However, the right to her bodily autonomy is a battle Mary has throughout the episode she is observed by several men, notably Jem who stands watching her clean herself. It threatens to become a little one-note before the episode’s end, however, but with relationships developing with Patience and Jem in particular, it looks likely that Brown Findlay will have more to work with in the coming episodes.Īn undercurrent in the novel, the threat of sexual violence also becomes graphically clear as Mary is nearly assaulted by one of her uncle’s colleagues and she is consistently fighting for her independence in a world which demands that she should marry. Jessica Brown Findlay is a solid presence at the heart of this drama, bringing a surly attitude to the character that clashes well with the strong masculine environment in which she finds herself. That will to survive is something which Mary has also been given a great deal of, to the point where how to get through the next situation she finds herself in becomes the character’s driving conflict. Whalley’s performance is excellent, combining the vulnerability of a beaten wife with the steeliness of a woman determined to survive. Her lies spring from a desire to remain positive in the face of criminality and daily drudgery and she serves as a warning to Mary of what she may become if she remains in this life. Little more than a damsel in the novel, here Patience has been written as a multi-dimensional figure. One such welcome change is the expansion of Aunt Patience’s role. Initially arriving at the inn with a strictly black and white moral view of the world, she is quickly worn down by the morality of the locals, which is more of a murky grey.Īs with any adaptation, changes to the original text have been made, but largely for the benefit of the story and the characters. In doing so, Frost establishes Mary’s isolation in this world.
Emma Frost’s adaptation quickly gets to the heart of the smuggling ring using the inn as its base and thrusts Mary into the action. The first episode wears its Gothic sensibilities on its sleeve there are ever-lengthening shadows, enigmatic figures glimpsed from afar and a mystery to be solved.
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