#without holding his power over elizabeth's head out of spite or resentment for the rest of her life

[natural-logg]

pride and prejudice part three: that's right it's proposal time babyyy

(just as before, darcy's proposal/letter is as far as I'm analyzing, no further)

to preface, my ap lit teacher showed us the kiera knightley movie version of the proposal scene, and they made it weird, like darcy's in the rain to make it more romantic, but he doesn't begin with his abrupt proposal of love like he does in the book? and they both get much angrier about everything to heighten the drama I guess... but what annoyed me most was that darcy has this weird vibe of refusing to accept her rejection, and this is absolutely not what we see in the book

so let's break this down! (with no quotes bc I already have to do quotes for class and I hate them lol)

1. Darcy comes in, remembers his civilities, allows Elizabeth to respond to them, and takes a few minutes to collect himself before speaking

2. he then speaks with candor about his feelings, making himself incredibly vulnerable, particularly in front of a woman he knows is a razor-sharp critic of character

3. though he doesn't end up waiting enough for her to respond, he does pause, and she actively chooses not to speak, which he takes as a sign to continue

4. this is the part that irritates Elizabeth: he speaks warmly of both his feelings and his conisderations of her nad her family's financial state as well as their general impropriety, and while it's definitely rude, Darcy isn't known to be warm--he's honest to a fault, and he's often incredibly cold as he speaks, leading him to sound blunt and inconsiderate--so while he's still saying something unpleasant, it's true to his character, and he does so with all of his good intentions

5. apparently he doesn't look nervous enough for Elizabeth, and she gets even more angry because she thinks he's completely sure of receiving a yes--which, all things considered, is fairly reasonable (again, socialized classism, gender roes, and misogyny seeped into everyone's behaviors, not just darcy's)

6. but let's be charitable to Elizabeth and say he is sure... it makes his reaction to her rejection all the more interesing! why? in the book, he immediately accepts her rejection. he only remains in the room to ask her why, but he doesn't pressure her to answer or reconsider, and he seems much more angry that she thinks ill of him for something his enemy told her and she believed wholeheartedly (I mean, if the girl you liked made friends with someone you hated nad they talked shit about you to her and she decided not to like you because of it? ouch)

7. then he says some more rude (but true) stuff about her relations. again, he's not excused for his rudeness, but Elizabeth is, by this point, overtly mean with intent to wound... in fact, he even acknowledges that he spoke with less civility than he out to have and doesn't so much as insult her (character) once outside of wealth and fortune

8. and when she gets to be her meanest, he stops the conversation! he understands her feelings, apologizes, wishes her the best, and leaves! is he angry? yes, but who wouldn't be at being so insulted? (not at the rejection, at the literal insults)

9. aside from when he gives her the letter, his resolve is to never bother her again by his presence! he doesn't intend to propose again or humiliate her in a group setting, nothing like that! even the letter itself is like "don't worry, this is just to clear up the bs you heard from a person who could potentially scam you into marrying him and giving up all of your money"

10. finally, throughout all of this, he takes accountability for his actions! yes, he also seeks to justify them, but he never minimizes them or waves them away or diverts responsibility. he even acknowledges the one time that he lied by omission, which elizabeth didn't even care about, but he says it anyway because he's a person of conviction and principle!

now, why do I bring all this up in the first place? for that, we'll look at mr. collins' proposal to elizabeth much earlier on.... at some other time bc this post is way too long lol