When he got down on his knee, I would wager that women (and maybe some men) gasped collectively. This was the culmination of all we have been waiting for. There were some, like myself, who cynically suspected that
The moment when Matthew says to Mary

And I held my breath. This was the moment to ruin. He could have easily said something more period-appropriate like “Well, darling, I  suppose I can accept this

Mary even references Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Angel Clare, whose happiness is ruined by his inability to get beyond her prior seduction by the gentleman of the house. 

And, okay, I admit it. I cried. Isn’t that what we all want, somehow? To be with someone who will see us as we are, who will love us anyway?

Downton Abbey has struck a chord with millions of viewers.

During the Great Depression, the