Could Mr. Bennet Have Saved Money For His Daughters?

Could Mr. Bennet have saved money for his daughters?

I am the sort of person who hears that girls would have so many thousand in their fortunes (JA never uses the word “dowry”, fun fact) and I cannot understand how someone with £2000/year makes a £3000 pound lump sum for their daughter. Because my brain doesn’t math very well inside itself. So I made up some tables to see what Mr. Bennet could have done if he was prudent.

First, let’s be realistic, how much can they save? I am giving three different scenarios, £25, £50, and £100 per annum per daughter. £100 each I think might be a little high, since their income is £2000 a year, that would be 25% of their income! I think £50 is well within reason, that would be only £250 per annum and therefore 12% of their income.

I did both 4% and 5% interest. These are both government bonds. I know that both are mentioned in Jane Austen’s works. The 4% might be safer and a better investment for a dowry. But there isn’t a huge difference. Anyway, here is Jane’s dowry, over 21 years:

Even if they saved only £50/year, Jane now has almost £2000 as a dowry. It’s not the £10k worthy of a baronet, but that is certainly a good start! 

If the Bennets tried hard and save £100 per year, she has almost £4000, which is what her mother brought to the marriage. Even the modest £25 per year would give the girls £1000 each by their 21st birthday, which if their father died would be combined with the £1000 stipulated in the marriage articles and give them a comfortable income. Even John Dashwood acknowledges in Sense & Sensibility that increasing his half-sister’s fortunes from £1000 to £2000 would make a big difference in their comfort (and then he doesn’t do it because he and his wife are the worst).

An alternative plan would be to put aside the £4000 that Mrs. Bennet brought into the marriage and only reinvest that income. It does seem that the mother’s money was often locked up in a “life interest” and then given to the children, which is true for the Bennets as well. Just saving the initial £4000 and never adding to it except re-investing the income would have yielded around  £11,00, or £2200 for each daughter.

Also, I really want to know how the son plan would have worked in the first place. Like Mr. Bennet Jr. is going to agree to break the entail and sell off a bunch of his inheritance, when he could just keep the entail and then get the whole pie? Or was the plan just to burden his own son with the care of a mom and five sisters? Not clear. Probably also a bad plan.

I liked the contrast of Chase knocking Omi out but making sure to catch and hold him gently in your fic! Reminds me of how Chase reached out to take Omi's hand and pull him back to his feet after their spar in The Evil Within.

Thank you! 😊 I'm glad you liked it!

Oh, that was a good scene in XS. 😆

One of my favorite things is how gentle Chase's smile look when he's smiling at Omi sometimes. It's so rare and such a contrast. Sometimes he even has that soft smile at Omi while he's plotting something evil, like during Judging Omi.

I just wanted to say that you write that aspect of Chase really, really well in your fanfics!

The fact that they genuinely care about each other is such a good part of their relationship, and I'm so glad that it comes through in my writing!

😊 Thank you!

that first chap of your caroline au has me on the edge of my seat! an ancient malevolence...

Thank you! 😊 I'm so glad! I'll be quite excited to reveal who that is. 😆

do you take requests?

It depends on the request. 😀 Any ideas can be asked for. But it might take me a while to get to said requests.

And there are a few that I probably just won't want to do. But all requests are welcome. 🙂

(I am going on the assumption you're asking about xiaolin showdown since that's the only fandom I'm in at this time. 😆)

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Omi & Chase Young (Xiaolin Showdown) Characters: Hannibal Roy Bean, Chase Young (Xiaolin Showdown), Omi (Xiaolin Showdown), Chase Young's Fallen Warriors Summary:

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