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The third Bennet sister, Mary Bennet, is perhaps the least socially-motivated character in the novel. Nearly always occupied with her reading and music, she displays little to no interest in balls or securing a husband for herself. Highly intellectual and more than a little socially awkward, her ability to find common ground is not nearly as refined as her ability to devote herself to her studies. Where Jane has Elizabeth, and Kitty has Lydia, Mary is almost entirely on her own. She is, unquestionably, the most singular of her sisters. Though she is learned in many things, she possesses an air of conceit that tends to outpace her level of expertise. She is highly studious and was at one time regarded as the most accomplished girl in the neighborhood, but she is greatly lacking in taste and does not possess any specific genius trait. She has a greater willingness to play the pianoforte than any of her sisters, holding a greater confidence than her skill level warrants. She is pedantic and conceited, believing that her devotion to her intellectual pursuits elevates her above what she considers to be the triviality of her sisters. She is far and away the child who was paid the least attention by her parents, and because her sisters have so completely paired off, she is essentially alone. This solitude may, in fact, contribute to the amount of effort she puts forward in trying to seem impressive. Though she makes every attempt to be acknowledged for her excellence, she is still regarded as silly by her father, which must affect her on some level.
