[ SECRET POST #6423 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6423 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



__________________________________________________



02.



__________________________________________________



03.



__________________________________________________



04.



__________________________________________________



05.



__________________________________________________



06.



__________________________________________________



07.



__________________________________________________



08.














Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 24 secrets from Secret Submission Post #918.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

04. https://i.imgur.com/G2t3HR0.jpeg

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, for sure, but having been that teenager, I can empathise with her! And I wasn't surrounded by prettier/wittier/funnier sisters and didn't have to somehow get married.

[(Anonymous)]

Mary's deal is that she is the middle child sandwiched in between two beautiful and accomplished older sisters and two spoiled and indulged younger sisters. She doesn't have the looks to distinguish herself against Jane and Lizzie, and she's not going to get the spoiled baby treatment that Lydia and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Kitty get, because she's older than them. She tries to be what she thinks is an intellectual as a way of standing out, but it doesn't work for her because she was never educated or trained intellectually (this is a failing of her parents) and was also never educated or trained in the kind of social polish that would allow her to pull off a little pseudo-intellectualism in a relatively charming way (this is also a failing of her parents.) She's abrasive and awkward and doesn't know what she's talking about, true, but she is like this largely as a result of parental neglect and a misguided desire to feel like she has social value.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I get why Mary is seen as this nerdy introvert who dares not want to party, a lot of readers can relate to that, but I think she was more of a Karen.

[(Anonymous)]

She's very much a "not like other girls" type of girl, who is dismissive of others. Honestly, your reading is pretty much accepted, so I'm surprised this is a secret. I suppose younger readers may just empathize with her a lot?

[(Anonymous)]

Not OP - the 2003 (2005?) movie also had a kinder depiction of her.

[(Anonymous)]

It didn't help that the actress playing her in 2005 was drop dead gorgeous, check her wikipedia page. (Talulah Riley, who I'm googling and holy fucking shit who marries and divorceds Elon Musk TWICE?) They didn't even try to make her unpretty for the movie. The "plain" look made her natural beauty shine more.

At least in the miniseries they deliberately stuck out Mary's ears.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT
Oh, that's true. The part where the dad comforted her was a nice addition, I don't believe that was in the book. She was still the same core character but there was a bit more gentleness in her handling (which I think worked since she likely is the way she is as -at least in the book, like anon said above, the actress was gorgeous- the plainest daughter of five with no outstanding talents).

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't realize there were a significant number of people who thought Mary was a misunderstood genius. Is this for the P&P fandom in general, or the 2005 movie in particular? Because fans of the 2005 adaptation seem very fond of projecting modern wishful attitudes on the characters, with some assistance from the adaptation. Like the whole handflex Mr. Darcy who's just a misunderstood marshmallow with social anxiety. IMO, that's... a take, and I wish people joy of their headcanons but I can't keep my eyes from rolling over here.

[(Anonymous)]

god I know I heard that take and was like "NO HE'S AN ASSHOLE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT HE'S AN ASSHOLE LIKE THAT IS IMPORTANT"

Book rec

[(Anonymous)]

I enjoyed Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister more than I thought I would - it's a sympathetic look at Mary's character that doesn't romanticize her faults too much, but provides some interesting context and follows her story during and after P&P. I'm not a huge Mary fan, but still enjoyed it.

[(Anonymous)]

I still think Mary should have got Mr. Collins. They'd've been a perfect match.

[meadowphoenix]

i think they had the same perspective at the time of the novel, and I definitely think she had a huge crush on him, but frankly, it's more likely that Mary would grow out of it (especially as Lizzie would give her the opportunity to like...meet more people) and therefor outgrow Mr. Collins in a way that would be terrible for her if she'd married him. Moreover, Mr. Collins is the type of person who needs a deft hand to stop him from being an absolute asshole, and it's better for his wife to have those skills so he doesn't inadvertently fuck things up socially for both of them.

[(Anonymous)]

I think you are right. I also think she's easy to project onto. I know I did.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, yeah, definitely, but she is nineteen. Give her some time, IMO, especially some time not overshadowed by her sisters.