Now most women, I am sure would probably liken themselves to Jane Bennett, the beauty of the family, the elder sister who is intelligent if not rather subdued or to her more outspoken younger sister, Elizabeth Bennett, who is the heroine of this story. After all, both are rather strong female characters, especially that of Elizabeth Bennett who goes up against not only her mother in matchmaking, but also Lady Catherine de Bourgh and essentially society all in the same breath. Then, she goes up against the hero of the story head on and ends up inevitably falling in love with Mr. Darcy. Jane is strong also, but in a rather subtle way. She possesses the much finer quality of the two Bennett sisters, which is poise as well as grace. While an exceptional beauty, Jane also possesses the good sense not to let it go to her head as some other young lady at the time would have. When Mr. Bingley leaves Netherfield to return to London, Jane shows her backbone as well as her own strong will and exceptional wit by not letting the slight affect her so publicly as others might have.
Both strong female characters to be sure.
But I - I am not like other women. I do not find myself as beautiful or as desirable as Jane, nor as subdued and as elegant as she, either. Her younger sister, Elizabeth, I could probably say I have more in common with but I fail to sport her wit or her balls, so to speak. Instead, I possess a similar bull-headed stubbornness. No, the Bennett that I connect most with would have to be that of Mary - the sister that is usually a forgotten side character that fills in the role as contrast to the other outlandish Bennett women. I say outlandish for I have no love at all for Kitty Bennett, who follows her sister Lydia blindly - not an original thought in her entire head. I also have no love and would say out right that I rather despise Lydia Bennett for her utter stupidity with being swept up and away by Mr. Wickham and finding no fault with the circumstances of such a union before, during, or after with the afore-mentioned Mr. Wickham.
So why Mary? Why the little sister who sits and practices the piano forte though she has no great skill at it? Why the little sister who wears more subdued clothes in comparison to her rather immodest sisters Lydia and Kitty? Who embarasses herself by singing badly at the ball of Netherfield? Why her?
Because I know what it is like to be the younger, forgotten sister. And while she and I both do not possess the grace of her elder sister(s) nor the intelligence of her elder sister(s), we both try very hard. We seek knowledge and while not witty, we try to apply our knowledge when it is warranted and we both seek to accomplish something though we never do. While I am not as plain as she, she and I have much in common.
There is another thing that she and I differ on. While I may not necessarily be the leading lady in my own life, I have certainly been able to obtain the leading gentleman. How I managed to obtain him, I am still at a loss to explain for every day when I am away from him I find myself less and less able to believe in his actuality for he is too good to be true at times. The fact is, though, that he is real and while I am no Elizabeth Bennett, he is most certainly my Mr. Darcy. And while he and I may not have a love story that lasts two centuries like that of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, we will at least have one that spans decades and that is enough for me. He is enough for me.
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