In Defense of Matthew
So much backlash against Matthew. He's my favorite character, dear, sweet Matthew. Many think he's changed a great deal in S2. Thanks to the war, that's inevitable. Unfortunately, as eolivet has pointed out, JF decided to not attempt to flesh out Matthew's character in any great detail, just rendering a few war scenes here and there, and showing him
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I think we all know how much I, let's face it, ADORE Matthew. He is my bb. This needed writing, thank you so much.
YES.
I'd just like to add a comment on the whole nursing issue, which does seem to be a major stonk to people. At two points, IMO, it might appear that Matthew is ungrateful to Mary.
1) With Violet. Matthew praises Lavinia's care of him - but the important thing here is, he's talking about the FUTURE. He's talking about the fact that Lavinia has(was) prepared to give up her future, her entire life, to looking after him in a wheelchair. I mean, that on TOP of being Countess of Downton - that's a big ask of her. It's huge. And Matthew has utterly, utterly no idea that Mary would've done the same. In Matthew's awareness - Mary helped him for a few months. We can gather, given the sick bowl and her insistence on cleaning him with Sybil when he was brought in (but does Matthew know this? Probably not), that she did do things "only the most dedicated nurse would do" - but how much, we don't know, and Matthew to be honest has probably blocked out most of those worst days from his mind. Back to my point - Mary nursed him for a while. Lavinia was giving up her LIFE. There's just no comparison there, and no reason for Matthew to have seen that any differently. Actually, I'm more pissed with Violet in that moment for not filling him in.
2) When Lavinia's dying, and she says that she'd make a better nursemaid than Mary, and Matthew agrees with her. Comes off cold? Yeah. But lets think a moment. Did Lavinia EVER see Mary caring for Matthew? No, because the moment Lavinia was there, Mary stepped back. Lavinia has no idea, and why would Matthew ever have mentioned it? Coupled to that, would be that since Lavinia came back, bitch!Mary (said with the greatest affection) was back in full force - hardly giving Lavinia the impression that she'd make a good carer. So, of course Lavinia thinks that. Now as for Matthew - the woman is dying, and knows that Matthew would rather be with someone else. She heard Matthew say that the REASON he still intends to marry her is because of her sacrifice to care for him. As far as she can see in this moment, that's her appeal, and she hits on it - "at least I'd be a better nurse!" or whatever she says.
What's Matthew going to say? "Um, actually, no - Mary's better at that, too." That, THAT, would be harsh. Talk about kicking a person when they're down. She's dying, for goodness' sake. Matthew can ONLY agree with her.
Ok, I think I'm done there.
What makes me sad, is... Everything Matthew does is justifiable. Everything. It's completely believable, and completely him - but the problem is, Fellowes left us to fill in those gaps, to make those connections, for ourselves. I'll be honest, if it were Bates, I wouldn't bother. People who aren't fans of Matthew in the first place aren't going to bother. It's a great shame that we HAVE to read between the lines so much to understand him, because 90% of people aren't going to make that effort.
Oh, Matthew. *sigh* *hugs*
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I know, it would have been easy to let him know here. And Violet had to have realized how much Mary had done. I completely agree that from Matthew's POV that it looked like Mary simply quit when Lavinia showed up. And I think that goes along with Matthew thinking Mary did it out of a sense of duty.
I forgot to mention the moment where Lavinia talks of being a better nurse. I knew exactly where she was coming from but having it said pissed me off. Not by Lavinia or for Matthew for agreeing but to JF for adding such an unnecessary moment in the first place. All it did was to pound in harder that Lavinia was more than willing to be the wife Matthew needed and to also support she was such a Mary Sue. I got so mad when I saw that scene because I knew people would be angry over it and feel it an insult to Mary. And like you said, even if Matthew did disagree, what was he supposed to say? Argue with a dying woman that even in nursing she was second to Mary?
So thank you for extending my comments to cover areas I still forgot to cover. And I think what irritates me is I'm tired of having to defend Matthew because it would have taken JF not much effort to do it for us.
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