The law behind entails showed the usual British legal tendency to accumulation of complexity over time, so that only a true expert could explain all the arcane ramifications (for example, in Jane Austen's period what was called an "entail" was technically a "strict settlement"), but it may be mentioned that entails had to be periodically renewed, and could be "broken" with the consent of a heir who has come of age (cf. Chapter 50: "When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless, for, of course, they were to have a son. This son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for").

    If Mr. Collins were to leave only daughters on his death, and there were no further patrilineal heirs lurking in the wings behind Mr. Collins, I don't know whether Longbourn would be then actually revert to the Bennet daughters upon the death of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Collins (as would be predicted by strict application of the principle of seniority); it's certainly an intriguing possibility (though if the entail were considered to have come to an end with the death of the last male-line heir, then the estate would be divided among Mr. Collin's daughters by the normal operation of common law).
 
 

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