Maria was actually called "obstinate" in someone´s memoirs, and clearly misbehaved often as a result of feeling neglected compared to her siblings, and thus trying to draw more attention to herself. I believe she suffered from the typical "middle child syndrom", when it seemed to her that her elder and younger siblings were more loved than her. There is a famous Alexandra´s letter in which she assures her that is not true - and also it stands as proof that Maria felt miserable. Another time she believed that Alexandra and Anastasia shared a secret out of which she was excluded. Alix, again, denied this. But these episodes show that Maria, at least when it came to her mother, was probably not the child who would be prefered. Olga as the eldest, and Tatiana as the one most understanding Alix, were more prefered as companions to "Mama", while Anastasia was the merry little devil reminding Alix of her younger self. Alexei, of course, was the favourite. There is no doubt Alix loved Maria as dearly as her other children, and quite possibly it was all in Maria´s head only, but there is also possibility that the third daughter, caught in the middle of tighthly-knit Big Pair and adored younger siblings (who too were extremely close) indeed was occasionally "left out".
Maria was kindness itself, extremely unselfish and always ready to sacrifice and adjust. She still had her own head an personality, which manifested itself the best in ability to endure, to protect and find beauty in small things. Not cleverest or most bright, she listened to her intuition more than anything. Often, I feel, she is dismissed just as "the good one", which is why I love how LIly Dehn captured her in her memoirs. Strong. Brave. Reliable. "Uninteresting" in comparison to highly intelligent and melancholic Olga, to level-headed, regal Tatiana and mischievous, amusing Anastasia, Maria has, for the longest time, not been given enough credit, always mentioned as a sweet, pretty Russian girl who just followed someone else´s lead.
