mariak Wrote:
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>
> As for Darcy's probable sexual history, really we
> have no way of telling. The conventional morality
> of P&P's era was that there was nothing wrong with
> men having premarital sex, provided they followed
> rules and kept to certain standards, e.g. not
> seduce innocents or married women, not force
> themselves upon unwilling partners, be discreet,
> etc.
I don't think it's out of
> the question that an 18-year-old Darcy might have
> visited an exclusive gentleman's club. My own
> opinion is that he was probably not a virgin,
> unless he had really strong religious beliefs that
> are not apparent in the book. But I think he was
> probably largely celibate, considering that for an
> honorable man, there weren't really all that many
> opportunities to have sexual relations outside of
> marriage.
I tend to agree with this opinion, especially considering the conventional morality of that era. In S&S, it was mistakenly believed that Col Brandon's ward was his illegitimate daughter, but nobody thought any worse of him for having what they thought was a "love child", he knew what people thought and he didn't bother to correct their impression. In Emma, when Harriet's parentage became known, her father was described as a tradesman who was "decent enough". As for an honourable man's opportunities -- perhaps there were the merry widows or a certain class of women who were regarded as ladies of the demi-monde -- not common prostitutes, but actresses and opera dancers. I tend to think Darcy was largely celibate before marriage, but wasn't a virgin on his wedding night. And I believe he would have been faithful after marriage, even if he had not married the woman he loved. (I don't like adultery stories where Darcy made a loveless marriage before meeting Elizabeth and then he and Eliz fell in love and had an affair. Even Mr Bennet was a faithful husband to the wife he had come to despise).
In the fast, fashionable circles, men married or otherwise could do pretty much as they liked, while women were expected to be virgins until marriage, but could also do pretty much as they liked after they had given their husbands an heir and preferably a spare (or perhaps until she appeared to be obviously barren?). This was the circle criticized by JA in MP.
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> As for Darcy's probable sexual history, really we
> have no way of telling. The conventional morality
> of P&P's era was that there was nothing wrong with
> men having premarital sex, provided they followed
> rules and kept to certain standards, e.g. not
> seduce innocents or married women, not force
> themselves upon unwilling partners, be discreet,
> etc.
I don't think it's out of
> the question that an 18-year-old Darcy might have
> visited an exclusive gentleman's club. My own
> opinion is that he was probably not a virgin,
> unless he had really strong religious beliefs that
> are not apparent in the book. But I think he was
> probably largely celibate, considering that for an
> honorable man, there weren't really all that many
> opportunities to have sexual relations outside of
> marriage.
I tend to agree with this opinion, especially considering the conventional morality of that era. In S&S, it was mistakenly believed that Col Brandon's ward was his illegitimate daughter, but nobody thought any worse of him for having what they thought was a "love child", he knew what people thought and he didn't bother to correct their impression. In Emma, when Harriet's parentage became known, her father was described as a tradesman who was "decent enough". As for an honourable man's opportunities -- perhaps there were the merry widows or a certain class of women who were regarded as ladies of the demi-monde -- not common prostitutes, but actresses and opera dancers. I tend to think Darcy was largely celibate before marriage, but wasn't a virgin on his wedding night. And I believe he would have been faithful after marriage, even if he had not married the woman he loved. (I don't like adultery stories where Darcy made a loveless marriage before meeting Elizabeth and then he and Eliz fell in love and had an affair. Even Mr Bennet was a faithful husband to the wife he had come to despise).
In the fast, fashionable circles, men married or otherwise could do pretty much as they liked, while women were expected to be virgins until marriage, but could also do pretty much as they liked after they had given their husbands an heir and preferably a spare (or perhaps until she appeared to be obviously barren?). This was the circle criticized by JA in MP.