The first duty of any female was to marry well and bear children, particularly an heir. Failure to achieve this was a cause of contempt, no one respected 'the Old Maid'. Spinsters for life were expected to nurse their elderly relatives or to care for their sibling's children or worse still, become a governess. So when a beloved member of one's family attempts to force spinsterhood upon another for their own ends, the wickedness is all the more wicked.