The Younger Lady Lufton

In Framley Parsonage, Lucy Robarts marries Lord Lufton, becoming Lady Lufton. Lord Lufton's mother is still living therefore Trollope refers to the dowager as the elder Lady Lufton and Lucy as the younger. What disappointed me was that after Lucy's strong presence in Framley Parsonage, she speaks hardly above two lines in The Last Chronicle of Barset. It is usually her mother-in-law who transfers messages for her and it is most certainly the elder who has charge of the house and even the daily activities at Framley Court. I found it very disappointing that Lucy's independence and fierceness of spirit seemed to have dwindled into nothingness. Of course, Lucy and her mother-in-law greatly esteem and love one another, and have the same interests at heart, but it did seem hard that Trollope gave Lucy such a paltry part in his last novel of the series.