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If anybody asked, there were a few key differences between the Elliot sisters.
Elizabeth “Beth” had refined the polished look that makeup and good hair styling products helped create. She was also lucky in getting curly hair that fell somewhere between her father’s straight blonde locks and her mother’s wild and tight curls. She could straighten or curl her hair without spending hours hogging the mirror. She did anyway.
She was also blessed with her mother’s tan skin that was a genetic inheritance from some distant relation.
However, despite a head for finances, she lacked motivation.
Middle sister Anne had their mother’s dark and crazy curly hair with only, maybe, a few degrees less kinky curly and a bit frizzier whenever she skipped the aid of hair products to help tame the wild mane. It was easier for her to pull it back into a ponytail or a bun in order to maintain some of the polish needed to be respectable. Somebody needed to be respectable and responsible with sisters like hers.
Even if on the inside she was just as impulsive and unfiltered as her hair, she simply never showed her true nature to that many people. Instead, she hid it behind ponytail holders and a mess of bobby pins.
The only thing she inherited from her father was his pale skin. If she dared go outside without sunscreen she would turn into a lobster in a matter of minutes. Otherwise, even down to personality, she was a replica of her mother. Even her nurturing nature that often masked her artistic and sarcastic sides was a mixed blessing.
Often, she would be tending to others while they overlooked her.
Finally, the third daughter, Mary, was nearly an exact replica of their father, as much as it bothered him. In the youngest girl, his worst traits were amplified. Social climber. Elitist. And worse. Mary used her ‘illnesses’ to garner attention, and it worked for a while. Until it didn’t. And she became worse. Much worse.
But Walter Elliot didn’t notice that his daughter’s stick straight, thin, dish-water blonde hair was identical to his. In his mind he had Elizabeth’s thicker mane, but with the more golden hue from his youth. Mentally he still had her tan skin instead of the pasty mess that was his youngest daughter’s skin tones.
Walter Elliot saw himself as Walter Elliot, Attorney at Law, aged thirty-two instead of Walter Elliot, retired Attorney at Law, aged sixty.
And, as in most cases, seeing yourself differently than you really are is bound to cause some problems.
