Frances Midford
Kanji	フランシス ミッドフォード
Romanji	Furanshisu Middofōdo
Characteristics
Race	Human
Gender	Female
Professional Status
Occupation	Marchioness of Midford
Base of Operations	Midford manor
Personal Status
Status	Alive
Relatives	Alexis Leon Midford (husband) Edward Midford (son) Elizabeth Midford (daughter) Vincent Phantomhive (brother, deceased) Rachel Phantomhive (sister-in-law, deceased) Ciel Phantomhive (nephew)
First Appearance
Manga Debut	Volume 3, Chapter 14
Voices
Japanese Voice	N/A

Marchioness Frances Phantomhive-Midford (フランシス ミッドフォード, Furanshisu Middofōdo) is the wife of Alexis Leon Midford, mother of Edward and Elizabeth, sister of Vincent Phantomhive and aunt of Ciel Phantomhive.

Contents 1 Appearance 2 Personality 3 History 4 Manga's Synopsis 4.1 Jack the Ripper Arc 4.2 Ship Voyage Arc 5 Quotes 6 Trivia 7 References 8 Navigation

AppearanceEdit

Frances presents herself as a clean, orderly woman. She keeps her hair in a tight bun, but has a long cowlick with a slight curl, much like her daughter. She wears an ornate dress, with white gloves, and a short, beaded necklace. She is reputed for having retained the beauty of her youth, and is well-toned, due to her intense, physical training.^[1]

PersonalityEdit

Frances is a proud, stringent individual who is renowned for her tremendous ambition and prowess. She is a candid critic, and often directly voices her opinions of others.^[1] She is strict, abides by the rules, abstains from desire and temptation, and she never hides her actions; for this reason, she is highly respected. Prompt and committed, she has a tendency to arrive at destinations earlier than expected or planned.^[2] Moreover, she has an extraordinary level of dedication, endurance and perseverance, as she continues to cultivate her strength with rigorous training even after her marriage.^[1]

Frances regards people she deems as lazy and indecorous with disdain, as she insults Ciel Phantomhive's bed head and calls Sebastian Michaelis "indecent."^[1] She does, however, eventually gain considerable respect for both of them, and she holds Tanaka in great esteem, as she has suggested that Ciel and Sebastian learn from him in terms of appearances.^[3] Additionally, she believes that unruliness in the home environment will ultimately lead to the moral decadence of a person.^[1] Frances deeply cares about her family, and it is extremely important to her that Elizabeth marry a man who can adequately take care of her.^[4]

HistoryEdit

Frances had attended Ciel's coronation as the Earl of Phantomhive.^[5] She first encountered her husband when she defeated him in a fencing tournament, held by Queen Victoria. She had chided him for being weak, despite his position as England's lead knight.^[2]

Manga's SynopsisEdit

Jack the Ripper ArcEdit

Several months after Angelina Durless's death, Frances and her daughter, Elizabeth, pay a visit to the Phantomhive manor. When she arrives, she is disappointed by Ciel's and Sebastian's lackluster appearances, commenting that they should learn from Tanaka, and insists on an inspection.^[6]

Although Sebastian had prepared everything for her visit, Baldroy, Mey-Rin, and Finnian accidentally destroyed all of it, which causes him to change his mind and propose many different destinations in the manor; in response, Frances reprimands him for being "indecisive."^[7] As a backup plan, he leads her out to the horse stables, where she challenges Ciel to a hunting competition so that she can determine his level of capability. Sebastian outlines the objective: kill the most animals in a 25 km range of the forest in three hours. Then they set out.^[8]

At the end of the competition, Frances and Ciel tie with fifteen animals each, and they agree that they cannot leave it at a draw. While eating lunch, a bear comes out of the forest and attacks Elizabeth, and Ciel hastily dives over to protect her. The bear is swiftly dealt with, and since Frances has her gun out, Ciel concedes that she killed a sixteenth animal; thus, she is the victor. Frances says it will take Ciel ten years to defeat her, yet she commends his bravery for shielding her daughter. She acknowledges his qualification of becoming her future son-in-law, and they decide to return to the manor.^[9]

While on the way there, Frances addresses quietly to Sebastian, who is carrying the carcass of the bear. She returns the knife that he has "left behind" in the bear's head, and reveals that she was so flustered by her fear for Elizabeth's safety that her shot missed. She then questions why Sebastian did not allow Ciel to take the glory for his killing of the bear, and Sebastian replies that because Ciel has a lot of ambitions, he must learn some humility. He adds that while Ciel is a head of a house, he is just a child; therefore, he thinks Frances would be a good, adult role model. Frances is impressed by his judicious character, and remarks that he is the type that will never be taken advantage of.^[10]

At the manor, the other servants have prepared a surprise party for Ciel, and Frances discloses that his thirteenth birthday is the real reason for their visit. She pats Ciel's head, wishes him a happy birthday, and then relies on the servants to take care of Elizabeth and Ciel in the future. Afterward, she thanks Sebastian for everything he has done, and reveals that she is aware of the smashed tea set, the ruined and bare garden, and the burnt dinner that he had earlier tried to conceal. Later, she, Ciel, Elizabath, Finnian, and Tanaka admire the snow.^[11][12]

Ship Voyage ArcEdit

Frances appears once again on the day of boarding the luxury ship, Campania. Exuberant that Ciel has decided to accompany them, Elizabeth hugs him in joy. Frances snaps at her daughter for revealing such an indecent behavior in public. Behind her is her husband, Alexis, and her son, Edward.^[13]

Afterwards, Frances and her family are eating with Ciel. Sebastian and Snake are shown having their hair combed back, an insinuation that Frances, with her prompt and strict personality, has ordered them to do so.^[14]

She reappears after the Bizarre Dolls have escaped their coffins and is shown battling them ferociously. She stabs a Bizarre Doll through its chest and is surprised when it continues attacking nonetheless. Sebastian destroys the Bizarre Doll and informs Frances that the only way of stopping them is to smash their heads. They both fight back to back against the Bizarre Dolls and after realizing what Sebastian said is true, she compensates by excusing his slovenly face and hairstyle.^[15]

Her husband and son rush in and Edward asks where Elizabeth is. Sebastian says that she is with his young master and Alexis and Frances are in relief since they believe that Ciel would protect her at all costs. Edward and Alexis both gives a speech about protecting the weak, which she approves of. Sebastian is slightly dubious and Frances urges him to go since he can rely on their ability as swordsmen.^[16]

Soon after, a shock reverberates throughout the ship due to the collision with icebergs. ^[17]

Consequently, in the first class lounge, Frances, Edward, and Alexis come to the rescue, killing the Bizarre Dolls that have terrorized the place. They declare to the people to not give up.^[18]

QuotesEdit

• (To Ciel Phantomhive) "I came to hold a surprise check up and it seems you are lazing about as usual. On top of that, your butler is still as indecent as ever! Keep in mind that you are the man that my very own daughter will marry in the future. Re-training will take place today! I shall begin with the inside of your mansion! Unruliness in the home environment is the first thing that will lead to the heart being unruly."^[1]

• "This is a good chance for me to see the kind of man my daughter will marry. But maybe ... hunting is too much work for Earl Phantomhive who is incredibly feminine?"^[19]

• "Hmph. It will be at least ten years before you can beat me. Though, you are worthy of my praise after such a display of bravery. You gave your all to protect my little girl. So, I owe you one. You are worthy of being my son-in-law, Earl Ciel Phantomhive."^[20]

TriviaEdit

• Her only "appearance" in the anime has been limited to a brief, relatively unclear snapshot of her in a photograph.^[21]

ReferencesEdit

NavigationEdit

v · e · d Midford Household
Alexis Leon Midford · Frances Midford · Edward Midford · Elizabeth Midford · Paula

v · e · d Nobles
Agni · Baron Barnett · Aleister Chamber · Diedrich · Angelina Durless · Fat nobleman · Charles Grey · Baron Kelvin · Lau · Alexis Leon Midford · Edward Midford · Elizabeth Midford · Frances Midford · Ciel Phantomhive · Rachel Phantomhive · Vincent Phantomhive · Alois Trancy · Countess Trancy · Former Head Trancy · Undertaker

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