i just read a washington post article on romcoms aging poorly due to the pushiness (and oft-stalkery conduct) of the male characters therein, and it got me thinking about pride and prejudice, and specifically darcy saying, “one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”
because, like, that’s the seldom-portrayed romantic dream in the patriarchal hellscape that is our world, isn’t it?
a dude being willing to say, “i understand if you don’t feel the same way about me, and i’ll leave you alone forever about this if my attention is unwanted.”
so simple, yet so wonderful in its basic human decency
and dudes to this day wonder why women still swoon over darcy
Note also: Elizabeth turns down Darcy’s first proposal, and in the process, accuses him of doing some stuff he did not do (and also some stuff he totally did).
The next day, he surprises her on her walk. He hands her a letter, asks that she read it, and then takes off.
When this happened to me after I had turned someone down IN REAL LIFE, the letter contained a passionate argument to the tune of “actually you’re wrong and you do like me and you should go out with me” and it was creepy af.
Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth starts with: “Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you”. He goes on to set the record straight about the stuff he didn’t do (as well as the stuff he did) which is *actually relevant* to Elizabeth. And he, as promised, doesn’t romance her further.
It’s totally bizarre that even now, this can be considered unusually great dude behaviour.
Darcy’s first proposal: “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Darcy’s second proposal: “One word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”
His whole arc in the book is about learning to consider other people’s feelings and not just his own, but the fact that it’s expressed via who gets to talk and who is told to shut up is so, so telling. The first time around, he imposes his voice on her whether she wants it or not. The second time, he asks how she feels, and in exchange, offers her the gift of his silence.
And yeah, the fact that dudes still! have! not! learned! this! lesson! is exhausting.
How surprising is it that Pride and Prejudice was written by a woman, when many romantic comedies are produced and directed by men?
Answer: not at all
200 years later and the world is still full of guys who think they’re a Mr Darcy when they’re actually a Mr Collins.
– everyone answering “no, i’m fred” to “are you [insert Y/N]” even hermione
– everything draco does ever
– calling blast ended skrewts “power bottoms”
– calling newt scamander bad variations of his name like nerd sandwicher etc
– colin creevey using that one picture he managed to get of hermione punching draco as a reaction image
– shouting “spank me daddy” at the whomping willow
– [pointing at random object] that’s a portkey
– every single cat is professor mcgonagall
why
– POTTER
– ever since snape’s “bottle fame, brew fortune” speech students just go on and on with it – “flambé success, bake brilliance” “Can you tutor me in charms?” “TUTOR you? I can teach you how to SAUTÉ EXCELLENCE.”
– [random object] is totally a hufflepuff
– remember that game where someone yells “SHATNER” and you have to overact? same thing except it’s “TRELAWNEY” and you have to use whatever you’re holding to make a ludicrous prediction
– a more popular variation is “LOCKHART” to make up a pompous story about using whatever you’re holding to drive the [monster] out of [town]
– calling hippogriffs “leggy birbs”
– “Our beloved headmaster Albert Dumpsterfire/Aqueous Disillusionment/Aberdeen Decapitation…”
– shitty incantations ( “The Graying Hair Charm? Make-me-bloody-ancient-osia.” )
reblogging for albert dumpsterfire xD
-the dumbledore one, except you keep adding incorrect names, like albert pensive wallace herbert richard flamingo sherbet tango luthor…
-*peeves appears* IT DAT BOI
-”i’d rather be petrified”
-”so a shack gets to scream and it’s all normal and haunted, but when i do it i’m disturbing class and a nuisance”
Peter Parker, a Gen Z kid, screws up: Fuck, guess I’ll kill myself.
Steve Rogers, an artist during the 30’s and a soldier during WWII who knows full well what Dadaism and fatalistic humor are: There’s bleach under the sink–
Bucky Barnes, the guy who listened to Steve’s art rants in the 30’s, watched his back in WWII and went through 70+ years of shit: –And a rope in the supply closet if you want options.
Rest of the Avengers: ?????!!!!!!!?????
Shuri, also a gen z kid: don’t be a coward, jump out the window. Have some style would you
Vision, the human internet who knows what Gen Z humor is: do a flip
i hate reading this post for the sole reason that it made me realize against my will that kermit and miss piggy are literally mr. and mrs. bennet personified and this crossover would probably work
i am disturbed by how well this works
alright now i’m just pissed off because that fits even better
Thanks for a fantastic question, anon! The evidence I’ve put forward for this characterization of Crowley comes directly from the novel; I think this may even be the second or third time I’ve received this question. As I’m currently at work and don’t have access to either my e-book or one of my hardback copies, I’m going to give you a list of items and quotes from canon, off the top of my head, that point in this direction:
In the Beginning, Crowley makes a beautifully foreshadowing remark to Aziraphale: Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? Funny if I did the good thing and you did the bad one, eh? Pay attention to that sentiment next time you reread; all following instances of Crowley doing the right thing and Aziraphale doing the wrong thing thereafter will seem starkly obvious.
During the series of conversations that led up to the Arrangement, Crowley is the first one to bring up how unfair humans have it, that you can’t expect Aziraphale’s (read: Heaven’s) idea that humans are only good or bad because they want to be to work unless you start everyone off equal (You can’t start someone off in a muddy shack in the middle of a war zone and expect them to do as well as someone born in a castle, he says). He finds Heaven’s lack of mercy deplorable (That’s lunatic, he tells Aziraphale).
Aziraphale is too careless to take a living dove’s welfare into account when he shoves it up his sleeve in the first place. When he finds it dead and squishy in his coat, he’s no more than mildly annoyed; Crowley, on the other hand, gently takes the bird from him and breathes life back into it. Actions speak louder than words.
Crowley’s reaction to the Spanish Inquisition breaks my heart, i.e. once he hears about the atrocities, he goes and gets drunk for a week in order to forget. Compare this reaction to one of the fleeting thoughts he has while he’s on the M25, having just left the scene of Aziraphale’s burning bookshop (and I need not quote you fragments of that scene from memory, although I swear I’d do it if I thought it were necessary to make the point): Aziraphale’s gone, the world’s going to end, so why not find a nice little restaurant somewhere and just get drunk out of his mind? That’s so very, very telling.
Early in the book, the narrative makes light of Crowley’s dislike of the fourteenth century, but we find out later, in a moment of extreme terror and duress, that he hadn’t felt like this since the fourteenth century. I’m a scholar of the Middle Ages, so for those of you not intimately familiar with the fourteenth century, I’ll tell you this much: it was a vibrant, fascinating, brilliant time to be alive. Someone like Crowley would not have found the fourteenth century dull. No: for my money, he spent the latter half of the fourteenth century terrified because that’s when the Black Death ravaged Europe. All of the things you love in the world, humans and all their brightest achievements, snuffed out by the millions. That’s so vast that trying to drink your way through it would’ve been unfeasible even for an ethereal creature like Crowley.
Crowley’s boundless optimism, never mind that he’s completely and utterly terrified of his employers. Think of his reaction every time they contact him over the radio or cutting into what he’s watching on telly. You cannot convince me that someone whose Fall is pointedly described as just sauntering vaguely downwards is actually evil. He sides with an angel and humanity and successfully helps them to win a rebellion using only words and ideas.
Crowley’s core nature is writ large on every page, as far as I’m concerned. If you ever reread the book, I’d be interested to know if you reach a similar conclusion.
And of course there’s Aziraphale’s belief that Crowley is unable to feel or even understand love/goodness. From the examples above, it’s obvious that Crowley’s capable of empathy, but Aziraphale’s callousness toward him, and his detached relationship with humanity, even after 6,000 years, proves that empathy isn’t one of his greatest virtues.
What they’re able to teach each other is such an incredible inversion of stereotypical expectations, too: Aziraphale shows Crowley what it means to be ruthless when push comes to shove, and Crowley teaches Aziraphale a thing or two about mercy.
Although, just going to say, he is essentially kind. One of the first things we learn about Aziraphale is that he’s given away his flaming sword to Adam and Eve because it’s cold and she’s expecting.
You have no idea how much I want Rhodey to be Carol’s link to the Avengers, when she eventually shows up in A4. Imagine Tony, Cap and Thor are already on the offensive, ready to fight, and she’s prepared to kick their asses, when Rhodey’s like, “Wait, that’s Carol!” By then, she recovers all of the memories that the Kree took from her and she knows he’s the same young pilot she used to have a competitive rivalry with, but that he was also her friend (maybe more). On Rhodey’s part, he never knew what happened to Carol. She simply disappeared one day and no one at the Air Force had any answers.
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