First, I think this quiz is fixed. Wes Wolfe Tweeted out that he’d taken a “which Downton Abbey character are you” quiz, and turned out to be “Robert, Earl of Grantham.”
So I took it — there are only seven questions, all multiple choice — and sure enough, I, too, am the lord of the manor.
Of course, as I was taking it, I was deliberately (but honestly, except when the questions were too silly to have an honest answer) answering the questions that I knew would take me in that direction — with one or two exceptions. In response to the question, “I have a whole weekend to myself! I’m going to…,” I did not answer “Attend a jolly good foxhunt, followed by billiards and cigars.” That’s because I enjoyed the answer, “What’s a ‘weekend’?” so much. I knew that another character said that — the old lady who is clueless how the world works outside of Downton.
But even when I turned away from that path, I still ended up being the earl. For instance, on “My favorite movie is…,” the honest answer for me was “The Godfather.” So I said that, knowing that the best answer for the earl was “Henry V” — which would have been my second choice. I ended up being the earl anyway. And when I went back and tried it again, answering “Henry V” this time, I was still the earl.
I have a theory that the thing is rigged. Would anyone, taking this, end up being one of the downstairs characters? I doubt it, unless they were trying.
If you take it, let me know where you end up.
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Just took it… I, too, am the Earl of Grantham. Or maybe I am the Brad of Warthen. I get confused as to which upon gazing into the looking glass. I suspect its probably like the quiz about which character in Spartacus are you? Answer? Oh that’s too easy. If you have to ask, you have never seen Spartacus.
It’s like the old game show, “To Tell the Truth:”
Contestant no. 1: “I am Robert, Earl of Grantham.”
Contestant no. 2: “I am Robert, Earl of Grantham.”
Contestant no. 3: “I am Robert, Earl of Grantham.”…
Or, as you say, like “Spartacus”…
Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham
We are not surprised.
–although none of the movie choices were even in my top ten.
Well I broke the chain, I’m the creepy “middle sister” Lady Edith. My aim was to Maggie Smith! Damn
Hrm, the Earl.
I took it, it came back with “John Holmes”. Who is this fellow, supposedly that’s the type of work I should be in.
Matthew Crawley
Well, I’m also the Earl, and I’m pretty sure (not having met Brad personally) that Brad and I are not all that similar in personality. Maybe the Earl is something of a default option.
The Earl’s son.
The Earl doesn’t have a son. That’s his problem. The entail thing…
If any of y’all take the test and end up being Thomas or O’Brien, I’m giving you a wide berth…
Oh, OK — it was Matthew Brawley — I’ve never seen the show, and thought the blurb said he was the heir, so I assumed.
Me too, Stan.
He’s a cousin, one whom no one in the immediately family knew before the show started.
He sort of plays the role of Mr. Collins in “Pride and Prejudice,” except that he’s not an obnoxious person. He’s an unassuming middle-class type, an attorney, who feels like an alien in the world of Downton.
Bottom line — everyone knows that the eldest daughter, Mary, should marry Matthew and solve the inheritance problem, and both have strong feelings for each other, but stupid plot complications keep getting in the way. Currently, they are both engaged (or in her case, practically engaged) to other people. The terrible thing is that her suitor is most unsuitable — a flash sort who owns (gasp!) newspapers.
Actually, I just said “everyone knows,” but the inheritance thing is terribly complicated (to me, anyway), and I can’t fully explain it. There’s the matter of the title, and the matter of the estate, and the completely separate matter of having enough money to maintain the estate, and it’s just a mess. But the current legal consensus is that Matthew will inherit… and I’m on shaky ground here… the title and estate. Or maybe just the estate.
I don’t know. I just know if those two would marry, it would be happily ever after.
I look at things like this the way Tevye did in “Fiddler on the Roof:” Just listen to the Papas, and marry whom you’re told to marry, or at least whom you should marry to the greater benefit of your family. Tradition!
The estate goes with the title, and since it is “entailed,” it can only pass to a male blood relative heir, in the case of DT, Matthew. The only way Lady Mary can possess the estate after her father dies, is to marry the heir. The only way the Earl’s immediate family can remain in control is for the Earl to have a male heir. The Earl cannot sell the estate or will it to anyone.
Right. But isn’t there the added complication that, without the American mother’s (or someone’s) money, the estate can’t be maintained?
In any case, I think it’s ridiculous that Matthew and Mary keep mucking about…
That’s not a legal complication. That’s a financial one. Matthew does not have sufficient wealth to maintain the estate, and I guess the estate does not generate enough income to maintain itself, after the payment of death duties.