A COUPLE of readers in the Twilight discussion have expressed the opinion that the male vampire hero in the movies and books is no more harmful or unreal than Mr. Darcy, the famous hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Leaving aside the obvious problem with comparing the clunky Twilight to the clever characterizations of Austen, I do not think any similarities with Mr. Darcy justify the romantic excesses of Twilight. That’s because Mr. Darcy is a very problematic hero for women.

Darcy is pure fairy tale and yet he is made to seem real. There are no Mr. Darcys in real life and female fascination with this character is unfortunate if it is not conscious of this fact.

I’m not saying that there are no men as intriguingly aloof and strong and interesting as Mr. Darcy. There are. But I think it is fair to say that there are almost no men who are as fantastically wealthy as Mr. Darcy and who yet combine in perfect proportion his arrogance and sensitivity, his haughtiness and emotional delicacy. Mr. Darcy is sublime, but he is one of the most unreal men ever to grace the pages of a minor literary masterpiece.

                                                    — Comments —

Vanessa writes:

The dashing Mr. Darcy is especially dangerous for modern women, I think. The women back then probably understood that he wasn’t “typical,” whereas I think many modern women assume that men back then tended to be like that, and have degraded since then. The counterpart to the male “angel in the household” fantasy of the Victorian Era. Mr. Darcy has always been exceptional.

Maggie Fox writes:

I do not believe that Mr. Darcy himself — sublime though he is — represents an ideal. His arrogance and coldness are very serious flaws, even if those qualities make his feelings for Elizabeth even more touching. However, his character growth is idealized, in that his love for Elizabeth causes him to confront and overcome his own pride, at least for the moment. In real life, Mr. Darcy’s aloof side would likely continue cause further problems and misunderstandings during their “happily every after.” 

Mr. Darcy’s wealth is an obvious prop. It makes his choice of Elizabeth Bennet, who has nothing to offer but herself, all the more significant, especially because he surely could have had his choice among many great beauties and women of means. 

I doubt anyone could come away from a Jane Austen novel with the impression that all men were like Mr. Darcy. There were a number of male characters in Pride and Prejudice who contrast with Mr. Darcy — the pompous clergymen who first proposes to Elizabeth, the insincere bounder who runs off with her younger sister, the rather simple Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth’s kind and sardonic but passive and withdrawn father. In any case, most women aren’t stupid. To the extent that some women might be inclined to confuse fiction with reality, I say that literature should not be judged on how it might be interpreted by the lowest common denominator. (By the way, I found Twilight wholly mediocre and did not intend to compare it in quality to P & P).

Laura writes:

Yes, I realize you were not equating Twilight and Pride and Prejudice on all levels.

My point wasn’t that women come away from the Austen novel with the impression that all men are like Mr. Darcy. They only need to be under the mistaken impression that any man is like Mr. Darcy and, for that matter, that the man of humble means is invariably like the pompous clergyman, Mr. Collins, who Elizabeth views with such contempt. As for Darcy’s arrogance and coldness, many women find some aloofness highly attractive in a man, but unfortunately end up with a guy who is simply rude. I don’t think Darcy is truly arrogant, by the way, but impatient with  phoniness and sham, which gives his superciliousness great nobility. This feeds the fantasy that rudeness and arrogance in a man are somehow meaningful.

Of course, I like Mr. Darcy. I like him very much. I just wish Austen had not made him so rich. There are Mr. Darcys in this world. But they are typically poor or of modest fortune. This is why Pride and Prejudice is a fairy tale. I don’t think this sort of fantasy is of any serious danger when women are compelled to marry young and forced to confront reality before it’s too late. But in our world, in which women put off the decision to get married and wait unrealistically long for Mr. Right, this kind of fantasy is more of a problem. Then we get women who put their eggs in cold storage until a Mr. Darcy comes along.

Most of the women reading Pride and Prejudice tend to be traditionalists; they are not waiting until they’re 40. I use him as an example of romantic illusions even among the highbrow. I also don’t think women who swoon over Mr. Darcy are stupid. That wasn’t my point. If a girl is young and inexperienced, its impossible for her to temper her impression of Mr. Darcy with reality.

Drina writes:

My question is whether Mr. Darcy’s character really gives girls the unrealistic idea of attaining the unattainable. I loved the book when I was in high school and still love it now. What has always stood out to me most about the love story is the title of the book – pride and prejudice in the main characters, and how both Elizabeth and Darcy were each faced with faults and able humble themselves and become more worthy of the other. I see that Darcy’s money was a plus. I don’t see that girls take away from the story the idea that they will be able to find someone in reality so rich with the same virtues.

Please follow and like us: