This post has moved here: https://bethanydellemanwriter.com/canon-vs-fanon-mary-bennet/
Canon vs. Fanon: Mary Bennet
26 responses to “Canon vs. Fanon: Mary Bennet”
-
I’m a huge Mary Bennet fan (no surprise), but she doesn’t come off well in P&P.
Part of it, I think, is her role as middle child, squashed between beautiful and witty older sisters and silly and childish younger sisters, with no real place of her own.
We also have to remember that P&P is essentially told from Elizabeth’s perspective. It’s not explicitly so, but her point of view really colours the text, and Mary’s character in the book is as much due to Elizabeth’s biases as on Austen’s characterisation.
Great analysis of the “real” vs the “fandom” Mary! Thanks for this. 😀-
I do have sympathy for Mary’s plight in her family, but I also know that if I met her I would find her so annoying!
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
-
It seems to me that perhaps Mary is a younger version of her mother.
-
I think Lydia is the one most similar to Mrs. Bennet. Mary seems to be trying to hard to make herself unique (common teenage thing)
-
-
-
I am a fan of Mary Bennet, and considering the emotional and mentally abuse she suffers from her family, it is surprising that she is not even worse than she is portrayed in canon
-
I am very much a Mary fan but I keep quiet about it because talking about it would probably mean exposing the fact that I am not an Elizabeth fan – not the fanon Elizabeth, at least, so that would be a hanging offence. I do very much agree with this article, though
-
Elizabeth doesn’t have to be for everyone, Austen wrote six different heroines (eight if you count Jane Bennet and Marianne Dashwood) and they are such a diverse group of girls!
-
Sadly, you only get Elizabeth in P&P. Of course, my actual favourite heroine (Anne Elliot) also has a sister called Mary who Austen comprehensively bashes. One suspects that Austen did not like the name Mary.
-
Mary Crawford isn’t exactly a “good” character either, she’s almost like a darker version of Elizabeth.
I find it really hard to pick a favourite heroine, I like them all. Catherine Morland has a special place in my heart though. She’s so cute!
-
I think Mary Crawford almost makes the point. It’s probably not for me to say but I have always found Austen’s attitude to Mary B. almost childish – like girls scrapping in the playground. Mary Crawford is a much more sophisticated creation but she is not a nice person, although I will admit to a sneaking liking for her.
-
I always hope that Mary Crawford had a happy ending.
-
-
I sympathize with Mary Bennett. I am the youngest of my siblings but I am sorry if like Mary. In the background, bookish but maybe I too like Mary show myself when I need to be present.
Such interesting comparisons. I have to go back and read the original periodically so I can remember the difference. However, I take one exception to your list. When Lydia is telling Mr. Bennet about the Meryton assembly, she tells him that she and Kitty danced every dance and “Mary none”. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t ever dance, but she didn’t at the assembly.
-
Hi Barb, that line is not in the novel, so I assume it’s from the 1995 adaptation. Only Mrs. Bennet talks to Mr. Bennet after the Meryton assembly in the novel. Good to know where this misconception comes from!
-
You are 100% correct. See why I have to reread the original? Only Mrs. Bennet spoke in canon. How embarrassing!
-
Don’t be embrassed! I don’t like the 1995 adaptation (don’t tell anyone), so it’s fairly easy for me to tell the novel and it apart. If you’ve watched something a lot, it becomes difficult to disentagle from the original in your mind.
I was watching Emma 2020 on repeat at one point… that’s what the characters look like in my head now.
-
Thank you for this. I hadn’t realized how distorted my view of Mary had become!
-
It happens so easily when one reads a lot of JAFF! I always find myself returning to the original novel so I get my facts straight 🙂
I like your analysis a lot. The only thing I don’t agree with is Darcy being shy. He is a snob. He does not associate with those he deems below him because, in Colonel Fitzwilliam’s words, “he will not give himself the trouble.” The movie made him into this shy and awkward character that in my opinion could not be further from canon.
As for Mary, I feel for her. She is annoying but probably because she does not know any better. She wants to feel important and clever, but in a house where her parents have favourites and with no guidance from them, she is destined for failure. Kitty is in the same boat, only instead of accomplishments (which she thinks should appeal to her father) she focuses on red coats (pleasing her mother)
-
Where did I say that Darcy was shy? I said “Georgiana Darcy” but not Mr. Darcy I think… because I also do not see him as shy.
I feel for Mary too, but the way she acts would be so obnoxious if I ever met her in person!
-
I think Miss Moreland is speaking of the 2005 version, where Mr Darcy comes across as shy. While a beautifully made movie, it is so un-canon, that I prefer the 1995, and I also sometimes confuse what is canon and what’s not. What I didn’t care for in the 2005 version was Longbourn looking like pig sty with peeling wallpaper/paint and pigs everywhere. I personally don’t think that Mrs Bennet would never allow that to happen on her watch! I thought Darcy was too shy, and Wickham’s part was not effective. Sorry! I know you like it!
As far as Mary, I agree with the other posts. As a middle child, she was ignored by everyone. She was a third wheel. I always thought that Jane and Elizabeth were selfish by not including Mary in their friendship. She was only a few years younger, and based on Mary’s behavior, they could have really made a difference by giving her some attention. Where Lydia and Kitty were heedless of correction, I think Mary could have been worked on.
I just found your site through a series of links from other sites and look forward to perusing it!
-
The thing is, Jane and Elizabeth do consistantly invite Mary to come with them, but she refuses. You cannot force a friendship.
-
*responding to last comment*
That’s true, but I wonder if that’s because she (Mary) felt it wouldn’t be genuine. I do agree that Elizabeth is a bit selfish. Elizabeth has pretty set ideas on each sister and their ‘deficiencies’. She’s so caught up in her own head and like her father, she thinks she’s smarter than everyone. Jane and Charlotte both tell Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy likes her or that he’s not nearly as bad as she thinks he is, but she automatically dismissed them because they were either biased, or “too good” to see people for who they were.
Marie bennett is an introvert, she has completely different interests than her older and younger sisters, she prefers to focus on herself. And Mr. Bennett is also not very educated, but only Mary is shown as the one who reads books Playing the piano may not be very good but there is never any understanding, that is the image of a lady from the lower classes because she studied alone, as for me she is not annoying in any way.
I see her as awkward, trying to be different from her sisters because she believes she can’t compete with them.
IMHO, she’s defensive; she rejects their invitations because she’s afraid they’re mocking her like her father does. I know it’s hard for some people to understand the damage ‘teasing’ can do to people, especially from a parent.
[…] I am using the term “fanon” to refer to both Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) and adaptations, illustrations, etc. The way people imagine Colonel Fiztwilliam seems to be heavily influenced by adaptations and JAFF, more than any other character except perhaps Mary Bennet. […]
Leave a Reply