Meet Mary Margaret. She’s a charitable, sensitive elementary school teacher in Storybrooke, Maine. Though she wears a brave face for the world, we sometimes get the feeling that she’s hiding a deep personal loneliness. Among her students is 10 year-old Henry.

When Mary Margaret recognizes Henry’s own unhappiness, she gives him a fairy tale book with the intention of instilling in him some hope in a town where hope is often elusive. Henry devours the stories in the book and becomes possessed of the notion that it describes real characters and events. Mary Margaret’s simple act of giving Henry the book has set into motion a chain reaction that will change the town of Storybrooke and the lives of everyone in it.

Ginnifer Goodwin on playing Mary Margaret:

"Mary Margaret is an amalgamation of that which the Evil Queen would want her to be: she is lonely, insecure, self-punishing, pride-less, (up until this point) unquestioning, and fearful. What's more, she has been put in the position of taking care of other people's children while all she wants is a family of her own. She is unable to make herself happy. But in the end, there is a loop-hole in the curse that the Evil Queen forgot to close: Mary Margaret knows there is such a thing as hope, and while it is just beyond her reach, she has faith it will some day become attainable. Playing Mary Margaret offers me the opportunity to explore a treacherous (and foreign) emotional path from which I can only grow."