The Other Bennet Sister

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In The Other Bennet Sister Mary is painted as the overlooked underdog (which fair enough, Hadlow wanted to give a reason why Mary seems so unappealing in Pride and Prejudice) who is constantly overshadowed by her sisters. The problem is...Mary is so self-pitying as to be completely unsympathetic. The first few chapters tell painfully slow and dull accounts of all the ways in which Mary has been mistreated by her family. She is plain, not very charming, and so unbearably sanctimonious. She actually believes that she is better than her sisters and is incredibly dismissive of their personalities, hobbies, and observations. Which...yeah, being bitter is fine but why be such a solipsistic whiner? Mary is constantly playing her own violin. Why I was interested: Like many others, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is my favorite Austen novel. However, I was thoroughly curious about Mary Bennet’s story — and this book did not disappoint. Hadlow’s empathy for Mary throws into sharp relief the brisk dismissiveness with which she was originally treated; in Pride and Prejudice, Austen pins her down with a couple of adjectives, invites the reader to find her ridiculous, and moves swiftly on. In The Other Bennet Sister, Mary herself seems almost aware of a change in dispensation as she emerges from the hermetically sealed environment of Pride and Prejudice, into the world beyond: “There was no one to judge her … she might change if she wished to.” Goubert, Pierre (1975). Jane Austen: étude psychologique de la romancière (in French). Paris: Publications de l'Université de Rouen. ISBN 9782877757355. The Other Bennet Sister goes beyond Pride and Prejudice to imagine how the Marys of the world might find happiness . . . A captivating and heartening story.”

The presumption is that a younger Collins son (possibly an ancestor of Mr. Bennet's) once changed his name to Bennet, possibly in anticipation of receiving an inheritance (as Jane Austen's own brother did; it was a common practice in Georgian England), or vice versa. Readers of the time would have recognized the impossibility of Mr. Collins being the descendant of a female relative of Mr. Bennet's, as inheritances always descended through a strict male line (although this would not account for how the Bennets and Collinses came to be related to each other in the first place). However, as a grandson born to a daughter would be a closer relative, it is possible that the Collinses do, in fact, descend from a female - they are next in line because there are no other male heirs to inherit, so it passes to the "son via daughter of a distant Mr Bennet ancestor", as it would for Mr Bennet's own grandson. Based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this is the story of Mary Bennet, the plain and quiet middle sister who likes to read and play the piano. Treated unkindly by her mother, and with few friends in the world, her life becomes a precarious round of visiting her married sisters, with little to look forward to. Mary tries to occupy herself with her learning but starts to wonder if there should be more to life. The Other Bennet Sister tells of her quest for personal happiness. It’s probably understandable that the character of Mary Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice should attract the imagination of readers, since Mary Bennet is infamously a reader herself, albeit the unfortunate kind who are fond of canting their favorite ‘improving’ quotations at the worst possible moments. Even the most die-hard Janeites hardly need a re-read to notice that the other Bennet girls aren’t exactly bookworms; Jane and Elizabeth are gorgeous and insightful, Catherine and Lydia are high-spirited and coquettish, but only Mary would have been likely to know her way around the Meryton subscription library. Mary does not appear often in the main action of the novel. However, it is said in volume 3, chapter 19 (the epilogue) that, now with Jane, Elizabeth, and Lydia married and moved out of Longbourn, and Kitty living primarily with Jane and Elizabeth, Mary received more attention, and was made to mix more with people during company ("Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was necessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs. Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone. Mary was obliged to mix more with the world, but she could still moralize over every morning visit; and as she was no-longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own, it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance").In the third part of this story, Mary settles in at her Aunt Gardiner’s house in London. Finally finding a home with people who truly love and value her, Mary begins to change. Gaining confidence and self-worth, she soon attracts the attentions of two suitors who vie for her affections. In one of the novels most satisfying scenes, Caroline Bingley finally gets her comeuppance at the hands of Mary Bennet. The original Lydia? Portrait discovery delights Jane Austen museum". The Guardian. 2020-04-07 . Retrieved 2021-08-21. Lydia] is very young; she has never been taught to think on serious subjects; and for the last half-year, nay, for a twelvemonth, she has been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity. She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in her way. Since the ----shire were first quartered in Meryton, nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been in her head. She has been doing every thing in her power, by thinking and talking on the subject, to give greater – what shall I call it? – susceptibility to her feelings, which are naturally lively enough". [13] Mr. Bennet] captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour, which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman, whose weak understanding, and illiberal mind, had, very early in the marriage, put an end to any real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence, had vanished forever; and all of his views of domestic happiness were overthrown. But Mr. Bennet was not of a disposition to seek 'comfort' for the disappointment which his own imprudence had brought on, in any of those pleasures which too often console the unfortunate of their folly or vice. He was fond of the country and of books, and from these tastes had arisen his principal enjoyments. [13]

The Other Bennet Sister reads as an enjoyable kind of fanfic and if it feels a little pedestrian by comparison, the fact that the appeal of these characters endures in hands less deft than their original creator’s is testament to how vividly they were first drawn and the place they have established in readers’ affections. As described in volume 3, chapter 19 (the epilogue) of the novel, after their marriage, the happy couple only manage to live at Netherfield for a year before life in Meryton (being imposed upon by Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Phillips) proved to be too much for their good tempers, leading them to give up the lease on the estate and establish themselves elsewhere (" Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only a twelve-month. So near a vicinity to her mother and Meryton relations was not desirable even to his easy temper, or her affectionate heart. The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified; he bought an estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire, and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to every source of happiness, were within thirty-miles of each other.") The Other Bennet Jane's character is contrasted with Elizabeth's as sweeter, shyer, and equally sensible, but not as clever (she is aware of this fact); an introvert, her most notable trait is a desire to see only the good in others. As Anna Quindlen wrote, Jane is "sugar to Elizabeth's lemonade". [41] Jane (along Elizabeth) seems to have taken after her father's side of the family, having been portrayed as a sweet, steady, gentle, genteel girl (unlike her mother). Her inner beauty is matched by her outer beauty. She is favoured by her mother solely because of her external beauty. If Jane has taken anything after her mother, it is a certain inflexibility of thought; but while her mother's inflexibility of thought leans in a wholly selfish direction, Jane's is in a selfless one; Jane is unwilling to think ill of others (barring strong evidence), whereas her mother will think ill of anyone on little-to-no evidence at-all. Charlotte: Something I had never considered was a friendship between Charlotte and Mary - but it makes total sense! They are both on the outside of society, Charlotte for being an old maid and Mary for being the socially awkward middle sister surrounded by more attractive and lively siblings. Here, we see how the two of them formed a friendship of sorts, with Charlotte acting as a kind of mentor to Mary. That was an aspect that I very much enjoyed and didn't anticipate.Kuiper, Kathleen. "Bennet family". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc . Retrieved 2021-04-10. Bibliography [ edit ]