as others have said it was probably her only means of getting attention and I don't think she was doing it on purpose. I must say that I often feel for her, despite her sometimes outrageous behaviour. She had nothing to distinguish herself from her sisters, neither beauty nor intelligence and being the youngest she must often have felt left out - I guess both her sisters had more memories of their mother than Mary had. They both entered adulthood whilst she was still at school - she does not even know about Anne's engagement. This seems an indicator of Mary's general situation within the family circle - she does not belong to this group, it must have felt like this even before her marriage. And I don't think marrying a man your sister refused would improve matters.