My main issue with The Other Bennet Sister (both as a book and series) is that it operates on the premise that Mary actually understands and is upset that she is not as brilliant as her sisters, when Pride and Prejudice tells us explicitly that hearing herself described as 'the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood' at the Meryton assembly is enough for her to have enjoyed a 'pleasant' evening.
I understand that Mary is somewhat of a blank slate (given how little she is in the original novel) and thus that ability to be able to project onto her would be appealing for an author because she is the most infrequently mentioned Bennet sister. But equally, she is seldom in the story because she is not particularly relevant to the plot; it's not an oversight on Austen's part. Her character is clearly defined and we have a good sense of who Mary is (selfish and sanctimonious, rather than neglected and overlooked) even if there are not entire chapters dedicated to her.
Mary Bennet is not heroine material and that is perfectly okay.
I think this series is interesting in a sense that we read and viewed P&P sort of from Lizzie’s perspective. If we’re speaking of canonical characters, the depiction of them is still subjective because we perceive them through Lizzie.
Lizzie obviously loves Mary, but she’s unremarkable clearly thinks her sister is unremarkable, which is true if I’m being brutally honest. And this is the part where Mary in this series makes so much sense to me. If we shift the perspective and see it through Mary’s eyes, she feels like Lizzie maybe not looks down on her but maybe feels like she’s superior to Mary in a sense (?). Lizzie is rational AND bold, which makes her more likable in our eyes as a protagonist, so it’s hard to accept that she may be as ignorant as her family to some people/aspects of life.
That said, this kind of makes Lizzie an ever more of a 3-dimensional character to me. It surprised me to hear that there are people who found her unlikable or even think her a villain in this series. I think she showed kindness and understanding to Mary: they talked and heard each other, and I did not find her unlikable in the slightest 😅
As for Mary, she always fascinated me. She truly is a blank slate and we know next to nothing about her. Jane and Lizzie always had each other, Kitty and Lydia were bonded, so Mary always felt like a “lost child to me”. One of the huge plot points is marriage and romance, and yet never in the context of Mary, as if no one ever expected her to find a suitor. This I think also fits very well into the series.
To wrap up my post as to not descend into discussing every plot and character, I enjoyed the show very much: discovered it literally on the lunch break and watched in one sitting after work. Not sure I’m gonna read the book though.
I think it’s a fun concept and I’d be interested to see where it goes from here, although I feel like it may be better kept as a 1-season mini-series.
Over the years I realized that I’m not as eloquent as I’d like to think I am so I apologize for any mistakes, misspellings and I hope I was able to express how I feel 😅
