Exclusive Interview
‘The Other Bennet Sister’: Dónal Finn on What That Poetry Reading Really Means (VIDEO)
What To Know
- The Other Bennet Sister centers on Mary Bennet as she discovers independence and self-worth after moving to London.
- Mr. Hayward arranges a private poetry reading for Mary and the Gardiners in Episode 4, aiming to help Mary appreciate poetry and deepen their connection, despite being in a relationship with Miss Baxter.
- Dónal Finn explains Mr. Hayward’s motivations.
Mr. Hayward (Dónal Finn) stages a poetry reading for Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri) and her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner (Richard Coyle and Indira Varma), in The Other Bennet Sister Episode 4. But what would his betrothed, Miss Baxter (Varada Sethu), think of such a romantic gesture? We asked Finn to explain what the act of that poetry reading really means.
The Other Bennet Sister is a spinoff of Jane Austen‘s Pride and Prejudice that puts the middle and oft-ignored Bennet sibling, Mary, in the spotlight. The series premiered on May 6 with three episodes that started before the events of Pride and Prejudice but quickly whipped through the marriages of her four sisters. Mary moved to London to be a governess for the Gardiner’s children after the death of her father, Mr. Bennet (Richard E. Grant), and the distance from her oppressive mother, Mrs. Bennet (Ruth Jones), allowed Mary to see life in a new way. For the first time ever, she doesn’t see herself as a disappointment who should hide in the background. At least, she’s starting to believe that.
Meeting Mr. Hayward gave Mary a tiny glimmer of hope for real romance, but she soon learned that he is in a relationship with Miss Baxter, a character created for the series. They’re not engaged, but they have an “arrangement” that makes them committed to each other. Basically, they’re dating with the intent to marry in the future.
BBC / Bad Wolf / James Pardon
Hayward is intrigued by Mary when they meet, and he becomes determined to make the analytical woman open her eyes to the wonder of poetry. She likes facts and non-fiction. Poetry is a language she doesn’t quite understand. So, he arranges for a poetry reading, attended only by Mary and the Gardiners, in a secret garden. Mr. Hayward’s performance brings Mary to tears. She’s really feeling the poetry for the first time, and Mr. Hayward is thrilled.
Is Tom worried about what Miss Baxter would think of this romantic gesture? And what does it say about his feelings for his de facto girlfriend if he isn’t? Finn laughs at the question and says it’s valid.
“It is a great question, as to what are his motivations to bringing Mary Bennet and the Gardiners to a secret garden,” he says.
“At least the Gardiners are there,” Bruccoleri chimes in. Finn replies, “That offers some level of legitimacy.”
“But he does say Miss Baxter finds great excuses to avoid ideas like these. I think what’s lovely about that [scene], just after that poetry reading is I think maybe Hayward’s first time understanding how Mary might be feeling and how she might be investing in their connection. But I think, at that point, maybe Hayward is slightly obliviously building a connection that he understands to be platonic. It’s on this journey of spending time together that he realizes that [he doesn’t] categorize her as a friend.”
In that moment, in the poetry reading, he wants her to understand the merits of poetry and to open up that curiosity in her.
The Other Bennet Sister, Wednesdays, BritBox
