"'In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.' Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement, and the avowal of all that he felt and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. He sensed her inferiority--of its being a degradation--of the family obstacles which judgement had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit." (131)
Mr. Darcy's suddenness here of his first proposal to Elizabeth was a significant point in the novel--for the first time Mr. Darcy is setting aside his pride to admit what he really wants--it's the first sign that he is willing to better himself for her. This act of love shocks Elizabeth, and intrigues her. This is one of the moments that always stands out the most to me--and I'm intrigued, especially by the male members of the class, what everyone thinks of this moment? Was he overstepping? Was it too much? Was this a sign of sincerity or his first sign of maturity? Because for me, this novel was filled with a lot of romantic gestures that made my heart swell, and this was really the first one of them. I love that both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy bettered themselves for one another!!
Yes, this is certainly a huge turning point, but I think the real problem here (for me and for Elizabeth) is the idea that he has to set aside anything in order to admit his love for her. His declaration of love is supplanted by his explaining how he has tried to overcome his feelings because she is so inappropriate as a potential wife! I realize that I'm not representing the male perspective here, but I don't particularly see his admitting how he has had to overcome her inferiority as a sign of his maturity (though I certainly see him as sincere). To me, even with all of the other reasons she gives as to why she won't marry him, this is perhaps the most important. He still sees her as inferior.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is honesty on his part, if not necessarily sincerity. He is used to just saying what he thinks and having everyone be like, ahhhh, thank you, may I have another??
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes honesty is NOT the best policy. The fact that he is wealthy and white and male and has never had that honesty challenged before is why this scene is so fabulous. He tells us in III.xvi. that he has gone around behaving this way his whole life, and no one has ever pointed out that this ain't how people ought to behave.
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ReplyDeleteI have a difficult time seeing this scene as the first moment Darcy set aside his pride. To me, his position comes across as, "I've been debating a really long time about whether I really wanted you, and I've decided that I do, so let's get married now." His list of her family's inadequacies stings, of course. But the other major problem with his approach is the assumption that she would say yes. To me, he's not humbling himself; he's making a demand.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why the growth of his character by the end is so satisfying to me. His role in the Wickham/Lydia fiasco is much appreciated and his willingness to admit to Bingley that he was mistaken about Jane is great. But what really makes him a forgivable character to the modern audience is how much he took Lizzy's accusations to heart and grew because of it.
"I cannot be so easily reconciled to myself. The recollection of what I then said--of my conduct, my manners, my expressions during the whole of it--is now, and has been many months, inexpressibly painful to me. Your reproof, so well applied, I shall never forget" (266 [Chapter 58]).
This is a really great point--I guess I did view this as the beginning of his change of heart and where he started thinking "maybe I am kind of an ass," but really Elizabeth's rightful refusal was a slap in the face that he wasn't expecting. Darcy's progression to being better is definitely not linear (which is super relatable!) and his ending growth is definitely satisfying. I guess at this point I had seen progression from towards the beginning of the novel where he infamously couldn't even admit that he thought she was handsome, and had seen that as growth. Slight...ever so slight, growth.
DeleteMr. Darcy's first proposal is a sign of growth. He is moving in the right direction, but still needs a lot of work. He is not doing Elizabeth the honor of marrying him. She is a great, intelligent woman. She acknowledges her worth by declining the proposal. Mr. Darcy would have to dig deeper. Elizabeth brought him down a notch. Knocked him off of his high horse. Wealth and social status is not everything. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth both learn this lesson.
ReplyDeleteI think that, for this vulnerability to have effect, Darcy needed to seem like Kind of be an ass beforehand. Otherwise, what would he be stripping down to expose his true feelings? I enjoyed this scene of course because i agree, to me it felt like the first time he explicitly incited a change or heart or rather an "exposing" of heart
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