Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘My Brilliant Career‘ follows the story of the headstrong and ambitious Sybylla Melvyn, whose life takes a turn for the better when she is sent to live with her grandmother. At first, she thinks this is her chance to be lifted out of her family’s poverty and to be exposed to the world and all it has to offer. However, when she reaches her grandmother’s home, Caddagat, she realizes that the plan, all along, had been to marry her off to a rich man who would also pay off her family’s debts. Still, Sybylla thinks she will have to meet her prospective husbands, but it turns out her grandmother already has someone in mind. She is introduced to Frank Hawden, who came to Australia specifically to find a wife and has his eyes set on Sybylla. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sybylla and Frank Were Never Meant to Be
From the day Sybylla arrives in Caddagat, she knows that she will not marry Frank. At first, this resolution is based on the fact that she never intended to marry. But then, even as she gets to know Frank, it becomes clear that they are better as friends. Time and again, he confirms his desire to be with her, but he respects her boundaries and decides to stay friends, if that’s what she wishes. Soon, whatever interest she may have had in Frank is undone when she falls for Harry. The days she spends at Five Bob Downs, honing her writing skills with Augusta, give her more time with Harry, and slowly, it becomes clear that if she were to marry after all, it would be with him. Harry, too, reciprocates his feelings, but there is a hitch.
It turns out Harry has been betrothed in all but name to Blanche. She is rich, and her dowry would pay off all of Harry’s debts. This is what he must do to secure his family’s future, but he doesn’t share this information with Sybylla. When she learns from Augusta, she is heartbroken, but she decides not to let it bog her down. In this time away from Harry, she gets closer to Frank, though her intention to be nothing more than friends with him remains the same. Even when a new prospect shows up in the form of Everard Grey, the only reason she becomes interested in enticing him is so she can get him to hire her as a writer for his new theatre. The idea of marriage never crosses her mind once, but that doesn’t stop her from getting physically intimate with Frank.
In her defense, she thought Harry was going to marry Blanche; she had had a lot of wine, the mood was festive, and she had a pact with Frank to have nothing but fun on New Year’s Eve and not consider getting hitched. So, when they made out in the woods, neither she nor Frank saw it as a confirmation of them getting married. It would have remained so if Sybylla hadn’t written about the experience in her journal and her grandma hadn’t read it. Realizing that this information, if it became known to anyone on the outside, could ruin Sybylla, she forced Frank’s hand, leaving her granddaughter with no choice. Sure enough, there were worse men to marry than your friend, so Sybylla accepted.
Frank Decides to Go Back Home to Start His Life Anew
Frank came to Australia hoping to find a bride he could take back home to England. He needed to get married because only when he had a wife would his father bestow the family fortune on him. So, when Frank is presented with the choice of marrying Sybylla, he greatly considers it, even though she seems rather wild and uncouth in the beginning. His focus is more on the wealth he will have once he is married rather than the woman he must marry to get it. However, over time, he actually starts to like Sybylla and eventually falls in love with her. He is dejected when he realizes she has fallen for Harry, but continues to be a good friend to her. So, when he discovers that Sybylla’s grandmother has found out about their making-out session in the woods, he isn’t entirely displeased.
By now, it isn’t exactly a burden for him to marry her, and he is glad when she accepts his proposal, though he knows it will take her some time to fall in love with him. Because the wedding is to take place in England, he books two tickets, for himself and Sybylla, taking them away from Australia to start their new life together. Since Sybylla isn’t entirely happy with this arrangement, she starts to feel as though she is already being treated as his property when she discovers that her grandma gave him her journal, which he had read. She feels even worse when Frank tells her she cannot be herself in front of his family, though she can be so in person. If all these things hadn’t been choking the life out of her already, she feels even more conflicted when she receives a gift from Harry.
Earlier, she’d found out that he had never been in love with Blanche, and now their engagement had also been broken off. His gift and the note inside it infuriate her, and she leaves her engagement party to go to his house and confront him. This is when Frank realizes she won’t marry him. When she returns later that evening, his suspicions are confirmed. Her refusal breaks his heart, but it doesn’t entirely surprise him. At this point, he also knows he cannot stay in Caddagat any longer. If he has to find love again, he must get away from Sybylla. Since his ticket home is already booked, he decides to continue on his journey without Sybylla, facing the conflicts he’d run away from when he left home in the first place.
Read More: Do Sybylla and Harry End Up Together? Why does She Refuse His Proposal?
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