Pride & Prejudice Question-a-Day Contest: Question 2

I really enjoyed reading everyone's answers yesterday. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as well. You really put some thought into this! Well done, and I'm very happy to see you're having fun with the contest. I think at the end of the month I'll pick out a few answers from the pool and put them up on the blog.

The Other Mr Darcy is already on the shelves in several bookstores. I'm missing the thrill of walking into one and finding the book right there, but I'm making up by having friends send me photos.

Now for the moment you've been waiting for:

Pride And Prejudice question 2:

Opinion: Would Mary Bennet have made a good wife for Mr Collins? Why/Why not?

Comments

  1. Mary Bennet and Mr Collins are both enjoy reading sermons. I think Mary would have been better wife to Collins than Charlotte, because I think both Mr Collins and Mary are pretty dull.

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  2. I think she would have made a good wife for him, since both seemed to be blunt. Furthermore, Mary is described as a calm person, so this fact would have benefited Mr. Collins!

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  3. Mary is a very reserved person, probably well suited to the life of a pastor's wife. And I might be wrong about this, but she seems like the kind of person who doesn't care so much about marrying for love. Charlotte might have subdued a desire to marry for love in order to at least get married at her "advanced" age. Mary wouldn't have cared so much.

    Laura Hartness
    LauraHartnesss@gmail.com

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  4. I'm going to buck the trend here. I don't think Mary would have been a good choice.

    Mr. C. is a synchophant and Mary is not bright enough to know that. She has spent her life seeking approval by working at her music and studies, and I can't imagine her playing the toad when Lady C. would start in on how she and Anne are so far superior in taste and would have excelled, blah, blah, blah. I think Mary would have tried to prove that she was the more proficient, which would have mortified Mr. C and he would scold her for, I'm certain.

    Mary is also not bright enough to handle Mr. C as Charlotte does (e.g., with her choice of sitting room so that she doesn't spend much time with him).

    I think she would have tried to teach him and would end up more miserable than she was at home. At least at home, her mother thought she was clever if not pretty. As Mrs. Collins, she would not even be deemed clever anymore.

    Charlotte went into her marriage with her eyes open and coped pretty well, imo. I don't think Mary is up to coping that well.

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  5. I think they would have clashed... both would have wanted to state their opinion in a long, drawn out manner and I also believe Mr. Collins would be the type to believe a silent woman is best.

    I looked for the book at Borders today with no luck!

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  6. I think Mary would have made a good wife for Mr Collins. Out of all the Bennett sisters she would be the best choice as she has that calm and quiet dispostion which befits a clergymen's wife.

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  7. It might have been a possibly good match. She is of a very spiritual character, a good match for a clergyman. The only problem would have been she was very young and sometimes seemed to go a bit overboard with trying to be extra spiritual.

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  8. I can see it going either way. They are so similar in their zealous natures that they might fuel each other on in a way so they both would become even more pious and judgmental. But I could also see Mary becoming very frustrated because I don't think Mr. Collins would actually listen to her point of view very well. They would probably get along well for a while until Mary realized that he didn't listen to a word she said. Even so, she would probably be happier than she was at home.

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  9. I think they would have been perfect. They both are reserved people, yet want to be approved of by others! Though they might have clashed over who could talk first, I think they would have been...happy...well as happy as either of them could be!

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  10. OMGoodness, JaneGS took the words right out of my mouth!

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  11. I think Mary Bennet would not have made a good wife for Mr. Collins because his vision of religion, charity, etc. is skewed. Mary would likely point out portions of the bible and sermons that he should adopt in his life, and she doesn't strike me as the time to acquiesce to his ideas about religion, etc. especially if he is wrong or what Mary sees as wrong.

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  12. Sorry you couldn't find the book, Arleigh. I hope they brought it in by now!

    Fascinating to think of Mary and Mr Collins together, isn't it? Thank you all for your wonderful and stimulating ideas.

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  13. Yes, she would have been able to discuss all of the borings points that Mr. Collins wanted to discuss. They could have enjoyed good sermons together and Mary could have helped him with his work.

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  14. I have to agree with JaneG. Mary is a Bennett, after all! She may have been similar to Collins in taste, but she would have had an opinion, too. I think they would have had a bit of conflict.

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