son, and there were no other possible male heirs in Mr. Collins' generation (which I got the strong impression of, from the novel), I don't see why Mr. Bennet's oldest grandson would not inherit.
@MehWhatever99
2 жыл бұрын
Mr. Collins had no entail, once he inherits. He could leave Longbourn to whoever he wanted once he inherited. Even to an unrelated person. If he died before inheriting, then the estate would go to whoever is the next male line descendant. For example, if Mr. Collins is the male line descendant from one of Mr. Bennet’s uncles, or great uncles, they would have to go to the next in line from that uncle, or the next youngest uncle. Maybe even go up a generation, and down again to the present generation.
@cat_luvr6895
2 жыл бұрын
@@MehWhatever99 "Mr. Collins had no entail" Okay, maybe I misunderstood that part. "if Mr. Collins is the male line descendant from one of Mr. Bennet’s uncles, or great uncles" I assumed, from what she said in the video, that Collins had somehow inherited from a female line (like from Mr. Bennet's cousin). That's why he had a different last name, and why he inherited "sideways"... But I guess that's not necessarily true, so I am wrong. But I still don't understand why there would be no entail on Collins. With the strict way this thing was set up, I thought the inheritance from male to male to male to male was staunchly enforceable -- even on Collins. So it would have been male entail "in perpetuity," something like that. I don't see Collins dying before he inherits, but you never know. "they would have to go to the next in line from that uncle, or the next youngest uncle." That's true; there would have to be a male descendant in there somewhere...
@MehWhatever99
2 жыл бұрын
@@cat_luvr6895 the entail has a time limit. It can only be written for the current living generations +1. If it was written by Mr. Bennet’s grandfather when he was a baby, Grandfather would have left it to mr. Bennet’s father, then to him, then to next male line descendant. Mr. Collins would have to write a new entail if he wants it to continue. There is also a theory that Mr. Bennet wrote the entail himself before he married. He could have been the last in the line of that entail, and been pressured to write a new one by his father, as a condition of supporting his marriage. Ellie Dashwood has a good video explaining it all.
@cat_luvr6895
2 жыл бұрын
@@MehWhatever99 "the entail has a time limit. It can only be written for the current living generations +1." And how do we know this? Was it in the book?
@jessbeingme8155
2 жыл бұрын
I actually just finished reading Mary Bennet and the Longbourn Heiress by Carrie Mollenkopf 2 days ago and you post a video about the inheritance of Longbourn lol
@carolfigueirars
2 жыл бұрын
I think the last video was very clear, this thought never crossed my mind.
@katmaresparkles9578
2 жыл бұрын
There is one thing that I find was unfair back then and still happens in some places today is the fact that it's ok for men to "sow their wild oats" so to speak, and that women are expected to remain pure. But when a girl is raped or taken advantage of by a man she is blamed. And the man suffers no consequences. Women have the right to expect that the man they end up with is also pure if they have never been married before too.
@dorothywillis1
2 жыл бұрын
This was noticed even back then, as you know if you have read Jane Austen and other novelists. Very sad, but it made for some very interesting novels!
@persefoniajax
2 жыл бұрын
I offer up this comment as a sacrifice to our algorithm overlords.
@mouseketeery
2 жыл бұрын
I wouldn't set up an entail in the first place, most likely. There would have to be a peculiar set of circumstance, say, a suspicion of nefarious machinations, or somesuch. Then setting the terms of inheritance might be more reasonable. We know women did inherit - all these young ladies with fortunes to be preyed upon by the Wickhams and Willoughbies, for instance.
@MsJubjubbird
2 жыл бұрын
A lot of the fortunes were provisions though, not inheritance. Their fathers are sometimes still alive
@TheRealPrinceClub
3 ай бұрын
Here’s the way around it, either Mr Bennet and Mrs Bennet have to have a 6th that isn’t a girl. Or in his old age after Mrs Bennet dies, he gets a second wife and she has a son…wrote that before the end.
@rachelroth3141
2 жыл бұрын
I love your videos! Thank you. 🙈 sorry for the follow-up question: What would happen to Longbourn, if there was no male in the generation of the Bennet sisters?
@grace000
2 жыл бұрын
I’ve always wondered this too! If nobody was male in the unborn generation? Would they have to seek out a long list relative or would they have to give it to a daughter?
@mrsverge
2 жыл бұрын
@@grace000 Sometimes they would have to go down multiple generational lines to find one.
@tessat338
2 жыл бұрын
It depends on what the entail says. If Charlotte's "Olive Branch" is a boy, and he survives his father and Mr. B, he'd inherit, straight up, no questions asked. Mr. Collins was 25 in the story. Mr. & Mrs. B had been married for 23 years. If the entail was set up for their marriage, then Mr. Collins' child would be in the "generation unborn." If the entail was already in place when Mr. B came along, then Mr. Collins would be in the "generation unborn" and the entail would end with him and he could leave the property to his daughter. If Charlotte's child were a girl and Mr. C were to die before Mr. B, not likely but not impossible, the entail might jump over Charlotte's daughter and go to an ever more distantly related male heir. Aaannnd now we're getting away from Jane Austin and into Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollop!
@gibbersking6575
2 жыл бұрын
Please consider explaining the positions and livings to be had in the Church in Regency England. Feel free to expand on the role of women. Especially just prior to that time in the teign of Queen Ann. Was she head of Church as is today's QE2? Did uber wealthy women weild power and influence?
@momstermom2939
2 жыл бұрын
Inheritance through the female line makes more sense. “Mama’s baby, papa’s maybe.”
@sophieruby9135
2 жыл бұрын
I hear in tribal life, it's better for the women to be related to each other than for the men to be related to each other. Men being related to each other meant women being more controlled and abused. So, you want your husband to come live with you and your tribe. You do not want to go live with him and his tribe.
@lawyergrits
2 жыл бұрын
This reminds me of the situation in Downton Abbey. Young George Crawley will be the next Earl of Grantham and inherit everything, but only because he is Matthew's son. Oddly enough, the fact that Mary is Robert's oldest child and gave birth to George has nothing to do with it, right?
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly! Most peerage titles go down the male line (a few don’t, but they’re the exception, not the rule). Anyway, that’s why Mary herself can’t have the title either.
@renshiwu305
2 жыл бұрын
Matthew is the heir and George's father. Mary's filial relationship to Lord Robert is immaterial. Had the Countess had that baby, and, if that baby had been a son, the son would have been the heir.
@jossviales4459
2 жыл бұрын
I love this channel, thank you so much! ✨❣️
@lorisewsstuff1607
2 жыл бұрын
If Mrs Bennett died before her husband it would probably be because he finally snapped after another day of listening to her. Lol As a modern woman, of course I would set up an entail that allowed daughters to inherit. But if I had been raised then I might not feel the same way. I like to believe that I would have been distressed by the prospect of my female children potentially becoming destitute. I don't guess I will ever understand how a society could see that as acceptable.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂 Also, it is amazing how much the society and time we live in changes how we view the world! 🤔
@raraavis7782
2 жыл бұрын
Not necessarily. Mrs Bennett was very outspoken in her criticism of this whole entail business. And while she may have voiced it in a slightly hysterical manner, her reasoning on the subject was quite on point, imo. So not every woman raised in that time, thought this was a good and proper way to do it.
@faithful2thecall
2 жыл бұрын
Oh, I wouldn't guarantee that. Her poor nerves may eventually give her a stroke or an aneurysm.
@julieletford5695
2 жыл бұрын
That's why Mrs. Bennett was desperate to get her daughters married. Since they couldn't inherrit property.
@jospenner9503
2 жыл бұрын
The question is, how honorable a man was Mr. Bennet? You know a Lord Sinderby situation. But I'm more partial to his remarrying a younger woman after Mrs. Bennet's death.
@whitneysanders6996
2 жыл бұрын
I have 3 sons i dont need to worry about an entail lol
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
You have reached the pinnacle of Regency Era success! 😂😂😂
@whitneysanders6996
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood 2 of them being twins lol
@asdabir
2 жыл бұрын
Lol I haven’t achieved much in life but at least I would have been stress free in the regency period due to having a male child 😅
@MissSeyton
20 күн бұрын
What I really love about Jane Austen's books is that - especially in P&P - the silly, annoying people are actually the really good and reasonable ones (besides the Bingley ladies maybe). Mr Collins is a good person. He really tries to do the right thing. Mrs Bennett does everything she can within her extremely limited means to save herself and her daughters. And Mr Bennett does nothing to help. Although, coming to think of it... From Ms Bingley's point of view she is fighting for her own future and that's understandable, I think. JA's stories have soooo many layers. Every single time I read or watch one of her books/movies I discover something new and am baffled I haven't thought of a detail before.
@KiraFriede
2 жыл бұрын
So, if Mr. Collins ends up dying without a son, they would just search for even further away relatives of them. And it had to be through a man line, so not go through Mr. Collins mother. But what if they end up with no male inheriter to be in an only male line?
@SageKayDee
2 жыл бұрын
Then the title dies out like Ellie stated she supposed happened to Mr. Darcy in her video about "Why Isn't Mr. Darcy a Lord?"
@monicaspoor2993
2 жыл бұрын
If I lived in the Regency era I would probably not question too much that this is how it is done. I don't think the problem the Bennet daughters face is the entail, per say, but that their irresponsible parents never bothered to save up money to make them more marriageable. Sure, if they had a son that would have broken the entail, but if they hadn't actually saved up much, that still wouldn't benefit the daughters much. Say a son was born a year or two after Lydia. His older sisters might wish to marry long before he inherited. They would still need a dowry. Same if it wasn't entailed away from the female line - even if Jane inherited, her sisters would still need a fortune of their own to bring into their marriage. So economy and setting aside a sum to add to the daughters' fortune would ALWAYS have been useful.
@KanetsidohiKanotoush
2 жыл бұрын
I do hope not because I think Charlotte deserves that state, while the Bennet would be protected by the daughter which made good marriages Edit: I think one of the reasons for giving preference to men is, a married woman will be part of the husbad family, while males will continue the family name
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
2:33 This still goes on in Indian Society. The mother, the women, children and AFAB people are neglected to make room for the Non-disabled CIS-Het Dominant Caste Males, which is a result of Feudal Brahminical Heteropatriarchy. We’re an equal society theoretically speaking.
@lucretciaseven4873
2 жыл бұрын
The reason for male line inheritance didn't originate precisely because men were thought to be innately superior in all respects per se it goes back to the more dangerous and tribal times when someone could simply take land or possessions from those who couldn't hold it so men were thought to be in a stronger position to defend whatever was being passed. Women were in weaker positions when it came to fighting off incursions and thus had to married men for protection so one family's possession would be absorbed by a family who were only related to them through that marriage. Women in those times were also in a position where a man could simply steal them tp force a marriage also, and given all that inheritance by the male line only became solidly codified in order to keep the estates of families intact.
@1313fina
8 ай бұрын
This is very similar to the dilemma of Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey's first season. She wasn't a man nor did she have any brothers, so she and her nearest male cousin were arranged to be married. But then the Titanic happens😅😅😅 Having Lizzy's son inherit Longbourn also doesn't make sense because he'd be a Darcy not a Bennett, and if he were the eldest, he'd inherit Pemberley.
@CreDo.J
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your videos! I'm from Russia and try to learn English by listening ones
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw! Yay! Thank you so much for watching!!!!
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
‘Jane Austen for Dummies’ had such a brilliant chapter on family law that this video reminded me of that.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
😂 My aspiration in life is some day to be as brilliant as Jane Austen for Dummies! 😂
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood I’m sure you’re equally brilliant. I have no doubt about that.
@DavidBrowningBYD
2 жыл бұрын
I did not know this book existed. **quickly hitting Amazon**
@lydiarose9877
2 жыл бұрын
Love your videos! Where did you get your shirt?
@freyaoldham3364
2 жыл бұрын
What would happen though if Mr Collins died before Mr Bennet (and there are no other males in the unborn generation) could it then go to one of the Bennet girls, or their sons?
@SarahLarsonwgm
2 жыл бұрын
The situation with Mr. Collins reminds me of Downton Abbey with Matthew (and first Patrick). The cousin feeling almost a sense of duty to give at least one of the sisters a shot at the family wealth and inheritance. It also makes me think how things would have been different in Pride and Prejudice if Mr Collins, hadn't been....Mr. Collins. Had he been someone halfway desirable the sisters may have felt some competition with each other or with a friend who married him. In DA Edith definitely had wanted Patrick and been upset that he was duty bound to Mary.
@MsJubjubbird
2 жыл бұрын
Had he just not overreacted to being jilted and looked at the next sister down the line he would have found his perfect match
@amayuccya
2 жыл бұрын
what if mr collins dies before mr bennet? in the book there is no mention of a brother of mr collins. in that case, since there is no heir in that generation, who would it pass to?
@alexandravladmets8206
2 жыл бұрын
Mr. Collins won me over with his comment about potaoes. Excellently boiled potatoes are most important!!...n I´m not even Irish. But boy, is he annoying. I bet the Bennets were quite jealous of how he managed to climb socially as he did ;)
@cassiemontgomery45
2 жыл бұрын
I like Mr Collins. Yes, he can be annoying and doesn't seem to know when to put a lid on it, but as Jane Bennet said, "he's not vicious ". I think he means well and tries to do his best with all he's been given. Besides it would take a special sort of person to deal with Lady Catherine de Bourgh on a permanent, regular basis.
@caiteliza11
2 жыл бұрын
Can you explain how some property was for sale back then, or if the current family ran out of money and couldn't keep the property up? How does the entail work then? Or if all male heirs are nonexistent, what happens to the property?
@suonatar1
2 жыл бұрын
Love your videos 🌹 If I lived in regency era, I would probably try to convince people (as gently as I could), that men and women are not that different. - What is this about teaching girls different things than boys? But that would most likely make me a social parriah.
@tymanung6382
2 жыл бұрын
See biographies of that era s feminists, like Mary Wollstonecraft, etc. in England, Olimpe De Gouges, etc. in France, or 1600s Amphora Behn, etc. England, various Italian + English? etc.?women writers in Renaussance, or 1st known feminist social critic writer, French based Italian origin Christine De Pisane. How did others react to them? Also, Jane Austen herself, an admirer of Mary W. was another more indirect feminist.
@sophieruby9135
2 жыл бұрын
Patriarchy sucked for women, and Jane Austen experienced this first hand. I'm so glad she wrote about it.
@thewol7534
2 жыл бұрын
Another feature of passing the property to the male heir is that it also potentially preserves the family surname (since a woman takes her husband's name) and many titles were linked to the estates that went with it, so that the title was "entailed" along with the property. That prevented the heir to the title from selling the property that came with the title, and created an aristocracy that was land rich and cash poor. One of the "coming of age" duties of the male heir was to renew the entail. Father and son would both sign the papers.
@anieth
2 жыл бұрын
This male thing is very old. At one time the Brits also had lines going through the mother and boys leaving the family and moving to another clan. That was behind the dowry, so that the receiving family would reward the family losing a warrior/son. Women had children, didn't care about the father because the child belonged to the family, not her. When the Romans came in with the male line they took advantage of the fact that they could marry, get a dowry AND then control all the property. This set up a very ugly system that continued through feudal times to our times. In the Orient, a bride had to be purchased because she left the family to go to her husband. Isak Dinesen reports Somali women assuming that European women were so ugly that their families had to sell them off to get them married! Many pastoral societies had property going through the women because they were "tied" to the property having to take care of it which left the men free to roam around, fight off bad guys, hunt, and do general protection of the territory without lugging around the tents and baggage and all that stuff that made a woman so attractive to visit. It was in the Orient/Mediterranean that land was scarce, people were settled farmers, and a man wanted to make sure that he could provide for his clan by controlling their means of survival in farm products and land.
@fiona7500
2 жыл бұрын
beautiful video with most interesting content as always! could you do a whole video about man's respect and behaviours toward women in 19th century? Thank you!! :)
@melodyclark1944
2 жыл бұрын
The way you describe the daughters scrambling to have a son so that son inherits reminds me of the sons of George III wanting to be the one to have a legitimate child to inherit
@OthEdden
2 жыл бұрын
There is an odd bit of early English law that would allow a nephew if Mr. Bennett had a sister that would allow them to inherit before a grandchild because they would be closer in blood to the person Mr. Bennett inherited from.
@OthEdden
2 жыл бұрын
More likely if he had a non-living male brother that had a child than a sister. Likely if they had such a candidate they would have been named in the entail instead of a cousin like Mr. Collins.
@sahwols98
2 жыл бұрын
Hi Ellie, love your videos! I have a question, what if one of the Bennet daughters Married and had a son and then both parents died. Could Mr.Bennet "adopt" the grandson and name him his heir? Kinda like how in Emma Frank becomes the Churchill's heir?
@edithengel2284
2 жыл бұрын
Wouldn't work. Mr. Bennet could adopt such a child, but the boy wouldn't be eligible to inherit, due to the entail. Mr. and Mrs. Churchill's estate was not entailed, so Frank could inherit (just as Jane Austen's brother Edward became Edward Knight and inherited his adoptive parents' estate.).
@TheBrothermark
2 жыл бұрын
This is the second time I've had to re- subscribe...
@rockcat5000
8 ай бұрын
I did research on a whim to see if titles and estates could go to the oldest daughter. If the original paperwork for a title (grant? Charter?) Included the female line and the entail as written would allow it, then it was possible. Was it common? No, very rare in English society.
@ZiggyWhiskerz
2 жыл бұрын
I think this is a pretty good question.
@dawnchance1475
2 жыл бұрын
What if the girl's father adopts a grown man to inherit the property? Could he make arrangements to keep the money in the family?
@GonzalezLawEmpower
2 жыл бұрын
I was wondering the same thing. Or even adopting a boy not grown yet. Maybe if he changed his surname?
@magdalene6885
2 жыл бұрын
Watching your videos keeps my interest in literature thriving, thank you. As a former English major, who dropped out due to personal confusion, your videos make me realize that maybe I really do want to pursue it and finish my degree.
@joanhuffman2166
2 жыл бұрын
As Longborne is entailed away from the female line, I don't see how Mr Collins has a different family name from Mr. Bennett.
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
I actually address this issue in a different video. I think it’s the one on “Did Captain Wentworth Really Buy Kellynch?” But basically, there were several different reasons why men could and did change their last names in the era.
@mikespangler98
2 жыл бұрын
Frank Churchill, formerly Weston. It may be unusual for a man to change his name, but it's entirely legal. A friend of the ex took his wife's last name as his was Smith, and there were just too many Smiths out there.
@theInsaneRodent
2 жыл бұрын
@@mikespangler98 another example, from the 14th century, which I posted in another comment: Last name changes in male lines were not unheard of, primarily for second sons, which Mr Collins must have descended from. For example the background of some person with the name Hall: "one of the Lincolnshire family of Halls of Grantham, the ancestor of which, on marriage with an heiress of the Halls, assumed the name and arms. William Fitzwilliam, son of Thomas, and brother of John Fitzwilliam, 14th cent., was the person alluded to who took the name of Hall"
@joanhuffman2166
2 жыл бұрын
@@EllieDashwood while men do occasionally change their last name, it's rare enough that people would remark on it.
@elizabethhubler8698
2 жыл бұрын
Your sources are amazing! Thank you for all your research!
@EllieDashwood
2 жыл бұрын
Aw! Thank you!!! Thanks so much for watching!!!
@christyb2912
2 жыл бұрын
I love when you get into legal and society details - you are SO knowledgeable thank you!
@siramea
2 жыл бұрын
Mrs Bennet is probably only 40 around years old. A surprise baby is possible.
@edithengel2284
8 ай бұрын
Yes. I am guessing from the information we get about the early days of their marriage, that she was quite young at the time, perhaps as young as 16 or 17. We know Jane, the eldest child, is twenty-two at the time of the novel, so she could be as young as 38. Not impossible to bear a child then, although perhaps Mr. Bennet has ceased to think the struggle is worth it. 🙂
@ah5721
2 жыл бұрын
I think I read once in a furniture book of Americas earlier years is that most movable goods, ie linens, furniture , jewelry etc were gifted to the females of the family apon the matriarch's death so that was some small comfort. 😑😒🙄 . What I would entail to my children depends on what age they are when I'm am about to pass and what I know they will do with it based on personalities. If I knew my son was a good for nothing rake or my daughter was was frivolous spender I would leave them nothing. However, I am training my son as young as 7 to be careful and mindful with money and to appreciate well build things. My daughter 4 is to young to understand such stuff . So my entailswould only include things they really love or would or could use
@steffaniabercrombierealtor3343
2 жыл бұрын
Since we are talking about inheritance, I’ve always wondered about sense and sensibility. Win Eleanor‘s love interest tells his mother that he is going to marry the other woman, she disinherit him and gift the money to his brother. Of course the fiancé quickly breaks up with him and moved onto the brother who she marries because he has inherited all money. So why didn’t the mother disinherit the brother? That’s always bug me. Maybe you could do a video on That lol
@e.urbach7780
2 жыл бұрын
If I remember correctly, Mrs. Ferrars does disinherit Edward's brother Robert Ferrars after he marries Lucy Steele, and settles all of the money on her daughter Fanny Dashwood.
@edithengel2284
8 ай бұрын
@@e.urbach7780 Mrs. Ferrars does not entirely disinherit Edward, as she settles some money on him upon his marriage to Elinor. Robert does inherit the lion's share of the estate. Presumably Fanny already had a settlement made on her at the time of her marriage.
@Roxxxaneee
2 жыл бұрын
Maybe a naive question but I always wondered : if Mr. Bennet and Mr. Collins are from the same male line, how come they don't have the same last name?
@archervine8064
2 жыл бұрын
I think you are likely right, as Mrs Bennet would certainly make some ‘unless one of you has a son before your father dies, that horrible Mr Collins will inherit’ comment if it was applicable. The one thing I did wonder about though is that Mr Collins is described as a *distant* cousin. Would there be any way a hypothetical entail could be written to prefer a grandson, even via a daughter, to inherit over a more distant relation even if that would have been highly unusual?
@tessat338
2 жыл бұрын
It wasn't unusual, especially if the boy already were already born. This was why marriage settlement documents were so important and why just eloping without the family's permission could be such a disaster for all parties involve.
@economath8164
2 жыл бұрын
The good ole Rule Against Perpetuities strikes again.
@rachelporter-chastain6067
2 жыл бұрын
I was someone who was wondering if one of the Bennett sister's had a son if he could inherit. Though to be honest I had assumed if it were p
@austreneland
2 жыл бұрын
What is your source for the “entail cutoff” thing? It sounds like you’re referring to the Rule against Perpetuities, but that’s not really how the rule against perpetuities works.
@laurensussman6668
2 жыл бұрын
Ok, but what if Mr Collins doesn’t have a son? Then where does the entail go? The line of the eldest grandson? Or some random cousin again?
@MinniMintz
Жыл бұрын
Hm, makes me wonder. If there were a closer male relation, like a nephew, but it passed through the female line, would Mr. Collins as a cousin through the male line, still inherit?
@edithengel2284
8 ай бұрын
No passing through a female line, regardless of nearness of relation. Mr. Collins will inherit unless Mr. Bennet is widowed, marries again, and has a son, or unless Mr. Collins predeceases Mr. Bennet. If Mr. Collins has a son, that son will inherit Longbourn unless he too predeceases Mr. Bennet. If Mr. Collins only has daughters or is childless, the inheritance would pass to another part of the family, unless, again, Mr. Bennet remarries and has a son.
@mariaineslopez1015
2 жыл бұрын
I would like you to talk about what happened to Maria's life, unjustly punished by Jane Austen. Indeed, having more moral rigor than Darcy himself, what is considered in Darcy in Maria is seen as ridiculous, simply because he is poor. Moreover, Mary, due to her responsibility, is left in charge of her mother; that she would have chosen to be with Kitty but surely the latter abandoned her ("let Mary take over"). And Elisabeth seeks to improve Kitty by inviting her to be part of her luxurious life, and it seems that she distances herself from her mother and of course from the responsible sister who takes care of her. what do you think?
@mariaineslopez1015
2 жыл бұрын
In the same video you could consider the chances of success that Georgiana has being a great piano player, but a woman.
@mariaineslopez1015
2 жыл бұрын
even Darcy lists Mary as classless.
@edithengel2284
2 жыл бұрын
I believe Jane Austen said to a relative that she thought Mary would go on to marry a clerk in her Uncle Gardiner's law office. I am also of the belief that Mrs. Bennet's married daughters would see their mother and have her stay with them, if she lived after Mr. Bennet passed away. I don't think the whole thing would have fallen entirely on Mary's shoulders--and at least at the end of the novel, Mr. Bennet is still alive and living with her. Darcy and Bingley both have enough money to ensure that Mary and Mrs. Bennet would be well taken care of. My own feeling is that Mary has only a sort of intellectual moral rigor, especially as she doesn't seem to relate very well to other people. She seems rather narcissistic to me, but naturally opinions differ!
Пікірлер: 578