Of Swords and Parasols

Set in (I believe-it’s never actually stated and I haven’t watched the special features yet, or read the book) the 1860s, Wives and Daughters is about Molly Gibson, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a rural doctor. When he catches one of his apprentices trying to sneak Molly a love letter, Dr. Gibson send Molly away to stay with the Hamleys, an old Saxon family who lives nearby. While she’s away, he proposes to Mrs. Kirkpatrick, a widow with a daughter, Cynthia, who is near Molly’s age, with both thinking that their respective daughters will benefit from the marriage, as they will then have both a mother and a father. During her visit, Molly heard much about the Hamley’s two sons, Roger and Osborn. Roger, the younger son, is a scientist, and their father’s favorite, while Osborn, the older son, is a poet, and his mother’s favorite. Due to their parents’ talk of the brothers, Molly is predisposed to like Osborn and to judge Roger, but soon comes to value Roger as a friend once they meet.

Cynthia and Molly become friends almost immediately, though they are as different as it is possible to be. Molly is a bit naïve, but smart, honest and blunt, while Cynthia is well intentioned, but flighty and shallow, and far too fond of secrets and intrigues. Despite that, it’s easy to believe that they really are close, and to believe Cynthia’s claims that she loves Molly better than anyone else. The new Mrs. Gibson is a frustratingly entertaining character to watch, but almost impossible to live with, as she’s very obsessed with things being proper and done the right way, and is very much the stereotypical “Matchmaking Mama,” obsessed with making a good match for the girls, and chasing off those she does not deem suitable. All three actresses-Justine Waddell (Molly), Keeley Hawes (Cynthia) and Francesca Annis (Mrs. Gibson)-did amazing jobs. Another character I loved was Lady Harriet, a local noblewoman who takes an interest in and befriends Molly. Actually, I think I’ve been in fandom for far, far too long, because despite being well aware that things had a different social and personal meaning back then, I couldn’t help but think that a couple of her scenes with Molly were slashy, if one-sided.

I will not lie: I spent most of the miniseries alternating between “I will absolutely die if Molly and Roger don’t get married!” and “Roger! You are being stupid and are no longer allowed to marry Molly!” These transitions sometimes occurred very quickly. Also, this is likely a personal tastes thing, but I always thought it was odd when they’d talk about how Roger wasn’t as good looking as Osborn, because I thought Roger was better looking. There are a lot of interesting things in the series about the relationships between mothers and daughters and fathers and daughters (and, to a lesser degree, fathers and sons) as well as relationships between men and women in general, but I suspect that I need to read the book to get the full deal there.

I also realize now why the acting and production values in Torchwood threw me so much: I’m used to BBC’s period pieces, which tend to be pretty superior on all levels, aside from a few obvious blue screen scenes that show up in some of them.