The Other Bennet Sister

by Janice Hadlow

It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky enough to come into the world without expectations, she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful. To be poor and handsome is misfortune enough; but to be penniless and plain is a hard fate indeed.

Elizabeth’s own appearance was not quite so much to her mother’s taste as Jane’s. Her dark eyes and sparkling smile were too suggestive of her lively character to win Mrs. Bennet’s wholehearted approval. She was too amused with the world to qualify as a true beauty; but for all her misgivings, Mrs. Bennet’s appraising eye acknowledged there was something about Lizzy that appealed.

Seriousness seemed the only mood a plain girl might adopt without exposing herself to the scorn or pity of others.

“Heaven preserve me from habits of industry! And my mind is stretched quite enough, thank you. The last thing we need is a governess sitting in the morning room sniffing and looking miserable, some poor spinster with a book of sermons in one hand and a twist of snuff in the other.”

“You are very kind, Mrs. Hill, but you don’t need to indulge me. The mirror cannot lie.” “Perhaps. But in truth, I don’t think you see yourself at all clearly, miss. Your sisters get in the way. A daffodil seems quite ordinary when planted between lilies. But looked at without them, it has its own kind of beauty.”

Mr. Bennet was a man of considerable natural perception, and there were few situations in which he did not understand what was required of him; but exertion bored him, and he could rarely be bothered to act, even upon what he knew to be right. He found it far easier to mock his daughters than to take the trouble to correct them.