Mary Bennet really addresses the phenomenon of girls and women who just do not know how to play their "role" right. Every other woman seems to know what they're doing, even if its unconventional womanhood like Lizzie. Lizzie boldly states she doesn't need a book on womanhood because she is too busy simply being a woman. She always walks in confidence, trusting her own actions and knows her own mind. For Mary, a book about how to be a woman became her bible, because everyone treated everything she did like a faux pas or mistake. She didn't know how, but she was womaning wrong. She had no instincts or natural inclinations towards the profession of woman. She was too earnest, too awkward, lacking charm, she didn't pick up on the social cues and just wasn't able to do what everyone else was doing. Even if Mary wasn't cast as "plain" by her family, she wouldn't have gotten along easily in her society. You could say she was neurodivergent now, but back then, they'd just see her as a failed woman.
It's very good! I've seen some reviews hating on this series and claiming that it changes the narrative and characters of Pride and Prejudice, and I've found those claims to be completely untrue.
The dynamics between Mrs Bennet and the girls are especially well-done! It's a large, sweet, messy family. What I loved the most was that despite all the small and big conflicts, they're all just women trying to survive in a patriarchal world and most of their less proud moments come from a place of valid fears!
The internalized misogyny of the Austen fandom is staggering, honestly. Not only do they support the view that a woman qualified by a patriarchal society as a bore and a social failure is indeed a bore and a social failure, they also disregard one of the core messages of Pride and Prejudice, which is that you mustn't judge people on the surface impression! Anyone can change if they want to! That's the main sin of Wickham and Lydia, and Lady de Burgh and other more negative characters - they don't want to amend their ways and that's why true happiness evades them.
The central relationship in the series is between Mary and her mother. Mrs Bennet is as tactless, selfish and emotionally neglectful as in the original, but she's also genuinely concerned about her children's future and convinced they deserve the best in life, just as in the original. Much of her neglect is not malice but lack of intelligence, and much of her overbearing is based on justified concerns for the well-being of her girls in a world where they have little to no means to support themselves.
Her loneliness following the death of her husband is awful. She doesn't have friends that would take care of her and she relies entirely on the kindness and decency of her sons-in-law. This doesn't excuse her behavior, but it does explain her attitude towards Mary: in Mrs Bennet's mind, being unmarried means being left behind, and she's scared for her daughter so she's keeping her near so that her needs are provided for along with her mother's.
It's actually very common that mothers emotionally neglect and overlook their least pretty children. It's one of the staples of a patriarchal society, in fact. If you didn't know, now you know. Subconsciously, the least pretty child's siblings mimic the attitude of the parents, so this child is also considered the least interesting and the least accomplished. That's just the way human psychology operates.
Of course, it's Lizzie who is among the first to recognize and amend this pattern after a heavy conversation with Mary. Lizzie, being a kind and just person, never regarded her sister as less; she only considered her different. But she's faced with the fact that Mary never actually stood out on purpose and her being the odd one out left her so lonely and insecure, she never reaches out to anyone to share her concerns and joys. The biggest hero in Mary's journey to dignity and independence is Mrs Gardiner, who gives Mary what she'd never had before - unconditional love and acceptance WITH healthy criticism and good advice.
Honestly, it's so disheartening to see people claim that Mary isn't an Austen heroine. I know the fandom is full of conceited straight women with a kink for "traditional" gender roles, nobility, and wealth, but some of the reactions are just shameful. Austen's heroines include vain and inconsiderate heiress Emma, whose best contribution to society is leaving everyone alone; deeply religious and pathologically shy Fanny, who DOESN'T want a typical Austen romance; cynical and disillusioned Elizabeth, who despite all her criticism of Mrs Bennet fails to notice how the traits she inherited from her (rash thinking and being guided by emotion) lead to disastrously erroneous conclusions; depressed Anne, who's declared to be old and boring by everyone and who questions whether her loyalty to one love will leave her alone and unhappy for life.
Jane Austen wrote about very different women. What unites them is the honesty and kindness with which the author treats them. Regardless of how they are seen from the outside, Jane Austen looks into their hearts and finds beautiful imperfect humans who can be happy. And this fandom denies the same attitude to Mary Bennet. Because she isn't conventionally funny and hot. Hey! Neither are Fanny and Anne.
(The best of this post and its reblogs, but with links that work)
Here is a website where you can scroll down to all the different levels of the ocean
Here is a website where you can see the future of the universe
Here is a website where you can press a ‘make everything okay’ button, over and over, until things really are okay
Here is a website that you can read if you feel like a burden
Here is a website where you can look at strobe illusions (TW strobe/flashing)
Here is a website where you can cut stuff up (TW blood/sh)
Here and here are websites where you can play with sand
Here is a website where you can draw with macaroni and other fun foods
Here is a website where you can paint someone’s nails
Here is a website where you can grow a garden with emojis
Here is a website with hundreds of videos of people hugging you (rightfully dubbed ‘the nicest place on the internet’ because it really is, y’all, it made me cry)
Here is a website that will take you to other useless websites
Here is a website where you can make a tiny cat play bongo drums (and other instruments!)
Here is a website to help give you gentle reminders <3
Here is a website where you can grow a tiny farm
Here is a website where you can take a bunch of scientific personality tests
Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.
AI industry groups are urging an appeals court to block what they say is the largest copyright class action ever certified. They’ve warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic’s AI training now threatens to “financially ruin” the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement.
Authors have until March 30th, 2026 (That is just 9 days as of this reblog, which I am posting on March 21st, 2026) to file their claim against Anthropic to be reimbursed up to $3,000 per work found in the list.
Updated February 18, 2026 IMPORTANT: The Claims Deadline Is March 30 Background Bartz v. Anthropic is one of the major copyright lawsuits b
Please click the above link for all of the exact details of how to file a claim and to check for your works, and share this post as far and wide as you can before March 30th, 2026!
Being a teacher, at some point, you come to the realization of how little actually depends on you. Some kids are gonna be good just because they are innately good at it and others are not gonna be so good however much you try. And it hits you in the middle of your lesson and you're just sitting there wondering what the fuck you are actually doing.
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