Fitzwilliam Darcy
Who is Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice?
What is Mr. Darcy’s initial impression of Elizabeth Bennet?
How does Mr. Darcy’s character evolve in the novel?
What role does Mr. Darcy play in saving the Bennet family name?
Who are some actors who have portrayed Mr. Darcy in adaptations?
Fitzwilliam Darcy, fictional character, a wealthy gentleman belonging to the landed gentry in Regency England in the novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) by English author Jane Austen. Aloof and arrogant, Mr. Darcy is initially dismissive of the novel’s heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, but eventually finds himself drawn to her. Elizabeth, too, spurns him because of his extreme pride, but when they come to know each other, his true character is revealed.
In Pride and Prejudice: Reservation, reconciliation, and romance
Mr. Darcy arrives at the large Netherfield estate, which neighbors the Bennet family’s more modest Longbourn home, with his friend Charles Bingley. Although first impressions of him at the public ball in Meryton are favorable, the gathering soon finds him unpleasant and disagreeable for his proud manners. Conscious of his higher social standing, the handsome Mr. Darcy does not deem the company at the ball worthy of his attention and snubs Elizabeth by calling her “tolerable: but not handsome enough to tempt me.” This wounds Elizabeth’s pride, and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth begin their association with mutual dislike.
However, as they spend more time in each other’s company, Mr. Darcy is intrigued by the lively Elizabeth and finds himself with conflicting emotions: Her social inferiority makes a match with her undesirable but his feelings for her cannot “be repressed.” His first proposal to Elizabeth, unfortunately, is marred by unkindness as he confesses that he loves her despite a “sense of her inferiority, of its being a degradation” and her family’s position being beneath his expectations.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Elizabeth refuses him not only because of his blunt declaration and reserved manner, but also because she believes he has interfered with Mr. Bingley’s romantic intentions toward her elder sister, Jane. She also accuses him of denying George Wickham—her friend and a close acquaintance of the Darcy family—the position that Darcy’s father had intended for him. Darcy subsequently writes Elizabeth a letter in which he explains that he had advised Mr. Bingley against Jane because he believed Jane felt no affection for his friend. He also discloses Wickham’s wicked attempt at eloping with Darcy’s 15-year-old sister and ward, Georgiana, to secure her fortune after he had squandered the money Mr. Darcy had provided him. These revelations begin to change Elizabeth’s perception of Mr. Darcy.
A turning point comes when Elizabeth accompanies her uncle and aunt on a visit to Mr. Darcy’s grand, sprawling estate, Pemberley. She believes Mr. Darcy to be away but unexpectedly encounters him there. Mr. Darcy appears kinder, humbler, and more polite. Later, he saves the Bennet family name from being tarnished when Elizabeth’s younger sister Lydia elopes with the unscrupulous Wickham. Mr. Darcy tracks them down and arranges their wedding, paying necessary costs. Although he does this without the Bennet family’s knowledge, Elizabeth eventually learns of it. Mr. Darcy even encourages Mr. Bingley to resume his courtship with Jane.
When Mr. Darcy’s second, more heartfelt proposal comes, now tempered with self-awareness and respect, Elizabeth is only too happy to accept. Questioned about when and how he first fell in love with her, he confesses:
“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation....I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”
Character appraisal
My good opinion once lost is lost for ever.
Thus proclaims the rich, rigid, and reserved romantic hero of Pride and Prejudice, coming across as inflexible and unyielding. Mr. Darcy’s pride in his social stature and his overbearing manners are in stark contrast to his dear friend Mr. Bingley’s amicable and friendly nature. Generally unsociable and private, Mr. Darcy appears rude, distant, and conceited. His unmitigated honesty, too, comes across as brusque. However, aside from his haughtiness, he is an honorable man and a loyal friend who is motivated by good intentions. When he warns Mr. Bingley against Jane, he genuinely believes he is guarding his friend from heartbreak as Jane is uninterested, and corrects his error when he realizes otherwise. He is a caring brother who shields his sister from ruin. Mr. Darcy acts from a strong sense of moral responsibility and integrity but wants none of the attention that comes with performing good deeds, such as when he saves Lydia’s reputation. He evolves over the course of the novel, gradually softening and accepting that the dignity and quality of individuals lie beyond their class and social markers.
Adaptations
Several actors have brought Mr. Darcy to life on screen, with Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC miniseries and Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 film among the most memorable. Although scholarly research has shown that Austen’s Mr. Darcy would have looked different from the screen versions created by Firth or Macfadyen, the actors’ portrayals brought the character’s persona—brooding, reserved, and magnetic—to life and left a lasting impression on generations of viewers. Other actors who assayed the role include Laurence Olivier in a 1940 film, Peter Cushing in a 1952 miniseries, and David Rintoul in a 1980 miniseries.
(Read Britannica’s List of Jane Austen Film and TV Adaptations.)
Pride and Prejudice has also inspired a range of creative adaptations. Firth famously played a modern Darcy—a human rights lawyer named Mark Darcy—in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). Another example is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), in which Sam Riley is a zombie-killing Mr. Darcy. Both movies are based on published books. A cross-cultural interpretation, Bride & Prejudice (2004), reimagined the Bennet family as the Indian Bakshis, with Martin Henderson as the Darcy figure. Another notable adaptation is Unleashing Mr. Darcy (2016), a TV movie that sets Austen’s story in New York among the world of dog shows with Ryan Paevey playing Donovan Darcy.