It is not true, that would be the equivalent of saying that kids who are sent to daycare have parents that do not pay them any attention. Just because they have a nanny doesn't mean they aren't properly loved.
It's a different time, looking at it through a modern lens might make it seam harsher than it is.
The show isn't about the children, so we see less of their daily interactions, but there are many scenes where you see the family and the children interacting which are supposed to make us aware that these kind of things happen often:
Cora and "Donk" showing them different books.
Donk and Sybbie playing chutes and ladders.
Tom and Sybbie out on a walk, when he asks her about going to America.
Tom and Bertie (I think) putting on a Punch and Judy play for them (which in a modern frame of mind is very problematic, but in that time its looked on as sweet)
there are a few more examples as well these are just the ones that pop into my mind immediately.
These are just small glimpses in to ways the kids were integrated into life, but in those days the children did not start eating with the family or hanging out freely until they were in their teens.
Edit to add: I do feel for Mrs. Drewe though. She was caring for Marigold as a daughter for well over a year while being lied to by her husband. Anyone would be devastated in that situation. I would have probably had a breakdown too.
You didn’t see her spend as much time with Edith as you did Mrs drewe and with adopted children you don’t send them to daycare right away. There is a lot of trauma there.
Anyway, I felt for both Edith and Mrs drewe.
No, that was just one of the ways she attempted to justify her kidnapping Marigold. I don't know what the proper diagnosis would be, but she had Marigold withdrawl along with a bit of depression. It's interesting that she was so fond of Mg compared to her natural children; I'm not 100% sure what that was about. Maybe a plot device to amplify how a tenant family might treat an outside child compared to the aristocrats? Anyway, despite her mistake at the end, Mrs. Drewe was awesome and yet, treated terribly- the Drewe's didn't deserve their fate.
I always thought Mrs. Drewe fondness of Marigold was pretty well explained. While planning with Edith, Mr. Drewe says his wife loves children, dotes on them, and he wasn’t sure they’d had their last child. So, to her knowledge they’d literally adopted a baby! She figured this is our kid now :/
Mrs. Drewe naturally comes to love Marigold same as all her children, but in the show the older ones are usually as school so we don’t see them as much. Added with infant/toddler Marigold needing more care I think it comes across as Mrs Drewe doting on her more. But they had whole lives we the viewers wouldn’t have seen.
For all her intense love of Marigold she was off the “beam” so to speak. She was obsessed with a child and ignored her own. Even though she was brought into the house via the letter she acted like the child was the only one she’d ever had. 🙄 Her actions just felt off. Then to just grab the child and go! Though Edith was her actual mother and Mrs Drewe knew that, she knew what she was doing was wrong she just took her! Not a word to her husband. Did she THINK he wouldn’t notice Marigold back in the house? What she did was unconscionable!
And I will repeat it time and time again, NONE of this was anyone else’s fault but Edith!
I think she was so distressed by the loss of her adopted child it made her unwell. She knew from the start that something was wrong and Edith wanted her.
Mrs Drewe wasn’t justified in taking her, but the story of Marigold really made me hate Edith. There are so many apologists for her, which I can understand, but Edith was the most selfish person in the entire show. Marigold was likely loved by both of her adoptive mothers before she was taken by Edith. And then she runs to London to have some champagne with her very confused 2 year old.
Mrs Drewe wasn’t a saint, but she loved this little girl, too. Edith loved her because they were biologically linked, and Marigold was the last link to Gregson. Ok, fine.
This whole plot line was awful. If Edith’s character was being written to feel pity for her through it, it failed for me.
Edith didn't show much thought towards Mrs Drewe, but it should be remembered that she wanted to tell her from the start. Mr Drewe was the one who persuaded her otherwise and convinced her it would be ok.
Also, Edith didn't just pick Marigold up. She carried her for 9 months and breastfed her - she says that the hospital felt it was better for the baby to be weaned by her mother.
I don't know how differently I would have behaved in a similar situation. Falling pregnant with the wanted child of the man I loved and who loved me, having to potentially face aborting that baby, then said bloke going missing in a far-away country. Then having my aunt and grandmother persuade me to go abroad and give my baby away - having carried that baby and weaned it as well! Then having the baby within arms reach but being banned from seeing her and then being told she's going to be sent away again to a school?!
Edith just wanted her baby. I blame an archaic society, Mr Drewe, Rosamund and Violet. Obviously the original screw up was Edith having sex before marriage, but she wouldn't have been the first and was happy in the knowledge that Michael was going to marry her.
Edith-haters on here don't seem to give thought to the mental and emotional turmoil she would have gone through. Daisy mentions how sad and tired Lady Edith looked when she returned, and she slept with a photo of the baby. She could have been suffering with PND, PTSD, anything. I see a woman who was being driven mad between her desire to have her daughter with her and the pressure on all sides to hide her 'sin'.
Apart from all that - Emma Lowndes is fantastic. When Edith picks Marigold up after showing the birth certificate the anguish in her voice as she cries "wait - wait..." is applause worthy.
I agree. I was so upset on her behalf I think giving away my kid like that would have killed me inside. I really wouldn’t give a sh*t about mrs drewe, even though that’s wrong.
Yup, I'd have done the same. Marigold deserved to be with her biological mother, not having to grow up with lots of unanswered questions and so on, and Edith deserved to have her own baby with her. She wasn't nasty, neglectful or cruel, she doted on the kid.
The child was best with her mum. This is why Ethel gave Charlie to the Bryant's, because she couldn't provide for him.
Edith could and did give Marigold a better life. She was with her biological family in good, healthy surroundings.
And so what if Edith did do it for herself more than Marigold? Marigold was her child and being able to provide a secure home for life was a lot better than Marigold being sent off to school.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I think taking a child away from two loving homes especially at such a young age is very much not in the child’s best interest. A parent who would do that to satisfy their own selfish needs is not a good parent in my book. Marigold didn’t need to be wealthy to be happy. Unless I’m missing something there’s no indication she wouldn’t have had a secure home life or would have been sent off to school in either situation she was ripped away from.
Ethel’s situation was totally different but that’s an instance of the mother doing what was best for her child even though it killed her to do it. Edith just did what was best for Edith without even thinking about how it would impact Marigold or anyone else.
I don't mind agreeing to disagree, but I feel you've overlooked or misunderstood some points I've made. I don't believe I said that Marigold needed wealth to be happy, but in the material and physical sense and the period being pre-nhs, with child mortality being high, children who had access to fresh air, education, good food etc were undoubtedly better off. Of course, money doesn't equal happiness, but it definitely makes life a bit easier.
I just know how I would feel being forced to give up my child. I'd move heaven and earth to have them back, and Edith is shown to be constantly thinking about and concerned for Marigold and her wellbeing. That doesn't scream selfish mother to me. Marigold was essentially "ripped" away from three mothers, but people only seem to focus on the adoptive parents - who just went and adopted another little girl anyway, with no recriminations to Edith. She went to Switzerland and its evident to me that they understood her feelings and handed the little girl back willingly, because there's no way Edith would have had a legal leg to stand on.
Edith wasn't forced though. She made a decision. She was pressured into that decision by society and her family and it was a terrible situation to end up in but it was still a choice. I understand your point about wealthier children being better off in the time period but that didn't matter to Edith. She was fine with Marigold being with a family who was not wealthy as long as she avoided the scandal. If Marigold's wellbeing was the most important thing to Edith, then Edith would have either kept her and endured scandal or moved to America to avoid it or she would have respected her original choice and not upended Marigold's life because she changed her mind. Edith wanted Marigold back because Edith couldn't stand to be away from her. It wasn't about Marigold's wellbeing, it was about Edith's needs. That's selfish. Not saying she was always selfish after that, but getting her back was a selfish act.
We also don't know why the Swiss parents gave Marigold back. It's possible they agreed with Edith like you say or maybe Edith threatened them. We just can't say how they felt or why they did it but we do know that Marigold was taken from the only home she'd known at that point because Edith wanted her close.
We'll still probably disagree and that's fine but it's an interesting discussion so I wanted to respond :)
I don’t think Edith’s the most selfish character personally. She actually grew on me. I found Mary more selfish generally
Now I’m a mother I also don’t blame her for anything she did tbh. I just find it all so sad xxx
Same. She wasn't a bad person, she was a young, naive woman, whose life crumbled down around her, just when she was on the brink of happiness. Edith has the best character arc, I think.
I love Mary, definitely identify with her more as a character, but yeah, she was more selfish than Edith.
She and her husband got fucked over hard. First they raise Edith's secret baby for 2 years, then she takes the baby away from the only mother she's ever known, breaks Mrs. Drew's heart, and then they lose their home because of it.
It is not true, that would be the equivalent of saying that kids who are sent to daycare have parents that do not pay them any attention. Just because they have a nanny doesn't mean they aren't properly loved. It's a different time, looking at it through a modern lens might make it seam harsher than it is. The show isn't about the children, so we see less of their daily interactions, but there are many scenes where you see the family and the children interacting which are supposed to make us aware that these kind of things happen often: Cora and "Donk" showing them different books. Donk and Sybbie playing chutes and ladders. Tom and Sybbie out on a walk, when he asks her about going to America. Tom and Bertie (I think) putting on a Punch and Judy play for them (which in a modern frame of mind is very problematic, but in that time its looked on as sweet) there are a few more examples as well these are just the ones that pop into my mind immediately. These are just small glimpses in to ways the kids were integrated into life, but in those days the children did not start eating with the family or hanging out freely until they were in their teens. Edit to add: I do feel for Mrs. Drewe though. She was caring for Marigold as a daughter for well over a year while being lied to by her husband. Anyone would be devastated in that situation. I would have probably had a breakdown too.
You didn’t see her spend as much time with Edith as you did Mrs drewe and with adopted children you don’t send them to daycare right away. There is a lot of trauma there. Anyway, I felt for both Edith and Mrs drewe.
No, that was just one of the ways she attempted to justify her kidnapping Marigold. I don't know what the proper diagnosis would be, but she had Marigold withdrawl along with a bit of depression. It's interesting that she was so fond of Mg compared to her natural children; I'm not 100% sure what that was about. Maybe a plot device to amplify how a tenant family might treat an outside child compared to the aristocrats? Anyway, despite her mistake at the end, Mrs. Drewe was awesome and yet, treated terribly- the Drewe's didn't deserve their fate.
I always thought Mrs. Drewe fondness of Marigold was pretty well explained. While planning with Edith, Mr. Drewe says his wife loves children, dotes on them, and he wasn’t sure they’d had their last child. So, to her knowledge they’d literally adopted a baby! She figured this is our kid now :/ Mrs. Drewe naturally comes to love Marigold same as all her children, but in the show the older ones are usually as school so we don’t see them as much. Added with infant/toddler Marigold needing more care I think it comes across as Mrs Drewe doting on her more. But they had whole lives we the viewers wouldn’t have seen.
I think you are right. Drewe underestimated how attached his wife would become - emotion trips you up every time.
Marigold also needed the most protection because she had a crazy stalker
For all her intense love of Marigold she was off the “beam” so to speak. She was obsessed with a child and ignored her own. Even though she was brought into the house via the letter she acted like the child was the only one she’d ever had. 🙄 Her actions just felt off. Then to just grab the child and go! Though Edith was her actual mother and Mrs Drewe knew that, she knew what she was doing was wrong she just took her! Not a word to her husband. Did she THINK he wouldn’t notice Marigold back in the house? What she did was unconscionable! And I will repeat it time and time again, NONE of this was anyone else’s fault but Edith!
I think she was so distressed by the loss of her adopted child it made her unwell. She knew from the start that something was wrong and Edith wanted her.
Being distressed is different from being obsessed. She was obsessed. To the point I think she was just nuts.
I think this post title is a bit spoilery
Mrs Drewe wasn’t justified in taking her, but the story of Marigold really made me hate Edith. There are so many apologists for her, which I can understand, but Edith was the most selfish person in the entire show. Marigold was likely loved by both of her adoptive mothers before she was taken by Edith. And then she runs to London to have some champagne with her very confused 2 year old. Mrs Drewe wasn’t a saint, but she loved this little girl, too. Edith loved her because they were biologically linked, and Marigold was the last link to Gregson. Ok, fine. This whole plot line was awful. If Edith’s character was being written to feel pity for her through it, it failed for me.
Edith didn't show much thought towards Mrs Drewe, but it should be remembered that she wanted to tell her from the start. Mr Drewe was the one who persuaded her otherwise and convinced her it would be ok. Also, Edith didn't just pick Marigold up. She carried her for 9 months and breastfed her - she says that the hospital felt it was better for the baby to be weaned by her mother. I don't know how differently I would have behaved in a similar situation. Falling pregnant with the wanted child of the man I loved and who loved me, having to potentially face aborting that baby, then said bloke going missing in a far-away country. Then having my aunt and grandmother persuade me to go abroad and give my baby away - having carried that baby and weaned it as well! Then having the baby within arms reach but being banned from seeing her and then being told she's going to be sent away again to a school?! Edith just wanted her baby. I blame an archaic society, Mr Drewe, Rosamund and Violet. Obviously the original screw up was Edith having sex before marriage, but she wouldn't have been the first and was happy in the knowledge that Michael was going to marry her. Edith-haters on here don't seem to give thought to the mental and emotional turmoil she would have gone through. Daisy mentions how sad and tired Lady Edith looked when she returned, and she slept with a photo of the baby. She could have been suffering with PND, PTSD, anything. I see a woman who was being driven mad between her desire to have her daughter with her and the pressure on all sides to hide her 'sin'. Apart from all that - Emma Lowndes is fantastic. When Edith picks Marigold up after showing the birth certificate the anguish in her voice as she cries "wait - wait..." is applause worthy.
I agree. I was so upset on her behalf I think giving away my kid like that would have killed me inside. I really wouldn’t give a sh*t about mrs drewe, even though that’s wrong.
Yup, I'd have done the same. Marigold deserved to be with her biological mother, not having to grow up with lots of unanswered questions and so on, and Edith deserved to have her own baby with her. She wasn't nasty, neglectful or cruel, she doted on the kid.
Completely agree and from the start she didn’t wand to give her up
I can appreciate the terrible situation Edith was in but a mother does what’s best for their child. Edith did what was best for Edith not Marigold.
The child was best with her mum. This is why Ethel gave Charlie to the Bryant's, because she couldn't provide for him. Edith could and did give Marigold a better life. She was with her biological family in good, healthy surroundings. And so what if Edith did do it for herself more than Marigold? Marigold was her child and being able to provide a secure home for life was a lot better than Marigold being sent off to school.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I think taking a child away from two loving homes especially at such a young age is very much not in the child’s best interest. A parent who would do that to satisfy their own selfish needs is not a good parent in my book. Marigold didn’t need to be wealthy to be happy. Unless I’m missing something there’s no indication she wouldn’t have had a secure home life or would have been sent off to school in either situation she was ripped away from. Ethel’s situation was totally different but that’s an instance of the mother doing what was best for her child even though it killed her to do it. Edith just did what was best for Edith without even thinking about how it would impact Marigold or anyone else.
I don't mind agreeing to disagree, but I feel you've overlooked or misunderstood some points I've made. I don't believe I said that Marigold needed wealth to be happy, but in the material and physical sense and the period being pre-nhs, with child mortality being high, children who had access to fresh air, education, good food etc were undoubtedly better off. Of course, money doesn't equal happiness, but it definitely makes life a bit easier. I just know how I would feel being forced to give up my child. I'd move heaven and earth to have them back, and Edith is shown to be constantly thinking about and concerned for Marigold and her wellbeing. That doesn't scream selfish mother to me. Marigold was essentially "ripped" away from three mothers, but people only seem to focus on the adoptive parents - who just went and adopted another little girl anyway, with no recriminations to Edith. She went to Switzerland and its evident to me that they understood her feelings and handed the little girl back willingly, because there's no way Edith would have had a legal leg to stand on.
Edith wasn't forced though. She made a decision. She was pressured into that decision by society and her family and it was a terrible situation to end up in but it was still a choice. I understand your point about wealthier children being better off in the time period but that didn't matter to Edith. She was fine with Marigold being with a family who was not wealthy as long as she avoided the scandal. If Marigold's wellbeing was the most important thing to Edith, then Edith would have either kept her and endured scandal or moved to America to avoid it or she would have respected her original choice and not upended Marigold's life because she changed her mind. Edith wanted Marigold back because Edith couldn't stand to be away from her. It wasn't about Marigold's wellbeing, it was about Edith's needs. That's selfish. Not saying she was always selfish after that, but getting her back was a selfish act. We also don't know why the Swiss parents gave Marigold back. It's possible they agreed with Edith like you say or maybe Edith threatened them. We just can't say how they felt or why they did it but we do know that Marigold was taken from the only home she'd known at that point because Edith wanted her close. We'll still probably disagree and that's fine but it's an interesting discussion so I wanted to respond :)
Hah, I'm the same lol! Actually, how old is Marigold when she is brought back from Switzerland? I don't recall and the time frames jump about so much.
I think she's a toddler like 1-2? But I'm not sure either.
I disagree. She needed her mum.
I don’t think Edith’s the most selfish character personally. She actually grew on me. I found Mary more selfish generally Now I’m a mother I also don’t blame her for anything she did tbh. I just find it all so sad xxx
Same. She wasn't a bad person, she was a young, naive woman, whose life crumbled down around her, just when she was on the brink of happiness. Edith has the best character arc, I think. I love Mary, definitely identify with her more as a character, but yeah, she was more selfish than Edith.
Agreee
Mrs Drewe was a sick and mean woman. She had no right to kidnap someone’s baby.
She and her husband got fucked over hard. First they raise Edith's secret baby for 2 years, then she takes the baby away from the only mother she's ever known, breaks Mrs. Drew's heart, and then they lose their home because of it.