My Wednesday evenings seem a dull affair indeed after the glimmers and laughter of watching 10 episodes of The Other Bennet Sister.
Based on the book by Janice Hadlow, the series invites viewers to Jane Austen’s world of Pride and Prejudice and the Bennet sisters. Unlike most adaptations and spinoffs, though, this series barely notices Mr. Darcy. In fact, compared to the radiant leading men who emerge here, Mr. Darcy is a bit of a dud.
He’s background here, as the brother-in-law of the least-noticed Bennet sister, Mary (Ella Bruccoleri). Long overlooked as the least pretty and interesting sister of the five, Mary’s story takes the lead and a powerful life of its own.
Bruccoleri is magnificent as Mary, all awkward tics and self-protective prickles as she tries to assert her autonomy in a family where she does not have the necessary looks or personality to shine. In some ways, she doesn’t even know what she wants. How could she when the rules of her society dictate that she must find a match to save herself from poverty? Worse than poverty, perhaps, is the thought of a life spent with her cruel and mercurial mother, Mrs. Bennet (Ruth Jones). Yes, cruel. One critique of the series is that while the Mrs. Bennet of the book is silly and self-involved, this version is so mean to her own child it’s hard to watch.
Jones is excellent in this role, and she does eventually exude some humanity beneath the nastiness. She tries to control every outcome of every social interaction to ensure that her girls are all matched with suitable husbands, emphasis on “suitable.” When Mary catches the attention of a gentle and kind optician, Mrs. Bennet decrees that Mary cannot even dance with him at the ball because his father owns a shop. The sight of a Bennet dancing with a shopkeeper’s son might ruin her sister’s chances for marriage, after all. Sigh.
Mrs. Bennet seems to think Mary, her socially inept and plain daughter, is inherently unmatchable, a message conveyed covertly and overtly her entire life. As a result, Mary believes herself to be unlovable, and she longs to be seen for who she is, not in comparison to her livelier sisters.
When a family tragedy occurs, Mary’s life gets an unexpected new start in London with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners. Under the care and attention of this family, especially her aunt, Mary slowly and sometimes painfully begins to emerge from her sad, constraining cocoon.
Indira Varma is spectacular as Mary’s loving aunt, who, with a gentleness and patience that bears the image of our gentle and patient God, is an agent of healing and new life. “God sets the lonely in families,” declares Psalm 68:6, and Mary, lonely and nearly lost in the Bennet family, finds a place to belong, which changes everything. Just as God’s love gives us courage and sustenance, so the love of this family makes Mary braver and more herself as God created her to be.
In her new setting and feeling more comfortable in her own skin, Mary begins to catch the eye of new friends and even potential suitors. A love triangle develops, as is usually the case in Austen novels, but here both suitors are worthy and compelling (there’s nary a Wickham or Willoughby in sight).
Dónal Finn and Laurie Davidson are delightful as the two men in Mary’s life, and the internet surely agrees with me. Both are good guys who see something in Mary she can’t even see in herself, not at first, anyway.
As winsome as the romantic escapades are, the most riveting part of the series is watching Mary become the heroine of her life. Nora Ephron said, “Be the heroine of your life, never the victim,” and watching this fidgety, nose-scrunching, self-doubting woman rise in confidence and self-determination thrilled me.
The journey to Mary owning her life and choices is filled with obstacles and foes (hello, Caroline Bingley!), like real life is. Viewers will find comfort, inspiration, and gladness as they root for Mary and themselves to become someone who lives as if they are deeply and unconditionally loved.
Sorry, Mrs. Bennet. In Mary’s story, a “match” is totally beside the point.
(Britbox, Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel)