Will The Real Mr. Darcy Please Stand Up
July 27th, 2006
Disclaimer: I’ve only watched the movie and not read the book. Please use a measure of grace when throttling me in your response.
Ladies, I’m going to need your help with this one. First, an admission; I watched Pride and Prejudice last night. On my own, it wasn’t with a group, or because of a girl, just because I wanted to know what the deal was with Mr. Darcy. To answer the question, why are so women taken with this character?
I’m sorry to be a dumb guy here, but I don’t get it. Why all the hype? He announces his affection for Elizabeth and is rejected but keeps his head in the game by doing things behind the scenes. She totally misjudges, and then puts him through the ringer. I don’t see how the book and movie are hailed as incredible. She dismisses him because he’s not good at communication. His silence or lack of disclosure is a put off to her. If I had a nickel for every time I miscommunicated with a woman… lets just say, I don’t think I’d be working. I’m not trying to be insensitive (even though I may be succeeding), I understand the idea of chase.
So please… help me out. What’s the deal? Why is Mr. Darcy the end all be all? Why is this story hailed as understanding the key to a woman?
May 15th, 2007 at 3:51 am
Ah, hard to say.
We women swoon over Darcy for many a reason. He is a gentlemen, for starters. I mean that in the true sense of the word - Ye olde style.
He’s also rich, handsome, an excellent friend, and - most importantly - he is the man that shows his gentle, romantic bits.
I guess we swoon mostly over that - you can tell he is very deeply in love, and he shows it in a shy way.
I dunno. It’s a classic, it’s the model of what us romantics wish we had! XD
I didn’t know that pride and prejudice was the way to understand a woman…. maybe trying to understand more about emotion will help, since that that’s what the book is mainly about…
Meh. I tried. I don’t know, and I’ve read the book so many times, and watched the movies over and over. I love it, but I can’t quite tell you. It’s a woman thing?? XD
May 15th, 2007 at 10:52 am
i fell for darcy after seeing the bbc version of p and p and i think it is because he expresses how he feels through his eyes, he doesn’t say much and doesn’t have to. he’s not gushy but he’s romantic and he’s manly but exposes a gentler side. thats a mighty hard question you asked! but hey, its the movies. and guys are perfect in movies.
and i LURVE it when he says ‘i love you’ in the 2005 movie.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:49 pm
first of all, the kiera knightly version sucks. if that’s the one you watched, erase it from your mind and go rent the bbc version immediately.
i agree with michelle–part of it is the acting (and most definitely the actor) in the bbc version (the one with colin firth).
and as buffy says, he’s also the Great Gentleman, with a capital G.
i dunno. that is a hard question . . . because it’s not like darcy is perfect throughout the movie. he’s pretty infuriating at the beginning, actually. but i think he was so *proud* because he was trying to follow the rules of Society and was secretly angry with himself for being attracted to someone so obviously outside his circle. but once he starts thinking for himself, he realizes all those rules aren’t worth it if it means living without elizabeth. [i think one of jane austen's big themes was exposing the shallowness of Society (rich society), especially the separation among the different classes] anyway, he has to make his own decisions about what’s right for himself. and once he decides that elizabeth is what he wants–who he loves, he goes out of his way to be the bennet family hero; but he does it all for elizabeth. and he’s humble about it. around this point in the story we get to discover his true gentlemanly character alongside elizabeth, which is really fun. and in the end he makes everything right in the bennet world again. plus, he gets the girl.
there are definitely other takes on the story–i don’t think it’s one-dimensional at all. this is just one view. ultimately, though, it’s a love story. and a heck of one at that. and what girl do you know who doesn’t love a love story??