"Her husband, however, would not agree with her here; for... his cousin Charles Hayter was an eldest son, and he saw things as an eldest son himself." --Persuasion, Chapter 9

    "Sir Williams Mountague was the son of Sir Henry Mountague, who was the son of Sir John Mountague, a descendant of Sir Christopher Mountague, who was the nephew of Sir Edward Mountague, whose ancestor was Sir James Mountague, a near relation of Sir Robert Mountague, who inherited the Title & Estate from Sir Frederic Mountague." --Sir William Mountague

    An entail was a legal device used to prevent a landed property from being broken up, and/or from descending in a female line. This is a logical extension of the then-prevalent practice of leaving the bulk of one's wealth (particularly real estate) to one's eldest son or "heir" (thus Darcy has an income of ?10.000 a year, representing a wealth of about ?200.000; similarly, Bingley has ?100.000, and his two sisters ?20.000 apiece).
 
 

* Accomplishments / * Feminism in Jane Austen / * Marriage and the alternatives: the status of women / * Legalities of marriage / * Money and marriage / * "Settlements" / * Male progenture succession / * Legal motivation for entails / * Legal aspects of entails / * Attitudes to the entail in Pride and Prejudice / * "Sister" and "Brother"; "Alliance" / * Return