Barbara Hofland

Mrs. Hofland. Decision: a Tale.

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1824.

 

Synopsis of Decision

Decision: A Tale, written by Barbara Hofland in 1824, tells the story of Maria Falconer and her unusual journey to provide her parents with financial security. Maria is the child of Mr. and Mrs. Falconer, with both parents being heirs to ancient heritages and modest fortunes. The history of Maria's parents is critical both for understanding the background of the story and for understanding Maria's actions later in the novel.

Around the time of her parents' marriage, and before Maria herself is born, Mr. Falconer decides to try his luck in the iron mining business. He purchases a large plot of land in Ireland near a section of mountain that he believes will produce large yields of raw iron ore. The fact that he is quite wealthy and likely does not need the revenues such a venture would produce does not stop him from pursuing the project; Mr. Falconer is not the type of man to sit idly on top of his fortune. However, after investing the considerable capital to set up the mine and get the project started, it turns out there is little iron to be found, and the Falconers' lose a considerable share of their fortune. In fact, so much money is lost that Mr. and Mrs. Falconer are forced to move out of their fully-mortgaged estates in Ireland and make the move to England, where they live a considerably toned-down lifestyle.

Our heroine's story begins in the mid 1770's (about 50 years in the past) at a party hosted by the Falconers. We are introduced to Mr. Elderton, a bachelor and well respected gentleman who has admirable qualities both as a tradesman and in his character. In a conversation with the then 11 year-old Maria, he instills in her one notion that sticks with her for the rest of her life: "there is no thing imperative but duty" (p. 4). Mr. Elderton and Maria remain good friends throughout the course of the novel.

About four years later, a new family, the Ingaltons, moves into town. The Falconers and Ingaltons become fast friends, as well as business associates, and we are soon introduced to the Ingaltons' son, Frank, who is of Maria's age. Frank has moved with his parents in order to help his sick father with the family business dealings, even though it is not what he truly wants to do with his life. This sense of duty and virtue is not lost on Maria, and she holds Frank in the highest esteem, eventually falling in love.

However, events soon take a turn for the worse. Mr. Ingalton, Frank's father, passes away, leaving the family business to Frank. This is a devastating emotional blow both to Frank and his mother, Mrs. Ingalton. To make matters worse, news reaches town that the bank in which the Falconers and Ingaltons had most of their business invested has failed. Frank leaves town to visit the bank in an attempt to recover whatever of the remnants from the bank's collapse he can.

Maria assumes the family will be able to weather this latest crisis if they make use of her mother's fortunes and estate in Ireland. However, she is still ignorant of the fact that her father lost not only his own, but also his mother's fortune in his earlier iron mining fiasco. This is finally revealed to her through a conversation with her mother, and Maria proceeds to vent her anger towards her father for "stealing away" her mother's inheritance, even though she knows he only had their best interest at heart.
Eventually Maria comes to understand that with her father's business dealings ruined and no fortune left to fall back on, the family is headed towards a life of poverty. She resigns herself to the truth of the matter, but can't accept the thought of her beloved parents living in poverty, and she decides to do something to help. Her parents had since left for Ireland to collect what little was left of their lost inheritances, in order that they may pay off their creditors back home.

All this time, Maria has lived with the belief that she can survive through any degree of suffering as long as she holds the thought of her beloved Frank near to her heart. With this in mind, Maria sneaks out one night to visit her adopted sister Ellen at the estate where she is living as a governess. She informs Ellen of her shocking plan to restore her parents' wealth: to sell iron, just as her father did. A family the Falconers are friendly with owns a small shut down iron mine, and Maria spells out her intention to ask that the mine be reopened and that she be allowed to sell the iron. She will, in a sense, become an iron retailer, selling to small manufacturers. She believes that if she can raise enough money, she can restore her parents' place in society and bring them happiness once again. She tells Ellen that she plans to leave that night to take up residence with the aforementioned friends in the poorer part of town, thus immediately giving up all conveniences associated with her former life.
Ellen is of course shocked by this plan, and desperately urges Maria not to undertake such drastic measures, not only for the sake of Maria's reputation, but for the sake of her parents' health and pride as well. She encourages Maria to accept help from some of their more wealthy friends, but Maria will have none of it, stating "it would be easier for me to live amongst the poor, than receive from the rich" (p. 81). As Maria prepares to depart the house, Ellen decides to give Maria her own shocking piece of information. Before Frank left on his journey to retrieve the pieces of the business still left, he told Ellen that she was in fact the one he was in love with, and Ellen informed him the feeling was mutual. Ellen tells this to Maria not to be cruel, but because she feels it is not right for Maria to live under the false belief that Frank loves her.

Despite this stunning blow to what Maria had considered one of the foundations of her life, she nonetheless continues with her plan to sell iron. After moving into town and setting up shop, her plan proceeds without a hitch. The poor townspeople, who purchase the iron, are pleased at no longer being forced to buy from the large iron dealers, and once they see that Maria is a fair and just seller, they are willing to overlook who she is and where she came from. The upper class she used to associate with, however, are not so willing to accept a woman of her stature dealing in iron. She is condemned and ridiculed by most, and even her parents, when they return, plead with her to give up this task and come back to live them. Although it pains her to see her parents embarrassed by her actions, Maria believes that she is doing the right thing, and refuses to quit her plan.

Several years pass in this fashion, and Maria eventually begins to take over some international business dealings, namely in Germany, from the aging Mr. Elderton, who has remained her friend all this time. All of her business ventures are quite successful, and by now even her most outspoken critics laud her for her perseverance and devotion to her parents. She is eventually able to purchase her parents a new home in the country, where they prefer to live, and Maria gets closer and closer to paying off the rest of the debt her parents owe to various creditors.

Over the years, Maria slowly forgets the love she once felt for Frank, and eventually meets another man, a German tradesman named Count Hernhausen. She sees that the Count is much more of a man than Frank ever was, and the two soon fall in love. However, this love is also to meet with the same unfortunate fate as her earlier love with Frank. Mr. Falconer, Maria's father, soon collapses, and is bed-ridden and insensible with no cure in sight. Count Hernhausen is willing to stay with Maria and help to care for her father, but his own father soon takes ill, and he is forced to leave the country in order to take care of him. Maria realizes that there is no realistic way for her and the Count to be together, leading her to make the declaration "I will never marry" (p. 240).

Nonetheless, Maria knows that life must go on, and she continues her business dealings until all of her parents' debt is paid off and she has secured enough money for all of them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. She eventually passes the business off and takes up her previous place with her parents and in society. Sadly, her father never recovers from his illness and shortly passes away, soon to be followed by her mother. In lieu of a husband or parents to care for, Maria continues to be a driving force in many other peoples' lives, helping many children receive educations and always helping out the poor who are in need.

By the time the novel ends in what is then the present day, Maria is still alive and kicking at the ripe old age of 60.

-- Prepared by Alex Toews, University of Nebraska, April 2006.
© Alex Toews, 2006.