A conundrum is facing Downton this week. A major arrives at Downton to convalesce, claiming to be some relation of family. His name is Patrick Gordon, and he was a major in a Canadian regiment. The problem is that the man claims to be Patrick Crawley, the heir of Downton. As some of you may remember from my first Passion Blog last semester, Patrick Crawley was believed to have drowned on the Titanic. Therefore, Matthew replaced him as heir. However, if this truly is Patrick Crawley, he would replace Matthew as the future Earl of Grantham. Shocking, I know. But his story makes sense. According to Patrick Gordon, he was on the Titanic, but he was pulled out of the water by an officer. Unfortunately, he suffered from amnesia, so he could not remember who he was or where he was from. He was misidentified as Canadian and shipped to Montreal. In the war, he was caught in a huge explosion which disfigured his face and body, but he finally remembered who he was. He decided to return to Downton, where he would surely be recognized by his family there. Unfortunately, though, he was too disfigured to be identified. And therein lies the dilemma: what should Robert Crawley and his family do about this man, who may be an imposer, and what effects will his appearance have on Matthew?
Robert resolves to send Patrick’s story to his lawyer in London. The lawyer informs the family that one unidentified man was pulled from the water as the Titanic was sinking. But there is no proof that Patrick Crawley was that man, nor does this man have any further proof that he is Patrick Crawley. Upon hearing of the lawyer’s letter, the man lets out the strangled cry, “I’m a stranger to them now.”
But we shall never know whether Major Gordon was in fact Patrick Crawley because the man leaves Downton. In his parting letter, he wrote that it was simply “too difficult” to stay.
This predicament brings up the question of inheritance. The inheritance of Robert’s property was truly out of his control, as was that of many large estate owners. One’s property and wealth would have been given to the closest male relation within a family, whether this was a son or a third cousin. Of course, the presence of the man claiming to be Patrick causes quite a disturbance at Downton because, if the man is proven to be Patrick, he could inherit all of Downton’s riches. Although this idea of an heir seems preposterous to us today, there are some similarities to our lives today. One’s inheritance can be altered without one’s knowledge through the changing of a will. Of course, the owner of the property has much greater control today.
This episode concludes in a moment of tribulation. The First World War is over! The official ceasefire is on 11:00 on November 11th. And all have hope that this is the “dawn of a new age.”
It’s really interesting how the show spins so much drama out of the idea of the oldest male relative inheriting all the family wealth, titles, etc, since everything would be much simpler for the family if things didn’t depend on these old-fashioned rules. I know that you’re biased toward the opposing view, but I personally doubt that the man was truly Patrick, since there were some inconsistencies in his story that made me suspicious about his claims about his identity.
Wow, I really have no idea if this man who claims to be Patrick was telling the truth or not, but I guess we will never know! These traditional rules of inheritance can put extraordinary situations at a disadvantage for miscommunication and discrepancy. This is a sad story at its heart, and I hope that Patrick is able to use his story to do good in his community. Hopefully, justice will be served if he was telling the truth, and he won’t lose all of his wealth and belongings.
This was a very interesting read. It is so sad and unfortunate that no one is able to identify him. Although if I was him I wouldn’t run away instead fight to make people know who I was. I am not 100% sure though it he actually was Patrick. Although knowing if it is him is very important. Since he is meant to inherent so much wealth.
I always when fiction uses amnesia and memory issues as a major plot or story arc because if they’re done well, you never know who to believe until it is revealed! Also, major good thing with the end of the First World War! A day to remember for certain! Great Post!