Why was Mary written to be such a little *beep*

ExplorerDS6789 (Thu Sep 8 2016 18:59:28)
She must have been written to reflect Melissa Sue Anderson's real-life persona, because she could be quite a bitch back in those days.

Yes, Mary & Ma were portrayed in the books as irritatingly perfect and prim and everytime Laura did something remotely normal, she was chastised for it and felt bad for it.
I have the feeling Rose's editing of the books has a lot to do with their characterization. Although I have no idea of the details of the alterations, it is true that Rose edited Laura's books to fit a reading audience. Rose was already a journalist and author by the time Laura wrote her books, and Rose knew what would work for a literary audience. The real people were altered into fictional characters and as the target audience were children, things were simplified a lot. So Ma became the strict parent, Mary the goody-two-shoes and Laura the misunderstood child who wanted to do good. Real life was very likely much different than that.

I like how the series softened the characters, as it felt more realistic. I love the books as every chapter tells a new tale, but there are overarching themes that evolve throughout the books. Two of these themes were the sibling rivalry with 'perfect' Mary and Laura feeling inadequate, and Ma's favouritism with Mary and Laura eventually finding her own happiness.
Although in the TV series Laura was the protagonist of the younger cast, the show was pretty much an ensemble cast from the start with characters getting their own episodes. Unlike the books which were all from Laura's point of view (except from Farmer Boy), Mary and Caroline also had their own episodes, which made it necessary for them to also have more layered characters. It was necessary to soften them and have them appear as characters of their own rather than literary characters to serve a particular kind of story.

Agree with bess654, the characters followed the books but were somewhat softened for TV, Ma moreso than Mary. I might also add that Ma, at least, was softened in the books from how she was in real life. Laura's daughter Rose had considerable influence over the books and would convince Laura to write them certain ways to make them more likable or approachable for children.

Nice try, Melissa Sue Anderson.

Agree with you, she wasn't overly bossy and overly controlling until episodes like The Handyman and The Wolves. Boy she really turned into a "b" in those episodes. Then again once Laura became a teacher she was kind of irritatingly bossy as well. Laura became somewhat unlikeable after she married Almanzo too.

Well, to be fair, BOTH were prisses in their own way. Mary was more in control, take charge and by the rules. Laura was just a shrew for whatever reason. PMS 30 days a month?