Why Mary Bennet is ESSENTIAL in Pride and Prejudice | Foil Characters 

Thank you so much for watching! If you love Pride and Prejudice, you might like this video examining if Mr Darcy is *actually* rich: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-thqY3020vH8.html

Poor Mary. She had no guidance from either one of her parents, was the only unattractive daughter, and was the middle child. Jane and Elizabeth had each other, likewise Kitty and Lydia. She was left to contend for herself.

Good video. I see Mary as showing where Mr. Bennett started to give up his interest in raising his daughters and retreated to the library. Mary and Elizabeth have mostly good sense, and have had some guidance. Lydia is her mother and Kitty is guided by Lydia. Mary has decent instincts, but has had basically no guidance at all. So in the progression of the daughters you get the fall of Mr. Bennett’s influence on the family and the rise of Mrs. Bennett.

I always saw Mary's role a little bit differently. Even though I see your points and agree, there is a couple of things I would like to add: 1. I think Mary's role is to highlight Mr. Collin's superficial nature. Mr. Collins - regardless his lack of high level accomplishments (standing in life, charisma, social skills, IQ or EQ) - is aiming for beauty when it comes to marriage , without any regard of compatibility or personality. As a reader we all see, that if Mr. Collins want to insist on marrying a Bennet sister, Mary would be the best match for him in terms of compability, personility and shared values, yet he never gave her a second look. That highlights his supeficial nature (what we see in other regards as well). 2. Mary's role is to highlight the difficulty of being the middle child. 3. Mary's role is to highlight the difficulty of being not a beautiful woman among beautiful women. I always considered Mary first as a part of social commentary, second as a magnifying glass on Mr. Collins personality.

Without Mary and her cringe-inducing performance skills, we would have been denied the immortal line of Mr. Bennet saying, "Thank you my dear, you have delighted us long enough."

I think Mary's attitude is because she feels so out of place. She's plain, compared to her sisters. Lizzie and Jane are a pair. Kitty and Lydia are a pair. Her father isn't interested in anyone but Lizzie. Her mother is only interested in finding husbands for her pretty daughters; Mary seems to be forgotten in the mess.

Mary also serves as a representation of the type of young woman that Fordyce’s sermons recommends. Each one of the daughters actually could fulfill some of the idea of what a “woman ought to be” but also shows the unreasonableness of squeezing all of those characteristics into one woman. Lydia, for example, could easily represent a woman’s “important” role of “being pleasing to men” and “being ignorant”

I have always felt bad for Mary. I like her and in my mind, she got a nice middle ground guy who appreciates her morals.

Another doppelganger who turns out to be a foil is Lady Catherine re. Darcy. She is the insensitive, ridiculously snobbish person Elizabeth assumes Darcy to be.

I've always thought it was a pity Mary was English. A family similarly situated in Italy or Spain would have sent their 'Mary' into a convent, where she'd play the organ in the chapel, teach the little girls in the orphanage/charity school, and been very busy and happy.

I always felt extremely bad for Mary but I always felt like she was the female version of Mr. Collins and the fact that he wouldn't even dane to consider her as a match highlighted how superficial and selfish (and odious) he really is

I wonder if Jane Austen did this on purpose or if it just came naturally . She had such deep insight into human nature. :)

When I was growing up, girls like Mary (unattractive, socially inept, studious, avid reader) were called bluestockings. If they never married, they became the maiden aunties that were surrogate mothers to their nieces and nephews. In later years, They sometimes married widowers to help raise their children. Their lives weren't purposeless. It's just that they weren't belles and their lives were less likely to have been the choice they would have preferred. But they were not purposeless, and they were beloved by the little ones they helped to raise.

There is another benefit as well. By introducing Mary, Austen makes the Bennet sisters appear as though they are spread out over the possible personalities. Without her, the other four would look like a bipolar distribution (2 smart, 2 dumb), which would not be as natural. If a sister is to be left out (some adaptations do that), it should be Kitty, who is basically just Lydia-light.

Mary is so much the forgotten middle child that even in a video about her she doesn't get discussed until it's like halfway over XD

I always felt that Mary highlighted the fact that her father valued their intelligence. Mary fails to get the attention of her father because she superficially tries to have wisdom without having any actual understanding. To me, that highlights Lizzie favorably, because it takes a heroine that is lively and intelligent and allows her to make some really bad judgment calls without coming across, herself, as silly (like Lydia) or stupid (because we can see her being perceptive and understanding). It also allows her to be smart without putting on the trappings of intelligence (being excessively bookish).

If there are 4-5-6 siblings there is always a 'grey mouse' type who is neither pretty/good looking nor clever/ successful and slightly ignored by the parents or the other siblings. Mary is a character many people can identify with.

I think that Mr Collins makes a more symmetrical equal opposite to Mr Wickham, than Mr Bingley does. Mr Collins, Darcy and Wickham are all love interests to Lizzie, so those are the 3 that Lizzie and the reader will be comparing most. Mr Bingley is so sweet and nice, his only fault is naivety, but he's not really on Lizzie's radar. Whereas with self-righteous Mr Collins and conniving Wickham either side of him, Darcy starts to look pretty balanced. And in Mansfield Park I think that Mrs Norris is meant to play the silly, overly self-righteous role that puts Fanny in the middle, but she doesn't achieve that purpose, because she's not the same age as the others.

I always perceived Mary as a misfit. But actually reading the books, not watching adaptions, I find there's more to her than we are led to believe. For one thing, she does NOT play the piano badly. Even though she believes herself to be better than she is, she is also pedantic and quite excellent at playing, even twice as good as Eliza according to canon. "Mary had neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of excellence than she had reached. Elizabeth, easy and unaffected, had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing half so well; and Mary, at the end of a long concerto, was glad to purchase praise and gratitude by Scotch and Irish airs, at the request of hter younger sisters, who, with some the Lucases, and two or three officers, joined eargerly in dancing at one end of the room." (P&P, chapter 6) I read into this that Mary was probably technically the best of the sisters, but technical skill does not necessarily imply that it's fun to listen to. Eliza on the other hand didn't play as well, but apparently with much more gusto and feeling, communicating something more in her musical expression. So the scenes in the films where Mary sounds bad is actually to debase her to "comic relief", a role I doubt Jane herself intended Mary to play. I hear miss Dashwood too has fallen prey to this misconception, saying at 16:15 that "Mary only wants to show her poor piano skills off". So the question must be why our modern script writers and producers found it necessary to put her in a worse light than Austen herself did. It might have to do with archetypes and the roles women and men are allowed to play. I wrote a paper at uni about this many years ago. Women have less roles to choose from. They mainly have "The Whore", "The Hag" or "The Nun". Does the adaptions twist our interpretation of Mary due to modern story-telling?

I think you should have mentioned Emma and Mrs Elton, from Emma. They have a lot in common, they both come from wealthy families, they are young and beautiful, they received a marriage proposal from Mr Elton and they are always trying to "help to improve the the lives of the people in need", however the biggest difference is in their motivations, while Emma does it cause she genuinely cares about the people she is "helping", Mrs Elton does it just because she wants everyone to know how superior she is. In the beginning of the book the reader dislikes Emma cause she seems nosy and snobby, but the second Mrs Elton enters in the picture the reader gets to see Emma in a whole new light and starts rooting for her, because Mrs Elton makes Emma likable, by being the worst version of her. I don't know if I explained myself correctly, English isn't my first language.

Siblings are such interesting characters in fiction and life, because they are essentially just an alternate version of you. They are what you could have been under only slightly different circumstances. Lizzie could have very easily been a Mary. Mary could have been a Kitty or a Lydia. It’s all a matter of our decisions and reactions to our situation. I like seeing Mary because she shows what the Bennet girls could have been if they had focused their time and energy on different things.

I read The Other Bennett Sister and it focused on Mary. I loved how it gave us a background into why she might've acted the way she did and how she was finally able to get out from under her sister's shadows and have a fulfilling life

She would be the on who stays home and looks after the elderly parents.

I also find the Gardiners very interesting. They seem to play the part of the only happy couple with sense, manners and a good heart and they outshine everyone by this but as they are of ‚lower class‘ their good impression comes with a huge surprise for Mr. Darcy. And in a way they remind me of the Crofts of Persuasion.

Apart from Elizabeth and Darcy, Mary Bennett has always been a sentimental favorite of mine. I've always felt for her as the 'plain', overlooked daughter in the family. Neglected by her mother, not noticed much more by her father. Both of them openly favor two of her sisters - Lydia by Mrs. Bennett, Elizabeth by Mr. Bennett. Her youngest sister Lydia especially is heartless and cruel towards her, very disrespectful to her elder sister, who Lydia obnoxiously points out that 'no one danced with Mary'.

This is so interesting! Now it makes me think of how "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" did this differently; using Lydia and Jane as polar opposites while Lizzie herself stays "the middle ground". And then later bringing in Mary to be a more direct foil to Lydia, like Charlotte is to Lizzie. Good analysis! Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

A fantastic question would be, "How do we get Mr. Collins to notice Mary?" "Could she have spoken to her parents to put her forward?" Could she have subtly made herself an option?" Perhaps she could have engaged with Mr. Collins in a conversation about Fordyce's sermons and he could have possibly seen how compatible they both are.

I came for Mary Bennet, but I learned about how websites influence my shopping behaviour.

I always thought that Mary served as a Greek chorus - telling us what the lessons of the story was. I also thought that she may also be a version of the author. (Emphasis on a version). Thank you for this perspective.

I was hoping you would mention Fanny Price! I've really liked her character recently, especially as I have developed a chronic illness and relate a lot to her. I can see how her character could be more liked generally if there were a foil on the other side of the equation, I feel it would diminish my love for her. There is something about being alone in her ways that feels pioneering. She has an independance of thought I love, and an emotional fortitude. She is not denying herself happiness in not asking to go to balls of swooning over a rake, but is aware of her situation and the character of others. She knows herself well and isn't willing to compromise. I imagine it as a foil to Persuasion in a way, where the protagonist is well loved. If we read only her youth and rejection of the man she loved, that would change matters. It is her growth with age which is so appealing. I imagine Fanny Price is more relaxed and likable in later years. I would love to see her holding parties for her sisters and helping her brother find a good match who will make him happy.

Why does everyone forget Col Fitzwilliam? To my mind a truly balanced gentleman, just not rich. ?????

Very interesting view of character selection in the book. I think also a function of Mary is to show that book reading and “accomplished” girls don’t necessarily have a lot of sense.

I think it’s interesting that Mary actually gives the audience a definition of pride and vanity in the early chapters that help the audience understand more about the failings of the characters throughout the novel. Even though she is a minor character she still pops in every so often to remind us of key themes at important junctures throughout the story.

Jane austen had such a keen understanding of human interaction. She's hands down my favorite author.

After 8 years studying English and American Literature, I have one question... Why in Hell didn't any teacher or Professor tell me about these literary tools? I kind of instinctively or subconsciously realized this was going on, but why in the Hell didn't they tell me? Did they not know? Did they want to keep a 'trade secret' to themselves? WTH Thanks!

I just started a new book called "The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennett" that offers an alternative perspective on this character...do far it's so good! Love how this video just popped up in my recommendations. :)

I am so impressed how you managed to find yet another new angle of the book that has been discussed so many times :) Very interesting, loved the video. And again, you look so adorably elegant.

As a native German speaker I'd say you nailed the pronunciation of "Doppelgänger", Bravo, Miss Dashwood!

Also, at the beginning of the book Mary makes some important remarks on Pride and vanity and the differences between the two.

but isn't Mr Bingley the middle ground between Wickham and Darcy? More outgoing than Darcy but still true and honest

I found this fascinating. I agree about Mary's essential role, and the sense of character balance. I personally find Jane Bennet too good to be true, and slightly irritating, but recognise that her role is partly to make us like Elizabeth more. We relate more to Lizzy, as she is more flawed and less gullible. So, as well as Charlotte being a foil for Elizabeth, so is Jane. 😀❤

Mr Bingly was the first foil to Mr Darcy that came to my mind. I guess because in the first party scene Bingly is being nice and making sure all the ladies are attended to while Darcy makes the excuse that they -and especially Elizabeth- aren't up to his standards. It really brings it home that Darcy is a jerk. Mary on the other hand is the character from all the Jane Austen novels that I feel the most sorry for. It's stated that she isn't pretty and she isn't talented though she tries hard to be. She is as bland as a person can be and there is nothing she can do about it. Unless Darcy takes pity and gives her a whopping big dowery she has zero prospects of ever marrying. She is destined to be poor and alone.

this is so fun to watch! glad you mentioned mr. thornton, he's EVERYTHING

Thanks for this wonderful perspective on Mary's role in the novel. True to form, I've always gravitated toward Mary, because I feel she's been slighted. So I always feel the need to stand up for her (also, in the 1940s movie, she's played with delicate precision and innocence by Marsha Hunt, and I love the characterization there). Mary's piano playing is not mediocre - it's stated that she actually plays, technically, better than Elizabeth. Her problem is her presentation and her vanity in her skills. She comes off less pleasing than Elizabeth because she is pedantic and mechanical in her playing. She is hampered in the Bennet family: the only "plain" one. The one, indeed, in the middle; the sister without a companion. In this family, she has very little recourse, no allies, no support. Her father taunts her and catches her unaware. Her mother likely despairs of her more than the others. Her author has a poor opinion of her (generally speaking, in an Austen novel, if a character is named Mary or Richard, s/he is going to come off fairly poorly). She has to fight for some kind of position, and the one she's chosen is the one she can be control. No one stands up for her, or speaks for her. I always feel bad for Mary Bennet. Regarding Mary Crawford. It's been a while since I've read "Mansfield Park" (which I like, and I like Fanny; I have less affection for Edmund). I feel that this novel is complex regarding its characters, and it's more difficult to divide the central cast into standard roles. Mary and Henry come from a background that is opposite yet parallel to Fanny, having been deprived of positive parenting, and exposed to factors in life that Fanny, by way of being raised at Mansfield Park, has been spared of. Mary is the antagonist here, but I argue she is not a villain: she falls in love with Edmund despite herself; her love is not false; she is not consciously wooing Edmund away from from Fanny; she is genuinely happy at the thought of Fanny marrying Henry and being her sister. She is the foil to Fanny, down to her physical appearance, being, along with Fanny, small and lightweight (and "brown", like Elizabeth, who is also lightly-built). I feel that Mary would love to be the frivolous, materialistic, wicked villainess, and she does play at that when we meet her. But she is more than that, her experiences in the novel reveal that, and she is torn. She could go either way. She fails at the crucial moment, but by the end, she has learned (the hallmark of any Austen heroine), and has changed.

Fun details: Talulah Riley, who plays Mery in 2005 P&P, was married to Elon Musk (Mrs Bennet would be proud 🤭), and you also may have seen her in Westworld, yes that hot tall blond robot that great guests 😉

This reminds me of the old story of a king who drew a line in front of him and challenged people to make it smaller without touching it in any way. Somebody drew a longer line next to it and said now I have made smaller.

I've always really identified with Mary. I have a sister who's a lot like Kitty and Lydia (actually, that's her name) - precocious, loves to party and to be the center of attention - and I've always been way more like Mary.

Tus explicaciones llenan los espacios vacíos que me urgían llenar después de terminar de leer Orgullo y prejuicio! Me encanta que vas más allá! Y amo que tengan subtítulos en español, gracias por estos increíbles videos!! ❤️

I think this is one of my favorite videos of yours. It’s a very well reasoned argument for striking that middle ground between three characters or three types of characters. I wonder if Jane Austen saw these different types of characters in her life and utilized these extremes to highlight the virtue of her main character. This makes me begin to look at other stories, not even just in classic literature where this device has been used. 👍👍👍👍👍

Terrific study! Thank you so much for sharing. Isn’t it interesting how powerful the character of Mary is that it takes just one of her but two at the opposite end of the spectrum to balance out Jane and Lizzie? So it leads me to believe that Lizzie’s friend Charlotte was paired a bit with Mary’s character partially in order to bridge the gap between Lizzie and Mary so that Mary did not seem quite so like a flat character. Charlotte seemed to be the voice of reason when Lizzie’s romantic ideas were too unrealistic according to the time...though they appeal to us now. Homelessness and/or drudgery vs. marrying someone not quite up to snuff in order not to starve to death? Yeah... I did like Charlotte, though I think her type of reasoning rubs people the wrong way nowadays. She was forthright but politely so. She was assertive yet had no pride when it came to looking at herself. She was a realist but also understood how the ‘beautiful people’ were allowed more social license when picking a lifetime partner. What else could she have been in order to survive that time era? But it was people like her who were then able to breed, as lackluster as that is, if you really think about it. Just some thoughts.

This is so insightful. I've never thought of it but it makes so much sense. Nice analysis.

Wow - I'm so glad I found this channel. I feel like I really learned something valuable about writing. Thank you, Ms. Dashwood!

Thank you for this post. You got pondering the actual family dynamic; how each of the siblings within a large family have aligned or set themselves apart from one another.

When I read Sense and Sensibility, I remember thinking that Elinor and Maryann Dashwood were as different as sisters could be. But after meeting the Steele sisters, it seemed that the Dashwood sisters were so similar to each other because they were so different from Lucy and Anne Steele. Thanks for explaining foils and doppelgängers. This makes Austen even more rich when I can use the correct terminology to explain why these novels are so good.

I've always wondered why Mrs. Bennet didn't direct Mr. Collins to Mary when Jane wasn't available. Is it because it was standard practice at the time to have the eldest married, or was it another way of Austin showing how little Mrs Bennett knows her children outside of Lydia. If she had suggested Mr. Collins propose to Mary the marriage would have been secured and the future of the house safe because they are more similar, but she tells Collins to ask Lizzy, the one most unlike Collins in everyway possible and the one headstrong enough to do her own thing.

This is so not random ramblings! This is a deep, wonderful (and useful!) analysis. Thank you for your insight and clarity.

Absolutely loved this. The narration, color tone, the way you structured it. Top notch

This is so interesting! I never thought about the deliberate choices made in putting certain characters together. That makes so much sense. I'm definitely thinking about this now for my own story!

But Mary doesn't have poor piano skills?! Isn't it described somehow that she plays pretty well, but because she is so vein about it that it doesn't give as much pleasure to listen to her than to Lizzie who has mediocre skills? And didn't even the Bingley sisters say that she was the most accomplished player there? And the embarrassing the family: wasn't it described as such, that Mr. Bennets way of stopping Mary's playing was more embarassing than Mary? Maybe I don't remember correctly.

Wow, great job! I really enjoyed this video! I’ve watched other channels’ videos regarding Mary and they were good, but none of them have been as insightful as yours! I feel like you nailed this spot on!! Thank you for your videos. I really enjoy them. 😁😊🥰

I’m a teacher and I’ve been looking for an excuse to insert this video into a lesson ever since it came out! I love it so much! But since I’m a substitute at the moment I don’t really have control over the lesson topics (not that normal teachers have it much better). Someday though I’ll manage it!!

Thank you for such an insightful analysis. Being a decades old Austen fan and having read all the novels so many times, I love that there is a person who reads them, and also loves to talk about them. I have wondered about Mary. She seemed to me to be the victim of her younger sisters desperate quest for attention (particularly Lydia) and her desperate quest for attention as well. She acts as the proverbial middle child in appearing to want attention from her family. Her behavior is designed to attract her parent’s attention by doing “everything right” - albeit that her execution is sorely sub par. She is never described as interesting, her conversation pedantically echoes the mores of the period, she is all politeness and “understanding”, yet she is also so lacking in any attribute that would make her attractive. I think that Mary represents Austen’s reader, a young girl who is socially unsuccessful, who tries to be what she thinks others, especially her parents, want her to be (conversation) and do (piano) and who sparks to the fairy tale of rescue by the handsome, rich, besotted prince who would whisk her away from the hell she must feel her home to be.

Just discovered your channel. I enjoyed the video. I have seldom seen the "foils" in literature explain so clearly and simply. Looking forward to watching more. Thank you for sharing 👍🏾❤️🇨🇦

This was so enjoyable. I have never stopped to think about Mary's role but now I'm kicking myself for not having seen just how skillful Austen was to have included her. Thank you so much for giving me new insight into the story. I will never be as dismissive of Mary again!

Your way using the color rules to explain writing rules gave me a much better understanding. Thank you very much.

I've just discovered you and I'm hooked! You really stretched my mind!

Love your outfit today it looks so good! As always a very good video that helps to make more sense of the books. I'm going to try and notice wich characters are foils of each other now!

I literally thought earlier today about how cool of a video topic this would be to see and then yt showed me this and also such a good quality video! Love it

I’ve written a book and I had no idea I was doing all this stuff! What an eye opening video. Highly entertaining and chalk full of knowledge as per you usual videos, Ellie!

Amazing!!! Just today I got (yet again) to the part where Mary comments about Lydia's lost virtue, and i kept thinking "why is she here again?"

Ellie will you make a video dissecting Willoughby's visit to the Palmer's where he speaks to Elinor? It's always been my favorite part of the book, and one I find that has the most depth.

Just found your channel, now it's one of my favorites and I'm gonna binge watch your videos. 💚

I have no words for how much I loved this video. PnP is one of my absolute favourite stories of all time. I’ve read the book more than once, seen the miniseries to the point where I know the lines by heart, and had my heart broken by just how horrific the American adaptation was. What you say in this video is so much along the lines of how I have thought and analysed these characters it almost feels like you’ve read my mind. Such an interesting video! Thank you for making it :3

Thank you for this analysis ! It's helpful both to understand the book better and pretty much every other book ever. I just discovered your channel, and it's really awesom ;) !

Mary is very spirited and well versed in the “oughts” of life. I think with time people like her will start applying all that book larnin’ to real life and real relationships and have the potential to end up as empathetic beings, because they will understand how hard a standard perfection is to attain and how short we all fall despite pushing ourselves to try. She pushes herself to moral perfection and is introverted enough to know when she falls short. Knowing herself can help her know others and their motivations and failures better too, and then the choice is to extend grace (and extend herself grace) when she fails, or to doggedly pursue perfection. She has the potential to use her knowledge to forgive and encourage!

Wow your analysis is amazing. I never thought of the "middle option" concept. This video made me subscribe. You explain everything so well and you have these really in depth analyses that just intrigues and are just so true. I did a term paper on Pride and Prejudice before but I never saw the middle option dynamics. 😊

I enjoyed this analysis very much. You hit the nail on the head regarding Mary’s role in the novel. Also interesting that the main characters in sense and sensibility are foils of each other, yet they are both protagonists and we see both of their point of view and empathize with them.

This was such an interesting breakdown!! I love your P&P analysis videos :)

I am very pleased to be watching a review by none other than Miss Dashwood. Wonderful.

I love Mary Bennet💗, definitely deserves her own book. This video was educational, visually beautiful and such an indulgence, frankly your whole channel is a guilty pleasure of mine when procrastinating work. Truly, thank you Ellie for your content and literary for existing ❤

Talking about Wickham, it makes sense he's contrary to Darcy because that also makes the reader start liking him before Darcy, so when the reader finds out about Wickham's true personality they feel betrayed and see Darcy with even better eyes. Basically, Jane Austen knew what she was doing

I had this video recommended and love the insights! I recently read the other bennet sister which I think was a great attempt to give us a better understanding of Mary.

Well done video. I had not thought of the middle option, rather I had thought of just how siblings define themselves in large families. Thanks much.

It's very awesome. I'm very glad that RU-vid offered me your videos!

Wonderful! Thank you! There's one tiny mistake. Mary wouldn't have hit on Mr. Collins. She thought she was superior to him. Mary just wasn't that into Mr. Collins. It's all in this passage: "Mary might have been prevailed on to accept him [Mr. Collins]. She rated his abilities much higher than any of the others; there was a solidity in his reflections which often struck her, and though by no means so clever as herself, she thought that if encouraged to read and improve himself by such an example as hers, he might become a very agreeable companion."

Just shared this video on a fb jane austen fan group, hope it helps, you deserve to grow so much :)

Great video! I always thought that Mary was a way to compare and disapprove the behavior of the two youngest siblings, but with your explanation it makes a lot of sense the fact that Jane and Elizabeth are very well liked. You just gave us the reason why there are five sisters instead of two. Keep it going! Nueva suscriptora!!! 😁❤

Very good video and explained superbly. Thank you! As an aspiring writer, you've helped me a whole lot.

*Halfway through the video* "We'll get into why Mary Bennett is the most important character right after this" Me: Ok, I'll wait. 😅

Super interesting perspective, especially about Fanny in Mansfield Park. Thanks for the insightful video.

The more you analyse Austin’s work I realise and appreciate her genius. Thank you very much indeed

Only recently discovered your channel and love it so much. Your videos make me so happy!!!

I’d always felt so sorry for Mary, but this video has done a great job of explaining why we need Mary in the story. Also anyone who feels this way should read The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. It totally opened my eyes about Mary, her place within the family and why she did what she did.

Your videos are always great! Please keep up with the good work! Can't wait to see your next video :)

Great explanation of foils and their impact on storytelling! Thanks 😊

Well done! Perfect comparisons and smart conclusions.

RU-vid has kindly recommended this video to me and I just have to point out that my initial thoughts were "A Dashwood explaining Jane Austen is just what we all need" and I was not disappointed

I found this video fantastic and insightful! Well done!

I really liked that analysis! it makes so much sense and I have never thought of characters that way! You gave me a lot to think about! Also, I watch videos of your channel for a long time now, but only the ones concerning history in general! Now I have read P&P and can finally look your videos to it without getting spoiled :D

Aprendí muchísimo con este video! no solo de literatura sino de marketing !!! muchas gracias!!!