In Search of Fitzwilliam Darcy

A one shot...

It was customary among gentlemen of good breeding to acknowledge a lady as she made her presence felt. To greet her, to praise whatever limited beauty she may possess. But Mr Darcy apparently had no notion of such social mores as he stood aloof, scrutinizing in this microcosm of society the foibles of his fellow men and noting the lack of womanly beauty in the limited selection that he was privy to.

Yet Mr Darcy would consider himself a gentleman. He was a man of means, his breeding and bearing all indicated that he was a man of stature. He was a man born to command the respect of his peers. Mr Darcy, however, did not care for the approbation of his peers for he did not necessarily think them his equal. It was scarcely to his mind arrogance, but plain factual truth. Their stile, their air were not comparable to his. To think otherwise, would be hypocritical – to indulge in tete-a-tete that one found intolerable, with company that one had no taste for. Hence likewise, it was logical and consistent not to give praise to any woman where praise was not due.

Like many man of his standing, he knew his duty as the only son and eldest child. It was necessary for him to marry, gain a suitable helpmeet worthy of his standing in life and produce heirs. He had no sentimental notions of marriage but it was an expectation he would fulfill willingly.

The search for a wife, however, was severely hindered by his own disinclination to engage in conversation with women he was scarcely acquainted with. He had the vaguest of notions that women found him attractive but his self-imposed detachment from polite society… and every form of society narrowed the field considerably. The constant twitter of women pertaining to subjects outside his sphere of knowledge strained his nerves, due in part to his complete disinterest in the subject matter and in part to his own superior knowledge of the world that women were not privy to.

Although only eight and twenty, Darcy was silently in despair of finding a life companion. He himself did not believe that the problem lain with him and wondered perhaps if the education of women in his time was sorely lacking. No woman appeared capable of capturing his fancy and any that had sufficient beauty to commend herself in his eyes were deficient in accomplishments and conversation.

It was just like Bingley to employ his powers of persuasion to compel him to attend these diversionary affairs. But Bingley was a friend… his greatest friend and Darcy owed him a debt not only of friendship but of kindness. Bingley gave much and asked for little. A character trait that Darcy admired greatly in his friend. Bingley was ready to think the best of his acquaintances and companions while Darcy’s nature sought to dwell on the evils of the human condition. They appeared to be the unlikeliest of friends but they served one another well, firmly believing that they had one another’s best interests at heart.

In the best interest of his friend, Bingley thought it amusing and imperative that Darcy attend this ball. Admittedly Bingley himself had claimed the attentions of the most beautiful creature in the room (perhaps the most ravishing creature of his acquaintance), there were still one or two others that were more than adequately tolerable. It was just like Darcy to deny himself a charming diversion or two because of an impossible criterion of felicity he had conjured up in his own mind. Nevertheless, Bingley left his friend to his own devices. He was having far too agreeable a time to concern himself with lost opportunities that his friend was all too willing to disregard.

Once a year, I read Pride and Prejudice out of enormous respect for Jane Austen and also to remind myself what great literature is. I apologize for writing this in a reactionary frame of mind... after reading discussions of which adaptation had the "best" portrayal of Mr Darcy. Frankly, I don't have the answer... because I don't think there is one. I don't think that there is enough of Mr Darcy in the book to come up with a definitive answer.

Anyhow, this is just my feeble attempt at filling in some of the gaps and experimenting with Regency lingo. Hope it sounds credible.