Persuasion 200 – Mrs. Clay’s Aspirations for the Future

finalcobblogo Sir Walter Elliot, Miss Elliot, and Mrs. Clay have finally arrived in Bath, their new home, and sent the carriage horses back to Kellynch. They have found a lovely home in Camden Place…



Mrs. Clay looked around her room in Camden Place with satisfaction. It was lofty and elegantly appointed…far, far more elegantly appointed than the small bedroom she shared with her children at her father’s house! Who would trade Chinese silk wallpaper for faded paper and chintz curtains? Not to mention the annoyance of having to sleep in the same room with her restless children, one of whom talked in his sleep!

She did not give a thought to the difficulties with which her parents must deal having the full care of her rambunctious and, she admitted it, ill-behaved offspring, but it was not her fault that their father was a worthless, self-indulgent cad who would abandon his wife and children and leave them without any means of support! It was not to be borne! Besides, this trip to Bath was an investment in their future…she was sacrificing her time with her children to find an opportunity for a long term answer to their financial dilemma.

Perhaps she could meet someone in Bath who would not mind a wife without money, consequence, or background…and who had a couple of small encumbrances. But then, if the encumbrances were the only problem, her parents would surely continue to care for them…after all, a nursery maid does not cost much, and without her there there was plenty of room in the bedroom for the nursemaid to sleep. Her father would be very happy to see here settled permanently, so he would not have to worry about her or his grandchildren after he was gone.

An older gentlemen would be ideal…one who would enjoy the sound of children around the house and appreciate someone to deal with the housekeeping, ordering the meals, etc., and make his life very comfortable. She paused in her unpacking, holding a pile of shifts in her hands. But would she be able to find someone like that? Perhaps she should dress in grey and lavender and let them think she was a widow…not in black as if she was freshly mourning a beloved husband, but half-mourning. A kind woman with sadness behind her, but bravely facing the future alone, her friends in the gentry trying to cheer her up.

She sat down on her soft, beautiful four poster bed and smoothed the silk coverlet. Perhaps she would have to take a position as a housekeeper and then cajole her employer into marrying her. It had certainly happened before, and if she could find someone of the tradesman class, with some real money, mind you, the social divide between them would not be great…after all, her father was a lawyer and highly respectable.  Not at all a man to disgust a wealthy tradesman…and the tradesman might think that her father would provide legal services for him for free!

But how would she get to know a tradesman when the Elliots would avoid them like they were plague-ridden? She could certainly do as many errands for her friends as possible and become acquainted with all the tradesmen in the area, but how much time would she have to chat with a busy tradesman who had other customers to care for? Perhaps doing her errands very early in the morning or just before closing, when trade has died off…

She sighed with pleasure, then paused again. But what of the Elliots? They certainly provided her with the means to become acquainted with a higher class of man…perhaps even a gentleman! She pictured herself as the doyenne of a house similar to that in Camden Place…dressed in silk and with real pearls around her neck, instead of the glass beads colored with fish scales she wore!

When her husband had purchased them for her, back when they were courting, she had been fooled into thinking that they were real pearls. She would not make that mistake again! She would have an honest man if she had to lie through her teeth to get him!

But what about Sir Walter? She had overheard him criticizing her sandy coloring and her tooth that was out of line, but he seemed to be softening in his attitude, mostly because of Miss Elliot’s defense of her.  It was true that her defense consisted mostly of comments about her low birth and how she could not help being less perfect than the Elliots, but still, it was a start, and Miss Elliot seemed to be unable to be happy without her around to purr, and bow, and grovel and make her feel like a queen.

At this point Miss Elliot would undoubtedly object to her father marrying a tradesman’s daughter, but she and her father were so oblivious to Mrs. Clay’s objectives in coming to Bath with them that it was quite possible that they could be won over.

The Elliots’ financial position was another consideration.  She knew from her father that the Elliots were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, hence the leasing out of Kellynch and the move to Bath.

But, if she did not meet someone with more money, Sir Walter, for all his stupidity, would be a catch for a solicitor’s daughter, and there was all that property at Kellynch to provide income. She could certainly make the household much more economical if it was under her hand…including cutting off the extravagant Miss Elliot.

Certainly, she would have a much better chance without Miss Anne around. That Miss Anne, for all her softness and compliance, had a sharp and understanding intelligence and she kept a close eye on Mrs. Clay when she was visiting Miss Elliot. It quite put Mrs. Clay off her feed when she could feel those cow’s eyes on her while taking tea with Miss Elliot!

Well, Miss Anne had been called to her sister’s house at Uppercross to care for that whiny Mrs. Musgrove, who always fancied herself dying when she had even the mildest indisposition. Miss Elliot had commented on it many times before, but she would not be lured there to nurse her sister, and, in fact, was not requested by Mrs. Musgrove. Even thinking of having the elegant Miss Elliot cooing over a foolish sister was ludicrous!

Undoubtedly, Mrs. Musgrove would find it impossible to get on without her sister to support her flagging spirits, and would make her stay for months.  So Mrs. Clay had at least 2 months to wrap Sir Walter (and Miss Elizabeth) tightly around her finger.

A gentle tap at the door caught her attention. “Come in!” Mrs. Clay called melodiously, and Miss Elliot stepped in.

“My dear Mrs. Clay! You should have had one of the maids help you unpack!”

“You know I don’t want to be a bother, my dear Miss Elliot…I’m only here as a companion for you. I don’t expect to be treated like a part of the family!”

“Don’t be so foolish, my dear Mrs. Clay! You are as welcome here as my own sister…even more so.  And you are a guest not an employee! Such needless scruples you have, my dear!  Now come, tea is ready and my father is asking for you.”

Mrs. Clay smiled. “Your dear father is so kind…and so welcoming to a stranger.” She dumped the shifts into the drawer and followed her friend out.

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15 comments

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  1. I enjoyed reading about Mrs. Clay’s background. Cary. I never really thought about where she came from. Thank you for the insight.

    • Carole in Canada on August 31, 2014 at 10:23 am
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    Loved getting inside Mrs. Clay’s head and it’s just as I imagined! Such plotting she has been doing and thinking about! At the end of the chapter, Elizabeth reminded me of Fanny Dashwood and how she was with Lucy Steele before she found out Lucy was secretly engaged to Edward! I loved how it was portrayed in the movie!

    1. Jane Austen doesn’t let us see Elizabeth’s reaction to Mrs. Clay’s decampment with William Elliot, but I suspect it might be very similar to Fanny Dashwood’s! The only difference is that Elizabeth is so superior that she might hide her feelings, considering it to be low class to shriek…but I bet she threw a few things at her maid!

    • Sheila L. M. on August 31, 2014 at 12:14 pm
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    Carole – that is a good comparison. I never thought of it but so true! When I read of Mrs. Clay or see her in the movies it is as if you can see the wheels turning in her head as how to slink and cower, bow and kiss A**! And I have always wondered about her first marriage….is she divorced? Can’t imagine the upbringing 2 children are getting when their mother neglects them so. You and I are grandparents but I, for one, do not have the energy to begin rearing children all over again. Love babysitting but glad to go home to recover…LOL
    I always got the impression that she was not above becoming Mr. Eliot’s paramour in the one movie! How Sir Walter and Elizabeth felt used at the end – stupid people!

    1. It would not be quite the same, however, as Mr. Shepherd could hire a nursemaid, so they would probably not have to physically take care of the children, but I don’t get the impression that Mr. Shepherd was a doting grandparent. Maybe they just didn’t say. He certainly didn’t discourage his daughter from going off with the Elliots for months!

      • Carole in Canada on August 31, 2014 at 6:42 pm
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      Yes, Sheila, I agree. I wouldn’t want to be rearing children all over again either. Love to have them and see them but am happy to give them back! Recover is a very good word. We are settled into our own routines now, that it can be exhausting after interacting with the grandchildren. Mind you, we are much more hands on than the Regency time period grandparents though. At least that is my impression!

      I actually think that Mr. Shepard was hoping for an attachment between his daughter and Sir Walter! Why would he push his daughter towards them! Yes, I can see Elizabeth throwing things at her maid…lol.

  2. It’s a good one, Carey. Thanks for sharing Mrs Clay’s motivations to be with the Elliots in Bath instead of attending to her children. Now I understand her mercenary intentions towards them but I cannot really fault her since she has to fend for herself as a poor widow. I don’t like the way she thinks about her children. She is not a responsible mother in that way.

    • Deborah on August 31, 2014 at 5:29 pm
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    Wonderful writing, Carey. Mrs. Clay is an intelligent, conniving, calculating, sly wench (our of era, I know). And leaving her children with her parents….I agree with Luthien84, “I don’t like the way she thinks of her children either’ nor can I fault her “mercenary inentions”. Mrs. Clay knows Anne sees through her and will make the best of things while she isn’t around. Elizabeth and her father are so vain that hey don’t see that Mrs. Clay is using them. Their vanity and shallowness has rendered them blind to her ways. They also seem rather unintelligent

    Thank you for putting us inside Mrs. Clay’s mind. I now have a better understanding of her.

    1. I agree…Mrs. Clay is much more intelligent than Sir Walter or Elizabeth, although I suspect that Elizabeth probably would have done well enough in school- her vanity makes it impossible for her to see her mistakes, but her father is just stupid.

    • Stephanie Mudd Carrico on August 31, 2014 at 5:42 pm
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    Interesting look inside of Mrs. Clay’s mind…never really gave her much consideration before…a selfish woman and a horrible mother…but in her situation she was doing what must be done… I find it interesting that she was considering a tradesman along with a gentlemen…a catch is a catch I suppose…and I can see her making the best of what comes…a crafty, cunning woman for sure

    1. For someone who is not in the Gentry or nobility, a wealthy tradesman might be a better bargain- he wouldn’t look down on her and might have a lot more money than many of the gentry!

  3. I’d never thought that much about Mrs. Clay, but now when I reread Persuasion, I’m going to pay more attention to her. She certainly knew a good thing when she saw it and would do or say anything to attach herself to the Elliots. Thanks for this insight into Mrs. Clay.

  4. I didn’t think about her too much, either, but this insight is excellent! Really enjoyed this Carey!

  5. Ooh, what a schemer! It’s brilliant to see inside her conniving mind-looking forward to what you write when she starts playing off two men! Loved this episode, Carey.

  6. “She would have an honest man if she had to lie through her teeth to get him!”
    Priceless, Carey! And it never crossed my mind that Mrs. Clay actually had her sights set even higher than Sir Walter – someone with more hard cash!

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