I have read one or two short stories with a "dark" Darcy character, but to me they seem to be obviously a farce not meant to be taken seriously. On the other hand, I have read several stories with a doormat Darcy and a most demanding, ungrateful, undutiful Eliz which are serious stories. I find it most upsetting that we are expected to like and admire such a woman and to be happy for them both when she finally condescended to allow her husband to touch her -- some time after he had lavished money on her mother and sisters, threatened to refuse to see any of his own relatives who dared to criticize his precious wife, was pathetically grateful for any crumb of affection that she appeared to briefly show him -- such a woman did not deserve to be happy. And she felt self- righteous, not mercenary and justified in her behaviour because she had told herself that wanted his money for her mother and sisters, not for herself. And we are also supposed to be spitefully gleeful because poor Caroline Bingley was left an old maid when her only mistake was to try to attract Darcy when he was single, when I believe she would have made Darcy or any other man a better and more dutiful wife than such an Eliz.
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