Your post prompts me to wonder what the relation of the sisters was like as they were growing up. Mrs. Norris is apparently the oldest as indicated by the usage of their names. We don't get any indication of a lot of conflict during their early years but the information we do get makes me think that as the oldest Mrs. Norris probably was used to having the greatest control amongst the sisters and it would not surprise me if she was bossy and meddlesome even in her youth.

The return angry response of Frances, her willingness to cut herself off considering her financial station is always surprising to me. Perhaps this signifies the fact that she has had it with her sister's bossiness and the whole thing is the last straw for her.

But, yes, the fact of the matter is that Mrs. Norris is a very angry person. There seems to be a great deal of resentment in her person as well. Maybe this is due to her dashed hopes of having to be obliged to accept a clergyman after so many years of expecting to make a more favorable match due the connections of her sister's marriage to Sir Thomas. Her miserliness, is in my opinion, a form of control and a statement that she feels her financial situation does not meet her expectations.