Marrying for Convenience in Pride and Prejudice: Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway by Monica Fairview, Author of Mysterious Mr. Darcy

Hello, dear readers! I’m delighted to have Monica Fairview as a guest today to celebrate the release of her latest Pride and Prejudice variation, Mysterious Mr. Darcy. Please give her a warm welcome!

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Marrying for Convenience in Pride and Prejudice

By Monica Fairview

Hello Anna! I’m so pleased to be able to stop at your lovely blog once again, this time on my Mysterious Mr. Darcy Blog Tour. It has always been a pleasure to interact with you and your readers.

I hope you are all shaking off the grip of winter and emerging into spring as I am. The sun is finally out and so are the daffodils. Hurray! But I am here to talk about Pride and Prejudice, not about daffodils, however much Jane Austen’s contemporary Mr. Wordsworth admired them. I also wanted to share with you first paragraphs that inspired me to write Mysterious Mr. Darcy.

The first two paragraphs of Pride & Prejudice are surely engrained in the heart of every JAFF fan:

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

That paragraph has to be the most spectacular example of irony in the English language. So much is packed into that deliciously playful beginning. I love the fact that Jane Austen flips the idea of marriage in the nineteenth century on its tail so cleverly. Women at that time were regarded as the “rightful property” of the husband, and all of a woman’s possessions went to her husband the moment she was married. In these two paragraphs, however, Jane Austen talks about the man being the “rightful property” of the daughter – a statement that must have tickled the fancy of every young lady who read them. And of course, the first sentence also reverses the known wisdom of the time. It was the women who needed husbands for financial security, not the other way round.

However, there is one level at which “a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”. A gentleman with property needed an heir. So, Jane Austen cunningly and with remarkable brevity introduces the main source of Mrs. Bennet’s anxiety:  Mr. Bennet’s failed attempt to produce an heir.

Either way, whether from the man’s point of view, or the woman’s, the main message is that marriage is about property and possessions. It is, quite simply, a matter of convenience. Romantic love forms no part of it.

It’s difficult for us to fully appreciate the meaning of this way of thinking. Obviously, even in the twenty-first century, marrying a rich man is a desirable thing, and there are women who do everything they can to achieve that goal. However, in most cases, if it doesn’t happen, there are other alternatives. Marriage is not the only alternative for women of a certain class. It is a choice. Women can work and be independent. But for a young gently-bred lady of Jane Austen’s era, there was no choice. The only alternative other than marrying was to become a governess or to live as a dependent with a relative. If you were a young lady used to living comfortably, you were expected to be part of the ‘Marriage Mart’ and to do everything you could to marry someone of equal or superior stature to yourself.

Feelings were not part of the transaction. Elizabeth’s statement that she wants to marry for love was, for that time, a very modern concept: “I am determined that nothing but the very deepest love could induce me into matrimony.” Yet in the opening paragraphs of the novel, a man’s or woman’s feelings have nothing at all to do with it. Marriage is a social institution. A gentleman with a fortune is expected to submit to society’s expectations – yet again, an ironic reversal since it is women usually who are expected to fulfil these expectations.

“However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood”

Again, with amazing irony, Jane Austen summarises the group perception. No one cares about the feelings of the gentleman involved. All they care about is his social and financial status.

For me, these first few sentences – with their ironic twists and reversals — provide the crux of Mysterious Mr. Darcy. I have always thought it particularly ironic that we hear about Mr. Bingley first, and not about Mr. Darcy at all until later, when he appears at the Meryton Assembly. All the excitement initially is centered on Bingley. To all intents and purposes, at the beginning of the novel, it appears that the novel is about Mr. Bingley. Which is exactly what happens in my new variation, except that I carry it further. Mr. Bingley is the focus of everyone’s interest because Mr. Darcy is seen as the impoverished friend. Imagine that!

We all know that Pride and Prejudice is about a man in possession of a fortune. But what if it isn’t? What if Mr. Bingley is never upscaled by Mr. Darcy? What if Mr. Darcy is NOT in possession of a fortune, or at least, no one knows that he is? What happens then? How does that change the dynamics of the various characters?

If you want an answer to that question, you will have to read Mysterious Mr. Darcy. 😊

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Excerpt from Mysterious Mr. Darcy

The following scene takes place at the Meryton Assembly. Elizabeth has already danced with Mr. Bingley, while Mr. Darcy has been standing around, looking disapproving.

As she and Maria stood together observing the dancers, Elizabeth was still at a loss to find fault with Mr. Bingley. She had watched him interact with several people and concluded that it would take someone very critical to find fault with him. The only fault she could find was not with Mr. Bingley, but with herself. Much as she liked him, she could not quite imagine herself marrying him.

The trouble was, she wanted more out of marriage than simply convenience. Something inside her yearned for love. She was aware, of course, that she was expecting too much. Mrs. Bennet was always complaining that Mr. Bennet had spoiled Elizabeth for her role in life by encouraging her to read too much. It was very probably true. Elizabeth’s father was very well read, but he was not a practical man. He was not fully involved in the everyday running of the estate, which was possibly why the estate produced so little income. Meanwhile, the Bennet family members were paying the price for his neglect. They were always having to perform little economies so they could continue to live within their means. They were not impoverished, exactly, but they could not order fashionable clothes without having to give up something else.

Jane had married reasonably, but not well enough to help her sisters or mother with anything more than a trivial amount of pin money. Three years ago, when Mr. Collins proposed to her, Elizabeth had been contemptuous of anyone who married for practical reasons. Now she was older and wiser. She had seen how her friend Charlotte managed her husband. Charlotte had even worked out the best way to interact with Lady Catherine, Mr. Collins’ condescending and interfering benefactor. In short, although Elizabeth had predicted a disaster for her friend when Charlotte had first married, she had been proven completely wrong. Charlotte was perfectly content. She had her own household. She had a little girl and was increasing again, and she wasn’t dependent on anyone for a roof over her head.

Still, every part of Elizabeth revolted at the idea of trying to capture a man for his property. She wanted love. But would love ever come her way? At three and twenty, it seemed to be less and less likely, and the prospect of having to endure her mother for the rest of her life seemed much more real.

Not that Elizabeth would marry someone like Mr. Collins even now. She shuddered at the very thought of it. However, if an opportunity arose for her to escape Longbourn and the constant lamentations of her mother at being saddled with four unmarriageable daughters with no dowry, Elizabeth would certainly consider it seriously. Mr. Bingley was a godsend, that is, if he was genuinely interested in her.

She chuckled to herself. The poor man had done nothing more than to dance with her, and already she was considering whether or not to accept his proposal. It was absurd.

“Why are you laughing, Lizzy?” Maria was looking at her quizzingly.

“I was thinking how true it is that a lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

Maria gaze moved from Elizabeth to Bingley. “He does seem to be taken with you.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “It was just a stupid fancy on my part, no more. It will take a great deal more to fix his interest, I assure you.”

“Then, as my sister would say, you have work to do.” Maria sighed. “Imagine what it would be like to marry someone with a property such as Netherfield. Imagine being the mistress of such a grand estate. You would be very lucky indeed if you managed to capture him, Lizzy.”

“If I fall in love with him, I will not hesitate, but I will not deliberately set out to capture him in cold blood, Maria, whatever Charlotte’s view of the matter may be. Having said that, if he did become sincerely attached to me, I would not discourage it, even if I was not in love with him.”

It was Maria’s turn to shake her head. “If you aren’t careful, someone will snatch him from right under your eyes, and all for the lack of trying.”

“I’m not desperate, Maria. Your sister did not marry until she was twenty-seven, so I still have some time to acquire a husband.”

“I wash my hands off you, Lizzy. Don’t say I haven’t warned you. If you won’t listen to me, I will not be held accountable.”

“Why don’t you set your sights on him yourself, then?”

Maria gave a wry smile. “I would, only I’m not as pretty as you are, and so far, he only has eyes for you.”

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About Mysterious Mr. Darcy

Find Mysterious Mr. Darcy on Amazon

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About the Author

Monica Fairview

Monica can be described as a wanderer, opening her eyes to life in London and travelling ever since. She spent many years in the USA before coming back full circle to London, thus proving that the world is undeniably round.

Monica adores the Regency period and Jane Austen’s wit. She writes funny Jane Austen sequels and variations but has finally decided to get serious about Elizabeth and Darcy. At the moment, she lives with two cats, a teenager, and her own Mr. Darcy. She enjoys singing out of tune in the shower, visiting historical mansions, and warm weather.

Visit Monica on Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Website | Austen Variations

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Giveaway

Monica is generously offering two ebook copies (open internationally) and one paperback (U.S. and U.K. addresses only) of Mysterious Mr. Darcy. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address and let us know whether you’d like the ebook or paperback if you win. This giveaway will close on Sunday, April 1, 2018. The winners will be chosen randomly and announced in the comments section of this post. Good luck!

Thank you, Monica, for being my guest today, and congratulations on your new release!