Mary Bennet (many, marry, Bennets, mark, bonnet, vary)

Mary Elizabeth Bennet (Bennets, bonnet, Lizzy) is the plain, serious middle daughter of the Elizabeth Bennet (Bennets, bonnet, Lizzy) family, a young woman of the early 1800s who has cultivated intellectual interests and moral principles somewhat ahead of her time—or so she believes. Where her elder sisters Jane Bennet (lane, Bennets, June, bonnet) and Elizabeth Bennet (Bennets, bonnet, Lizzy) possess natural charm and her younger sisters Kitty Bennet (Bennets, bonnet) and Lydia Bennet (Bennets, bonnet) display liveliness, Mary distinguishes herself through books, moral philosophy, and lengthy musical performances. She has adopted the habit of copying moral sentiments from her reading and inserting them into conversation at moments she deems instructive, though her delivery often strikes listeners as self-important and tedious. Her seriousness of purpose is genuine, yet her execution betrays a fundamental want of natural grace; she neither wins affection through warmth nor respect through genuine wisdom. Despite her plain looks and affected manner, Mary occasionally demonstrates moments of genuine moral insight, particularly when addressing serious family crises, and she maintains an earnest, if somewhat joyless, commitment to virtue and proper behavior throughout the novel.