Becky likely had some hand in the newspaper referring to her new son as an “heir,” as she tries to force Miss Crawley into acknowledging her son as an heir by putting it out in public and hoping Miss Crawley will be too embarrassed to contradict what the newspaper says. This desperate attempt has the opposite effect, confirming Miss Crawley’s choice of Pitt Crawley. Miss Crawley uses what remains of her influence to force Pitt Crawley to marry Lady Jane. Practically the minute she chooses an heir, Miss Crawley becomes irrelevant in the story, pushed aside by the commanding Lady Southdown. Although Miss Crawley has been a temperamental, controlling character, her powerless fate at the end of this chapter nevertheless generates sympathy.