Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 1
Something I see online and in Jane Austen fan fiction from time to time is the idea that Mr. Collins is so devoted to Lady Catherine because she could revoke his living and position as rector. This is absolutely false. So why is Mr. Collins such a suck-up?
First, I’ll explain why Lady Catherine cannot fire her rector. Mr. Collins is an employee of the Church of England. Lady Catherine only is allowed to choose the person who will next hold a living within her “gift”, after that, it’s out of her hands. If a rector did something egregious, she would be able to petition for his removal, but this was nearly impossible, as explained in this example by Bredna S. Cox in the book Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England.
Dr. Free seduced his housekeepers, resulting in five illegitimate children; caused one of the women to miscarry; let his pigs desecrate the graveyard, and kept cattle on the church porch; sold the lead off the church roof; cut down and sold trees not belonging to him; left the parish for long periods of time; and refused to marry and bury his parishioners. Eventually, when he offended a gentry family over a burial, they lodged a complaint. This led to seven years of expensive trials, at the Bishop of Lincoln’s personal expense. Finally Dr. Free was removed from his living, eventually dying as a beggar. (Ch 10)
As I cannot see Mr. Collins doing anything close to this level, his removal is highly unlikely.
So if he can’t be fired, why the fawning?
As Elizabeth observes: Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours. (Ch 30)
It was possible for clergymen to hold multiple livings. They would install a curate for about £50/year and pocket the rest of the income. Alternatively, if the livings were close together, a clergyman could preach at different times in two different churches. Mr. & Mrs. Collins are most likely on a charm campaign to secure another income. This was called “pluralism” and is discussed in Austen’s other novels, specifically Mansfield Park, in which Sir Thomas was holding two different livings to eventually gift to his son Edmund Bertram.
There is another reason worth mentioning: Mr. Collins is grateful! He was extremely lucky to be gifted a living so young and without doing much to secure it. He basically won the lottery and it was she who did it. There were many clergymen who spent their entire careers without holding a living.
Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection in which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner; but it was now a good deal counteracted by the self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity. A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.
This living is also a good one! Lady Catherine has no sons and the Hunsford living is very close to her estate. This makes it likely that the living was intended for a de Bourgh younger son or relation. The income was likely between £500-700/annum, based on the fact that Mr. Collins keeps a gig and horse (that wasn’t cheap), the income that Edmund Bertram expects to receive from his family living in Mansfield Park, and that Mr. Collins believes he can marry upon his present income. Colonel Brandon, Edward Ferrars, and Elinor Dashwood all agree in Sense & Sensibility that it would be madness to marry with only a living worth £200/annum, so Mr. Collins’ income must be higher than that or Charlotte wouldn’t have had him!
Lastly, we know that Mr. Collins doesn’t have any other relations or connections to brag about. Lady Catherine is the most interesting and prestigious person he knows; of course, he’s going to talk about her! It’s also important to keep in mind that he just got this job:
She had been graciously pleased to approve of both the discourses which he had already had the honour of preaching before her. She had also asked him twice to dine at Rosings, and had sent for him only the Saturday before, to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening.
He’s only preached in front of her twice! We don’t know what Lady Catherine’s church attendance is like (it may be poor), but Mr. Collins has likely only had the job for a brief time, maybe two or three months. Perhaps in a few years time, he won’t mention Lady Catherine in every other sentence.
Or at least that’s what I hope for Charlotte’s sake!
More:
The Problem with Portrayals of Mr. Collins
Why the Tour of Pemberley Matters: Part 1 and Part 2
How well could Caroline Bingley expect to marry?
Could Mr. Bennet have Saved Enough for Decent Fortunes on his Income?
What do we Really Know about Colonel Fitzwilliam?
My published novels:
Prideful & Persuaded – a Jane Austen cross-over romance staring Caroline Bingley
Unfairly Caught – a Mansfield Park variation
Leave a Reply