Many people miss the fact that Jane Austen was using Sir John and Lady Middleton, Mrs. Jennings, and Mr. and Mrs. Palmer’s treatment of the Dashwood women as a reference to be compared to how Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood treated them. John Dashwood is the brother (even if “only half blood” Ch. 2) of the girls and the step-son of Mrs. Dashwood. The family and blood ties between them were, therefore, much closer than the ties to the Barton family of whom only Sir John Middleton, a cousin of Mrs. Dashwood, was known to them before their move having “formerly visited at Stanhill, but it was too long for his young cousins to remember him.” (Ch. 6) It was, therefore, expected by society that Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood had a greater responsibility to care for the Dashwood ladies. We can see, by the fact that even the Middletons and their friends and relations do not look down on John and Fanny Dashwood for their lack of care and civility toward the Dashwood ladies, the little they have done has filled society’s expectations of them.
***
As stated
above, John Dashwood is the older, half-brother of the Dashwood sisters. His
father requested that he assist his step-mother and sisters, but “his assistance extended no farther than
their maintenance for six months at Norland.” (Ch. 5)
At first, John
suggests three ways in which he might help his sisters and step-mother financially,
but all of his ideas are shot down by his wife. At first, he suggested giving them
£3,000, but his wife claimed he “would be impoverishing” their son of his future inheritance. He then halves
the amount to which his wife answers, “What brother on earth would do half so much for his
sisters, even if really his sisters?” She not only rejects the
idea, but she uses their status as half-siblings to manipulate her husband into
thinking that the relationship is really too insignificant to consider the need
to help them. Finally, he suggests giving an annuity of “a hundred a year” “for
their mother while she lives.” To this his wife hesitates before telling him
that “people always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid them,” and
she convinces him that they might end up losing even more money than if they gave
a set amount. (Ch. 2) After that, John did not give
any amount of money or an annuity to the ladies then or in the future; however,
“he so frequently talked of the increasing expenses… and of the perpetual
demands upon his purse… that he seemed rather to stand in need of more money
himself than to have any design of giving money away.” (Ch. 5)
Mr.
and Mrs. John Dashwood’s worries about money are just excuses to be stingy and
greedy. We know this because in Chapter One, it is
stated that John “was amply provided for by the fortune of his mother, which
had been large, and half of which devolved on him on his coming of age. By
his own marriage, likewise, which happened soon afterwards, he added to
his wealth.” While it was not mentioned until the end of the book, we learn
about Fanny’s dowry when it’s stated “nor was anything promised [Edward] either for the present or in future, beyond the
ten thousand pounds, which had been given with Fanny.” (Ch. 40) Meanwhile,
Mr. Henry Dashwood had “only £7,000 in his own disposal; for the
remaining moiety of his first wife’s fortune was also secured to her child, and
he had only a life-interest in it.” Which means that John Dashwood was already
quite wealthy, and, upon his father’s death, his fortune increased in more ways
than one. He not only received “the remaining moiety of his [mother’s]
fortune” but also the yearly income of Norland Park and all that it
entailed.
However, the widowed
Mrs. Dashwood “had nothing” (Ch. 1) referring to her lack of property or any
dowry. When Old Mr. Dashwood—the uncle of Mr. Henry Dashwood—died, “he left [the
three girls] £1,000 a-piece.” So, when
Mr. Henry Dashwood passed away, “ten
thousand pounds, including the late legacies, was all that remained for his widow and daughters.”
(Ch. 1)
To be honest,
John Dashwood is not necessarily a bad brother on his own. “His attentive behaviour to [Mrs. Dashwood] and his
sisters convinced [the former] that their welfare was dear to him, and, for a
long time, she firmly relied on the liberality of his intentions.” John was not unkind to his family, and his MIL was sure
that he would be generous in helping them with finances and anything else. Had
he been single, or married to a better person, this may have been the case
since he originally intended to give them £3,000 which, while not a lot, he probably assumed was
a fair amount since it was equal to his late great-uncle’s gift to the girls.
Such and amount would have provided the ladies more than £100 more per annum, along with better dowries. It was his wife, Fanny, who manipulated
him and convinced him that any such monetary aid was unnecessary. However, there was much more that he could
have done to help his sister’s than just speaking of their finances. He has a large country house now. He could
have made them feel welcome, offered them a cottage, prepared other living
arrangements for them, offered to host them in London during the next season,
introduced them to young gentlemen, etc. In the end though, he did not, and,
had he tried, his wife probably would have put a stop to any such plans.
***
Fanny
Dashwood is the wife of John Dashwood; this makes her the (step)
daughter-in-law of Mrs. Dashwood. The two have met before, and do not get along.
“Mrs. John Dashwood had
never been a favourite with any of her husband's family; but she had had no
opportunity, till the present, of showing them with how little attention to
the comfort of other people she could act when occasion required it.” Fanny
seems to feel that her only obligation to her mother-in-law is to disoblige
her whenever opportunity arises. This is shown when, “No sooner was [Mr. John
Dashwood’s] father's funeral over, than Mrs. John Dashwood, without sending
any notice of her intention to her mother-in-law, arrived with her child
and their attendants. No one could dispute her right to come; the house was her
husband's from the moment of his father's decease; but the indelicacy of her
conduct was so much the greater, and to a woman in Mrs. Dashwood's
situation, with only common feelings, must have been highly unpleasing.” (Ch.
1)
Fanny Dashwood
is shown from the start to be an unpleasant woman, not just from her husband’s
family’s opinion of her but through her own words and actions, and she does not
at all improve on acquaintance. Not
only is she a greedy, selfish, snob, but she also seems to think very highly of
herself. For instance, it is
unlikely that Fanny has the experience of running an estate. As far as we
know, Fanny’s family has a much smaller estate than Norland which is “the
Norfolk estate, which, clear of land-tax, brings in a good thousand-a-year.” (Ch.
37) It seems to be their only family holding as Mrs. Ferrars is constantly using
it as a bargaining chip to gain her sons’ compliance to her will. Meanwhile, her
family always seems to be in London (or Plymouth); therefore, it is likely they
are leaving the running of their estate in the care of a steward. Even if Fanny
has some experience in helping her mother with their home, she would not have
the experience of running an estate even half the size of Norland, yet she still does not even pretend to
request help or advice from her mother-in-law, disregarding her experience
and knowledge entirely. This shows us that she is likely too full of conceit for
her own perceived intelligence in such matters.
Fanny’s
treatment of the Dashwood women is as poor relations that are simply hanging
about and trying to get ‘more than they deserve’. However, due to her horrible
personality and greedy nature as shown from her first entrance into the story,
many readers are so busy loathing her and assuming that it is only her own
wicked personality which causes her actions that they miss the facts. The truth is that she acted with the bare
minimum of civility that was required of her by society; therefore,
socially there was nothing wrong with her treatment of the Dashwood ladies, it
is only her moral and ethical behavior that is in question; but what is that to
society?
Fanny’s
treatment of the Dashwood girls is, for the most part, polite—at least on the
outside. However, actions speak louder than words. When her brother, Edwards,
arrives and shows too much attention to the poor Miss Dashwood, it happens “to make her uneasy, and at the same time, (which was still
more common,) to make her uncivil. She took the first opportunity of
affronting her mother-in-law on the occasion, talking to her so
expressively of her brother's great expectations, of Mrs. Ferrars's resolution
that both her sons should marry well, and of the danger attending any young
woman who attempted to draw him in, that Mrs. Dashwood could
neither pretend to be unconscious, nor endeavor to be calm. She gave her an
answer which marked her contempt, and instantly left the room, resolving that,
whatever might be the inconvenience or expense of so sudden a removal, her
beloved Elinor should not be exposed another week to such insinuations.”
(Ch. 4) Fanny basically declares Elinor a fortune hunter and accuses her indirectly
of using her ‘arts and allurements’ to try and catch Edward. Fanny knows that
Elinor is a very good girl and would make her brother a very good and useful
wife, but, since Elinor has no connections or fortune, Fanny is vicious in
chasing her off from him.
***
While there is
much more that can be said about Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood, I feel that this
is more than enough for us to fully understand their characters.
Which other Jane Austen characters do you think share characteristics or character archetypes with these two? Give reasons and examples why.
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