#7 Mrs Jennings Sense and Sensibility

When we first meet Mrs Jennings, it’s hard not to find her grating; she’s very interested in teasing single young ladies (especially Elinor over a certain young gentleman whose name begins with ‘F’). While Mrs Jennings is visiting Barton Park jokes abound, yet once Marianne and Elinor travel with her to London we begin to see a different side to her. They are in her care and this is a responsibility that Mrs Jennings happily wants and acts on. She has been a caring mother for her own two daughters and the Miss Dashwoods are treated no differently

This is taken further on their return journey home. While staying with the Palmers, Marianne becomes so ill it is uncertain as to whether she will live – Mrs Jennings doesn’t leave Marianne as the Palmers do (due to the nature of her illness and they have a new born baby) instead she insists on staying and nursing Marianne. Jokes no longer abound and we are shown her genuine loving and caring nature.

Self-absorbed – no.

Hidden depths – definitely.

 

#6 Miss Bates Emma

Now I have to admit that I like Mrs Bates, for all her prattling on I have a large soft spot for her.

Why? Because (apart from the fact I think she’s superbly written), she is the daughter of the old clergyman at Highbury and she has devoted herself to her family, despite his death leading them to falling on hard times. Her sister and brother in-law both die, leaving behind a very young daughter whom Miss Bates does her best to look after and bring up. She remains part of her niece’s life when the Campbells step in and take the niece in as a companion for their daughter. Miss Bates then looks after her old mother. You cannot question Miss Bates caring nature or kindness and I think that these are qualities which are often over looked.

On the surface it is hard for the reader not to agree with Emma that Miss Bates is the village bore, suffering from an appalling case of verbal diarrhoea. Yet when you scratch the surface there is an awareness within Miss Bates that many self-absorbed characters don’t have. We see it when Emma puts Miss Bates down in front of everyone at the party at Box Hill. Miss Bates feels the rebuke and replies, “Yes. I see what she means… and I will try to hold my tongue. I must make myself very disagreeable, or she would not have said such a thing to an old friend.” Due to her self-awareness, we feel her pain and in my opinion that says it all. We wouldn’t if she was one of the other ladies that I’ve written about here…

Self-absorbed – no more than the rest of us.

Hidden depths – absolutely.

 

#5 Charlotte Palmer Sense and Sensibility

On the surface Charlotte Palmer appears to be a very light weight character, positioned as she is as a foil to her husband, the equally unlikable Mr Palmer. Yet I think she is trying to cover for her husband. What she calls wit we’d call rudeness in Mr Palmer’s comments, or equally at times, lack of them (when they are required). Her laughter at his supposed wit is definitely a coping mechanism and I think that this shows that she’s not quite as simple as she appears.

Self absorbed – no.

Hidden depths – I don’t think she’s masterfully intelligent, but yes, there is a little more going on there than meets the eye.

 

#4 Mrs Bennet Pride and Prejudice

Is probably best known as suffering from her nerves and it’s easy to dismiss her straight away as annoying her husband (though he does enjoy teasing her). She has born Mr Bennet five daughters, and will have felt it more keenly than anyone else, the responsibility of them now losing the inheritance of their home upon the death of her husband to his distant cousin.

She may be brash and her comments would invariably be better left unsaid but her fundamental concern is for her daughters. Yes, she does take their affairs to heart giving herself the vapours and levels of stress which a calmer head wouldn’t do, but she is not a negligent mother and in her own, maddening way, she does care for he daughters.

Self absorbed – yes, but at least she is active (maybe a little too much) in her daughters’ lives.   

Hidden depths – I think Mr Bennet may have given up looking for these a long time ago, but she does care for her family.

 

#3 Mary Musgrove Persuasion

I could include Elizabeth Elliot as a silly, self-absorbed character but I think with her it’s pure vanity, so instead I am focussing on her youngest sister. Mary Musgrove is definitely a self-absorbed character, her only concern is for herself and how she suffers – for her the grass is always greener where she isn’t. Jane Austen can therefore allow her to be annoying in many areas rather than just one.

Thus Mary must be the one to nurse Louisa back to health (or at least claim the right to stay at Lyme Regis), Mary has to attend the dinner with Charles to meet Captain Wentworth, Mary has to accompany everyone everywhere and yet be fatigued by it all if it does not quite go to her liking. She constantly complains of ill health while she is obviously quite well. I feel she could do with a large helping of Ru Paul’s advice – “If you can’t love yourself then how in the hell you gonna love somebody else.” This is the root of all of what’s wrong with Mary Musgrove.

Self-absorbed – definitely.

Hidden depths – very good at getting what she wants, which isn’t really a positive for anyone else…

 

#2 Mrs Allen Northanger Abbey

Mrs Allen is, to put it frankly, completely useless. Like Mrs Jennings in Sense and Sensibility,Mrs Allen offers to take a young girl into her care and yet unlike Mrs Jennings, who really does care for Marianne and Elinor, Mrs Allen only cares for herself. It is hard not to see Jane Austen sharpening her quill and lampooning certain ladies who have crossed her path over the years. Despite Catherine Morland wanting to learn from her, Mrs Allen gives no moral guidance whatsoever – all of her thoughts lead straight to the contents of her wardrobe.

I think Mrs Allen is best summed up near the end of the novel when Catherine is sent home – alone – by General Tilney. Catherine and her parents go to visit their neighbours, the Allens who have by now returned from Bath. When Mr Allen hears of how Catherine was made to leave the Tilneys, he is outraged. Mrs Allen merely quotes him (as she frequently does, it is far too much effort to come up with any responses of her own), before adding “Only think, my dear, of having got that frightful great rent in my best Mechlin so charmingly mended, before I left Bath, that one can hardly see where it was.” Which literally has nothing to do with the conversation. I think this moment sums her up perfectly. Nothing else matters to her.

Self-absorbed – definitely.

Hidden depths – none.

 

#1 Lady Bertram Mansfield Park

Is arguably one of the most unpleasant ladies that Jane Austen ever penned. Yes, she may conform to all of society’s norms, but all that shows is that she is a façade. Her only positive feature is that she loves her pug.

Her children are at Mansfield Park but she shows no active interest in their welfare or in any form of parenting them. As long as pug is not bothered she is content, I don’t say happy as that involves a level of activity that I’m not sure Lady Bertram could reach. It is her complete inaction, her languor taken to such extremes by Austen that makes her – although literally at Mansfield Park with her children and Fanny – a very negligent parent and aunt. Mrs Norris is able to bully her way to whatever she thinks is best and it is down to her son, Edward, to step in at times to redress a balance – something that Lady Bertram should be doing. Life is just too much of an effort for Lady Bertram.

Self-absorbed – definitely.

Hidden depths – none.