I have noticed that Austen’s villains, although mean-spirited and self involved, exercise supreme reign within their family structures. Fanny and Mrs. Ferrars are awful, but at the same time, as women of the early 19th century, they are, to some degree, in command of the world around them in a way that is not expected. Fanny manipulates John Dashwood to no end, and generally gets what she wants. Mrs. Ferrars is just as rude and selfish as her daughter, and she has the additional advantage of being in charge of her money (I’m guessing…). This allows her to control her sons for quite sometime. Although both Fanny and Mrs. Ferrars do not get their way in the end, at least in regards to Edward (and its hard to imagine the Fanny-John dynamic ever changing…) they still have a degree of power that is more than expected. This makes me wonder what is the purpose of these female characters – they are unlikable and villainous, but more powerful in regards to the world around them than perhaps was normal.
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