Mr. Darcy

OK, I'm taking a step into a literature class (my imaginary literature class) and analyzing a very popular and iconic literary character.

What brought this on, you ask? A couple things actually.
1) I've been watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries
2) I've started rereading Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time recently
3) Lots of other people on my other blog have been doing it and I've wanted to have my input.
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Whether it’s in the book, the A&E version, the 2005 movie, or Lizzie Bennet Diaries I really love his development as a character. He has one heck of a journey to undertake, and the majority of it isn’t really pleasant for him.

Colin Firth- 1995 mini series

He’s got to look out for his little sister who means the world to him, and protect her from everything that happened with Wickham. On top of that, he’s got to address some personality issues that he has, which no doubt stem down to events that happened well into his past. Ever tried to reinvent yourself? Yeah, it’s not an easy task! Imagine how difficult it was for Darcy to have to reevaluate every aspect of his personality, take a chance on changing it, and THEN lay himself out on the line again for Lizzie.

He is the best kind of trope: The Love Redeems trope, where someone’s love for them or their love for another helps them to become a better person. Was Darcy an awful human being before he met Lizzie? Of course not. But was he kind of a jerk with flaws? Yep. And when he found out Lizzie’s opinion of him, he vowed to change himself for the better. BUT NOT TO IMPRESS HER (common misconception). He did

Matthew Macfadyen- 2005 movie

it for himself. And you’ve got to respect a guy (or anyone for that matter) who accepts his failures and learns from them, even if it means living with the consequences (In Darcy’s case, life without the love of his life).

Also, he went out and found Lydia when she ran away with Wickham. Then he ensured that Wickham's debts, the wedding, etc. was all paid for at great expense to himself (it cost him about an entire year's income). And he did this all in secret because his goal was not to impress Lizzie or to try and win her affection, but merely to bring her ease and peace of mind. He couldn't bear to see her so upset.

In many ways I'm actually a lot like him. Slowly, over the years, I have become less and less bothered by Darcy’s apparent rude/arrogant/prideful behavior in the beginning of the book. And this is because I

truly understand him. I can really relate to Darcy’s social issues, high standards, and furious loyalty

Daniel Vincent Gordh- Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012)

towards his inner circle. Just focusing on LBD for a moment to give an example - even though Lizzie and everyone portrays him as stiff, boring and incredibly awkward, I can see through practically every situation, amused and somewhat saddened by how misunderstood he is.

A couple descriptions I've found from other people that I really like, "He’s just so clueless, a puppy in love with a girl he doesn’t know he’s ever gonna have", or "(at the beginning) kind of an agoraphobic lobster, a snob, and with such a dry humor that nobody gets him", or "what a Mr. Darcy should be: the shy, adorable puppy, the rich, pretentious snob, the stiff, awkward turtle, the surprisingly dry humorist".

I really like how we, as viewers/readers, gradually fall in love with him the same way that Lizzie does too. We’re able to see that perhaps he’s not as bad as we once thought at the beginning of the book/movie, and that despite his many complexities and contradictions, he’s actually quite an amazing person.

(Also, it doesn't hurt that he is portrayed by strikingly handsome men in the adaptions XP)
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I thought I'd include this because the way Darcy is portrayed in LBD cracks me up. This is entitled "Soulless Joyless Newsie":

Click to enlarge

EDIT: Check out this video from Pride and Prejudice's 200th anniversary. Mr. Darcy made the news: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/pride-prejudice-200th-anniversary-18339770