Invisible Worlds: Ms. Bingley and Mary

By Sophia Luo & Amy R. Parlapiano

After reading Pride and Prejudice together this year, we decided to write poems from the perspectives of two women in the story who are misunderstood and brushed aside.

In Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, Ms. Bingley is a young woman who has her sights set on Mr. Darcy, a handsome, rich man, who unfortunately does not return her affections. This one-sided love leads Ms. Bingley to harbor some rather unpleasant feelings towards the person Mr. Darcy loves. Here is the poem I wrote from her point of view. 

By Sophia Luo 

watching you playfully argue back and forth with her
is so tiring

she knows all the right things to say
the witty remarks
the insightful comments
her intelligence astounds you
and astounds me. 

she is beautiful of course
she is insightful 
she is everything i wish to be
not that i would ever tell her that

i lie awake at night
crafting imaginary scenarios 
where you will turn around
and say you’re the one for me
how could i have been so blind!

i fall asleep 
hopes renewed for tomorrow
but when tomorrow comes
she is always the one you are looking at
she is the one for you

but i cannot admit that to myself
i refuse to accept it
for this imaginary world that i live in
is too great to lose.

“While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr. Bingley.” That’s just one of the many dismissive quotes about Mary, one of the five Bennett daughters who has big thoughts and ideas, but is often treated by her family as “silly,” or is simply ignored. Here is a poem from her perspective. 

By Amy Parlapiano 

Longbourn is a lifeless town, and I am floating through it
Invisible,
unnoticed, 
By my sisters, elder and younger.
By my clueless father and mother.
I sing, and their ears turn away.
I speak, and I’ve ruined their day.
Lacking genius and beauty, they say. 
Without knowing how their words cause me deep dismay.
Why don’t they care about my thoughtful soliloquies
And my profound interpretation of the wide world around us?
Why don’t they see my potential for more than Meryton alone?
Where is the adoration for me, Mary?
So mistreated, so unloved.
Such is the life of the fifth sister, 
Third in birth order,
Last in their hearts.
Pushed aside, left behind.
That’s what it’s like to be me, Mary. 

Performance

Process

In Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett is the hero of the story, but we see her relationship with Mr. Darcy unfold entirely from her perspective, never getting any insight into what Ms. Bingley, who is also in love with Mr. Darcy, is really feeling. Similarly, Mary is Elizabeth’s sister, but she’s treated as an afterthought by her family. We challenged ourselves to get into their minds, and see what they might say to others if anyone cared to listen.