TV Series Character of the Week (3)

Character: Violet Crawley

TV Series: Downton Abbey

Played by: Maggie Smith

        Violet Crawley is the dowager countess of Grantham. She's the mother of Robert Crawley, the earl of Grantham. She's the grandmother of Mary, Edith and Sybil. Violet is a conservative, aristocratic English lady. She's manipulative, critical, proud and competitive. Here, after I've said it all, I've got to say, now, that Violet Crawley is, by all means, my favorite Downton Abbey character. You cannot just not like her. She's a perfect image of an aristocrat. Her sarcastic sense of humor is brilliant. She's, possibly, the only character that makes me laugh, in Downton Abbey. Her quarrels with Isobel Crawley are something to die for! Also, her feud with Cora's American mother is hilarious. XD

       


         Violet maybe bossy and acting all high and might, but she has a big heart. We see that on many occasions, like when she covered for Mary with her Pamuk scandal, because she's family. She tries to bring Mathew and Mary together again after the war, because Mary still loved him. After, Mathew's death, she agrees with Tom that Mary should take a bigger role in running the state, mainly to get her out of her mourning. In that, she contradicts her son Robert Crawley. She tries to help Molesley to get a job, when he's got none after Mathew's death. She takes on a young gardener, at Isobel's request, to work at her place. She, wrongly, suspects him of theft, but when she finds out she was mistaken, she re-hires him and apologize.  In spite of her frequent arguments with Isobel Crawley, she describes her as a good woman. She also have some wisdom and experience; her granddaughters would seek her for advice. On the other hand, her helplessness with technology, like telephones, back then and her fear of needle, contradicting her pride and over-confidence makes for a good comic relief.

          One more reason why Violet is my favorite character, is because she's portrayed by Maggie Smith and I adore Maggie Smith. She's just brilliant! Whatever role she plays, she does it skillfully.