The BBC’s The Other Bennet Sister is finally streaming on Britbox in the U.S., and if you’re anything like us, you’re caught up and have seen the all 10 episodes available now—and are extra excited about the big news of a Christmas special.
It’s impossible not to root for Mary Bennet and her quest to find her place in a world that seems to only value the shallow qualities she lacks, and cheer for her as she finds her confidence away from her family, coming to define and love herself on her own terms. It’s also quite quotable, so if you can’t get enough, keep scrolling to discover the best quotes from the first season to use as your next Instagram caption.
For striving to find joy and success with what you’ve been given:
“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 that she is beautiful.”
-Mary Bennet
For not worrying about what happens once you’re gone:
“When the time comes, I’ll be dead anyway.”
-Mr. Bennet
For not being sure how you’ll ever find your way:
“If you’re not the beautiful one, the quick-witted one, or the ones that are good at games and full of youthful energy, then who are you? And what can you do if you’re the odd one out? Is it possible you’ll ever find a way to fit in?”
-Mary Bennet
(The Other Bennet Sister via Britbox)
For loving your new pair of glasses:
“You really do look very well in your spectacles.”
-John Sparrow
For being forced to go out in a less-than-appealing outfit:
“I think you’re very brave to be prepared to look so ugly.”
-Lydia Bennet
For refusing to concern yourself with frivolous things:
“Such fripperies are not for me.”
-Mary Bennet
For when comparison is the thief of joy:
“A daffodil might look plain next to a lily, but on its own, there is much to be admired.”
-Mrs. Hill
For kidding yourself that your thoughts and feelings will no longer play into the equation:
“From now on, knowledge and reason would be my guide.”
-Mary Bennet
Also read about: 21 Unforgettable Quotes From Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister Novel to Use as Captions
For wanting to appear powerful and important:
“I was working on gravitas.”
-Mary Bennet
For feeling like your choices are slim:
“Marriage or misery.”
-Charlotte Lucas
For when loving music is more about feeling than precision:
“It seems a great shame to wring all the pleasure out of music.”
-Lizzy Bennet
For discouraging someone from making a fool of themself:
“Short and sweet. That would be my advice. And, erm, maybe don’t sing.”
-Mrs. Hill
For when you can’t help but notice someone’s beautiful arms:
“Tolerable forearms, I noticed.”
-Mary Bennet
For remembering that no one notices your flaws the way you do:
“Take a breath, take a breath. Nobody noticed but you.”
-Mrs. Gardiner
For refusing to be fooled:
“Magic is nothing but illusion and trickery.”
-Mary Bennet
For letting people be exactly as they want to be:
“In our house, no one is obliged to sparkle.”
-Mrs. Gardiner
For settling on an outfit that makes you smile:
“But most important thing being is that you choose fabrics that you truly like.”
-Mrs. Gardiner
For letting joy guide the way you dress:
“Some people may think it is wild. But, I like it.”
-Mary Bennet
For struggling to see the appeal of poetry:
“I prefer facts to whimsy.”
-Mary Bennet
For having a tough time at parties:
“I never know who to talk to and I often find myself saying the wrong thing.”
-Ann Baxter
For finding motivation in an exciting new place:
“Surely, I would find something I could succeed at in this vast, inspiring city.”
-Mary Bennet
For when expression isn’t always so straightforward:
“I think some poets enjoy being difficult to understand.”
-Tom Hayward
(The Other Bennet Sister via Britbox)
For finding comfort being on your own for the first time:
“Oh, it’s a relief to be without her. In fact, it’s something of a relief to be without any of them.”
-Mary Bennet
For struggling to say what you feel:
“You have such, such varied ways to express your feelings. Mine feel frozen, or feeble, or entirely unknowable.”
-Mary Bennet
For not getting too caught up in your first choice:
“You may enjoy the first thing you see well enough. But, often, something more exciting will come along.”
-Mrs. Gardiner
For finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel:
“Even the most hopeless of situations, the most hopeless of people can, with kindness, change, little by little, over time.”
-Mary Bennet
For trying to remember all of the rules of courting:
“If a man asks you to dance, do not look too happy, nor too disappointed—depending on who he is. You must look nonchalant, carefree.
-Ann Baxter
Also read about: Where to Watch Dónal Finn Next If You Love Him in The Other Bennet Sister
For believing love is the most important thing:
“The only thing that should guide us is the heart.”
-William Ryder
For seeing someone’s true colors:
“She does not appear to lack confidence, that is certain. Perhaps underneath that brittle exterior lies doubts and insecurities, the same as everyone else.”
-Mrs. Gardiner
For being extra catty about someone’s fashion choices:
“How refreshing it is to see a young woman with the courage to defy the dictates of fashion, when most of us are foolish enough to want to look as well as we possibly can.”
-Caroline Bingley
For not fussing too much about past mistakes:
“What person has not done something regrettable in their lives?”
-Lizzy Darcy
For appreciating how real someone is:
“You lack artifice. Your qualities shine out, they’re not corrupted by the false polish of the world.”
-William Ryder
For saying what you truly mean to say:
“Our inability to say what we mean is one of the great curses of our age. We hide behind a thousand disguises that we like to call politeness.”
-William Ryder
(The Other Bennet Sister via Britbox)
For being intentional about your own joy:
“I’m looking into the question of happiness.”
-Mr. Collins
Also read about: Everything You Wanted to Know About The Other Bennet Sister Actress Ella Bruccoleri
For choosing joy whenever you can:
“So, what Aristotle is saying is that our happiness is in our own hands?”
-Mary Bennet
For having your whole future ahead of you:
“I could not remember when I’d last felt so ready for change—a new beginning.”
-Mary Bennet
For not being ashamed of your terrible drawings:
“It will be impossible for you to ever think of me as a man of feeling once you’ve seen these. I have no artistic talent at all.”
-Tom Hayward
For the experience that makes an artwork finally click in hindsight:
“I’ve read this poem a thousand times. Sitting here, I finally feel its true power.”
-Tom Hayward
For getting annoyed of someone’s behavior:
“Oh, it’s absolutely typical of that man—an impatient and ill thought-through decision.”
-Tom Hayward
For knowing a big day lies ahead of you:
“I had made my decision. I knew what I wanted and today I would seize it. Fortune favoured the brave, didn’t it?”
-Mary Bennet
For the impressive landscape that puts everything into perspective:
“It reminds me how small and insignificant we are. How in the blink of an eye, we, everything that we have created, will be gone.”
-Tom Hayward
For knowing you only live once:
“Do you think there’s a lesson here … That during our short time on this earth we should be brave? Follow our hearts?”
-Tom Hayward
Also read about: Where to Watch Laurie Davidson Next If You Love Him in The Other Bennet Sister
For finding your person:
“There is no one I long to talk to like I do you. No one. No one who makes me feel more like me. If that makes any sense at all.”
-Tom Hayward
For when family is complicated:
“If I may be so bold. If you have always struggled to please your mother, why do you keep trying?”
-John Sparrow
For realizing you might have a shot with your crush:
“Surely, he is attainable.”
-Caroline Bingley
For when something happens to make your life even better than it was:
“Though one can always be just a little happier, I suppose.”
-Mary Bennet
For realizing the error of your ways:
“If you put it like that, it does not sound good.”
-Tom Hayward
For more on the beloved series, click HERE to read our interview with Mary Bennet actress Ella Bruccoleri on the role and bringing Mary to life.
