Ranking Jane Austen's Mean Girls from Worst to Best

Who doesn't know a Caroline Bingley or Mary Crawford? In this video, I rank my favourite mean girls from Jane Austen's novels, from petty to evil.

#JaneAustenJuly #JaneAustenJuly2020

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I vote for Lucy Steele. She really didn't have a lot to work with but managed to secure a comfortable future for herself. Added to that her adroitness at literally switching from one brother to another AND pacifying their mother, well, that takes an extra skill!

[dawnrobbins]

I went into Emma thinking I would hate Mrs Elton but I actually found her hilarious and one of the best parts of the book just from her sheer lack of self-perception and the bizarre fact that she and Mr Elton actually seem to be genuinely happy together

[atthebridge]

Great vid!
Poor Augusta doesn't realise that in reality Emma is so far above her in the social hierarchy that it doesn't even cross Emma's mind that they might be rivals. To Emma she is just an annoyance.
In fact Emma never really worries about protecting her position at the top of her society, even her rivalry with Jane Fairfax is based on Emma's guilty awareness that Jane is just a better person.

[LiteraryKnitterary]

This is so fun! I agree with Mary Crawford’s placement—she’s an interesting character, and I think she’s actually much closer to a Lizzy Bennet than she is to a true mean girl like Caroline. Put another way, if we saw Lizzy from Fanny’s perspective, I don’t think Fanny would regard the two that differently. Mary could almost be the heroine of her own novel (though, of course, her character development would be strengthening her morals).

[CoynieReads]

"Catherine de Bourgh, who is everything I ever aspire to be" 😂Oh yes! Everyone's goals!

[sarahel]

Great selection! This is so much fun. My list would definitely include Mrs Elton, Lucy Steele and Caroline Bingley. I think I would put Lucy in first place because I was struck during my reread of S&S last year of how scheming she is. Caroline Bingley is mean but doesn’t hurt anyone really (except of course her brother and Jane but she is not the only one to speak against their marriage at the time), whereas Lucy Steele hurts Elinor and Edward and I’m sure it’s deliberate. I mean, it’s difficult to know how sincere she is in her feelings for Edward when they meet and get engaged, but given what he see of her a few years later in the book it’s easy to imagine that his position and money played an important part in her choice. The fact that she drops Edward the moment she learns he will get nothing of the family fortune after everything she told Elinor about her love for Edward tells something of her cunning.
Haha the way Mrs Elton reminds Jane of her prospects is very mean indeed. She really knows how to press where it hurts.

[DrJoha]

Yes, Mrs Elton is the worst mean girl! So patronizing towards Jane Fairfax 🙄

She also was a terrible influence on Mr Elton who was bad to begin with, egging him onto slighting Harriet at the Crown ball. Even twisting Mr Knightley's good deed "Knightley has taken pity on Miss Smith, very good natured, I declare" like such a bully and drama queen 👑

[thomashamilton]

Also with Caroline I think she was always going to be reluctant towards any potential bride for Charles regardless of her social status as the new Mrs Bingley would take over her position within the Bingley/Hurst family as it's likely that Caroline as the unmarried sister would very much have fulfilled the lady of the estate position while Charles remained a bachelor.

[nazifaradi]

I think that Lady Russell of Persuasion should be included to the list of Mean Girls. Though she is a mother figure to Anne. But still she disapprove of Anne's engagement to Captain Wentworth. Instead she wanted Anne to marry Mr. Elliot

[franceshruska]

For me it is John Dashwood. He promises his dad, on his deathbed, that he will take care of his three stepsisters. Then, at the urging of his selfish wife, Fanny, he gives them nothing. He is rich, very rich and is willing to spend a fortune on fixing up his two homes, buy more land to enlarge their holdings, but not to allocate a pence to his step sisters.

[anjakuemski]

Great video! I would find it difficult to rank the villainous ladies, but I love them all! They are all so different in their meanness. I am pretty sure Jane Austen enjoyed it a lot writing about them.

[BlatantlyBookish]

This is the perfect companion to last year's "bad boys" video! The idea of Mary Crawford as a Darcy-like character is fascinating! I'll have to keep it in mind when rereading Mansfield Park (probably next year). I'm excited to revisit Mrs. Elton during this read of Emma. It's interesting that she's the only married mean girl on this list. I think some of the other girls' actions can be rationalized as trying to secure a husband and therefore their own financial futures, but Mrs. Elton has already succeeded in that respect. I'm also inspired and tempted to make a favorite mean older women video (definitely needs a catchier name) that includes some of the honorable mentions. Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mrs. John Dashwood, Mrs. Ferrars, Mrs. Norris, and Lady Susan would have to be included of course! I think after rereading both Emma and P&P this month I'll be able to make a more informed decision on the debate between Mrs. Elton and Caroline Bingley. They are definitely #1 and 2 though, and you make a great case for Mrs. Elton! Claudia, I am in love with your Jane Austen July content! ♥♥♥

[melenatorr]

Mary Crawford is a fascinating character in the Austen canon: you're right: her affections toward Edmund do seem to be genuine ... and she also seems to genuinely like Fanny: when she sets her brother on Fanny part of her is truly hoping for a marriage; she doesn't like how Fanny is treated; she confides in Fanny in a way unlike Lucy Steele does with Elinor Dashwood. And Austen gives her an interesting, ambiguous epilogue. In many ways, Mary and Fanny are each other's shadows - they even rather resemble each other, both being slightly built and, I believe, dark-haired, to contrast with the more voluptuous and light-haired Bertram sisters.

[CoynieReads]

Something that makes me agree with the Caroline Bingley ranking was when I read John Mullan's What Matters in Jane Austen and he argues that it's likely that Caroline was probably closer to Lydia's age than Elizabeth's, as the unmarried, younger sister of Mr Bingley who is around 22. Whether or not that is the case it does kind of change perspective of the dynamic between Elizabeth and Caroline when you think of her as being four or five years younger.

[whatjennsreading]

Fun video! I think you’ve got the rankings alright at the top.

[scallydandlingaboutthebooks]

What a joyous video. Mrs Elton is a horror and top for entertaining awfulness but Miss Thorpe is more threatening. Strangely these days I find myself feeling some pity for Caroline Bingley and hoping she finds happiness somehow.

[michellehayes]

Good list! I enjoyed the video. I think Isabella Thorpe would have been higher on my list tho! 😝

[HannahsBooks]

Oh excellent! I recently met someone with the last name Elton and I just couldn’t stop shivering...

[mame-musing]

When I saw your headline I immediately thought of Mrs John Dashwood. 😠However, as you were speaking I found myself getting even more annoyed about the actions of John Dashwood. He knew it was wrong to cut off his sisters and he was spineless and willingly went along with the plans of his horrid wife. This was a fun video. Also, the thumbnail art is great.

[FHMS]

MRS ELTON IS ICONIC. i love her so much but shes also the *worst* lol. jane fairfax is an angel for dealing with her with so much composure