Sense and Sensibility
Lady Middleton
The cold hostess
Sir John’s elegant, reserved wife, who prefers politeness to warmth and dotes on her children.
Lady Middleton is Sir John’s wife and Mrs. Jennings’s daughter. She is reserved, vain and obsessed with propriety, with nothing to say beyond the most common-place inquiry. She is elegant but cold.
Her spoiled children are the center of her attention, and she is easily won by anyone who praises them. Her interest in a guest rarely goes beyond what is required by manners. She offers company that is formal and cool, and she is easily pleased by anyone who flatters her family. Her home, Barton Park, is comfortable but not warm.
“I hope you find the cottage tolerably comfortable, Miss Dashwood.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
At Barton Park Lady Middleton asks the Dashwoods if the cottage is tolerably comfortable, about the extent of her conversation. The Steele sisters win her good opinion by fawning on her children, and she agrees that they are remarkably fine.
She is part of the social round that frames the story, but she never shows warmth to the Dashwoods. Her coolness never thaws.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
