#lady catherine de bourgh

[theloopweaver]

The British literary crossover we didn’t know we needed.

(Link)

#Twitter #literature #Jane Austen #J.R.R. Tolkien #JRR Tolkien #Pride and Prejudice #Lord of the Rings #Lady Catherine de Bourgh #Galadriel #hobbits

[lonelylittledot]

rip Mr Collins, you would have loved Patreon

#shitpost #pride and prejudice #literature #classic literature #english literature #jane austen #regency era #mr collins #william collins #esteemed patroness #lady catherine de bourgh #p&p

[ardentlyinlovedarcy]

#pride and prejudice #jane austen #prideandprejudice #p&p #elizabeth bennet #janeite #pride and prejudice joke #pride and prejudice meme #lady catherine de bourgh

[kaleb-is-definitely-sane]

The fact that I talk about Jane Austen the way Mr. Collins talks about Lady Catherine 😭

#pride and prejudice #jane austen #mr collins #lady catherine de bourgh #classic literature #classical academia #classic books

[whetstonefires]

Oh yeah I recently had a moment of realization, which is that Lady Catherine's main underlying motive for pushing the Darcy/Anne marriage isn't actually her ideas about keeping property in the family etc, or her agreement with her late sister at all.

The number one reason she's so wedded to it is the same basic reason Mrs. Bennet is so eager to have Mr. Collins as a son-in-law.

Because while Rosings isn't entailed, which has allowed her to lady it over the demesne all this time on the strength of her daughter's status as heiress, property law is such that as soon as there's a man in the family--as soon as Anne weds--it will all belong to him.

And while she won't be forced to find other lodging or anything unless a truly dreadful groom winkles his way in, she'll no longer be the mistress of the place as she has been all this time, not even as much the mistress as she was before she was widowed, because that will be Anne's place now. She will be only the mother of the wife of the master of Rosings.

And there is not likely to be any great supply of fellows of sufficient distinction and lineage to meet her high standards, who will want Anne (whose main appeal is her property), who will also allow their mother-in-law to rule the roost.

Darcy is a known quantity, who doesn't especially want Rosings and can be relied upon to prioritize Pemberley. And he is very respectful of his honorable aunt. Lady Catherine makes it clear she believes her sway over him is considerably higher than it actually is, because he values his family so highly and hates a fuss, so she has always always gotten her way with him before.

If she could get Anne married to Darcy, then she could fulfill her maternal obligation to Anne, and her lineal obligations to the de Bourghs and the Fitzwilliams. Without having to give hardly anything up herself.

And it's really cool how it's set up like this! Because the fact that the system is rigged so a woman fulfilling her duties to family and society inherently obliterates any power base of her own is totally fucked up, and wanting to resist that is understandable and sympathetic.

But as is so often the case, the easiest way to resist or evade such compulsions and injustices is by finding a way to exploit other people, and gain your own security and independence by taking theirs away.

And so Lady Catherine, like Mrs. Bennet, is ultimately a tacky and appallingly selfish human being.

#hoc est meum #pride and prejudice #lady catherine de bourgh #gender #inheritance law #Austen engages so delicately with human motivation #with the drama that exists perfectly well in the world without having to contrive transgressive melodramas #when the normal systemic injustices of society operating as intended #are quite upsetting enough

[samduqs]

#pride and prejudice #pride and prejudice 2005 #mr darcy #elisabeth bennet #mr collins #lady catherine de bourgh #jane austen #chaotic academia #dark academia #light academia #incorrect classic literature #literature memes #classic lit memes #english lit memes #classic literature #literature #meme #literary memes #romantic academia

[anghraine]

A few days ago, I briefly mentioned Wickham's take on Lady Catherine, and it's stuck in my mind. At least, this specific part of the description has:

She [Lady Catherine] has the reputation of being remarkably sensible and clever; but I [Wickham] rather believe she derives part of her abilities from her rank and fortune, part from her authoritative manner, and the rest from the pride of her nephew, who chooses that everyone connected with him should have an understanding of the first class.

I mean, in fairness to ... Wickham (ugh), it's evidently true that Lady Catherine is not actually clever and her power and force of personality do a lot of the work of giving her a reputation for it. But I do think the way he manages to link this to Darcy is interesting.

Wickham seems to assume that Darcy can just choose that everyone connected with him has a reputation for high intelligence, which I think is pretty debatable. On top of that, Wickham assumes that Darcy would choose to do that, because of pride. He's set up an odd framework in which Darcy cares deeply about everyone around him being perceived as clever (but only for nasty pride reasons, of course!), and in fact cares so deeply that he'd bring his influence to bear in maintaining Lady Catherine's reputation for it.

I don't think Lady Catherine's reputation for cleverness rests on Darcy just wanting his family to be seen as clever or requires that explanation at all. But I find it intriguing that Wickham thinks so, or at least says he does, given the Ch 4 description of Darcy:

In understanding, Darcy was the superior. Bingley was by no means deficient; but Darcy was clever.

So I suspect this may be part of Wickham's attempt to acknowledge Darcy's good reputation and qualities enough to cover his ass later, while tying everything good about him to his pride. Wickham doesn't quite admit that Darcy's (alleged) desire for those around him to be seen as clever derives from Darcy being clever himself and valuing the quality, but I think it's kind of implied, and at the very least, he could suggest that he'd said something to that effect.

It's a bit how he describes Darcy's careful guardianship of Georgiana (which Wickham certainly has reason to know about!). He mostly attributes it to Darcy's reputation for being a good brother, finds a way to make it somehow about pride, and barely wedges in a grudging admission that Darcy actually has some real affection for Georgiana. I suspect he only does the last because it's so incredibly obvious that it'd be suspicious if Wickham suggested otherwise.

I do wonder, though, if part of the reason that Wickham associates Lady Catherine's reputation for cleverness with Darcy's supposed desire for his family/connections to be seen as clever is Wickham's own fixation on Darcy. Wickham knows Darcy is seen as clever and likely that Darcy values intelligence. Darcy and Wickham were brought up together as companions in the same household. And tbh I don't think Wickham himself is, or has ever been, particularly clever in the way that Darcy and Elizabeth are.

Wickham suggests that Darcy was insecure and jealous from childhood (and some readers have really wanted to believe him!). But my headcanon is that, growing up with Darcy, Wickham was the more insecure one. He was the one who was supposed to go to school and Cambridge and become a clergyman; he was supposed to be quick-thinking and good at his books and morally restrained. Darcy was the heir; he could be anything he wanted to be. Yet I would guess that young Wickham was continually outstripped by Darcy in those terms, that he came to resent Darcy's freedom and what he did with it, and that it's very easy for his mind to link Lady Catherine's supposed cleverness to Darcy's.

In Wickham's head, the connection must somehow be causal. But he can't bring himself to quite admit to anyone that Darcy's cleverness is real any more than he can admit that Darcy's generosity or moral rectitude are real. It's got to be about pride, reputation, family, fortune. And I suspect Wickham can't admit the truth to himself, either.

#i feel like wickham really blurs the lines between what qualities ly c and darcy actually have and what they have the reputation for having #because he's so much about the appearance of things and doesn't engage with the reality of them #oh and i also have headcanons about how darcy himself relates to this but that's a post for another day #anghraine babbles #long post #austen blogging #lady anne blogging #george wickham #fitzwilliam darcy #lady catherine de bourgh #anghraine's headcanons #pride and prejudice #jane austen #austen fanwank

[firawren]

Pride and Prejudice Chapter 29: Mr. Collins gets hyped about going to dinner at Rosings the next day

View the full series of P&P chapter memes here

#p&p chapter memes #p&p ch29 #pride and prejudice memes #pride and prejudice #jane austen memes #jane austen #english lit memes #mr collins #lady catherine de bourgh #charlotte lucas #buddy the elf #my stuff

[didanagy]

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005)

dir. joe wright

#pride and prejudice #pride and prejudice 2005 #jane austen #costume drama #perioddramedit #elizabeth bennet #mr darcy #lady catherine de bourgh #charlotte lucas #mr collins #keira knightley #matthew macfadyen #judi dench #claudie blakley #tom hollander #my gifs #mine

[mametupa]

#P&P 1940 #P&P 1980 #P&P 1995 #Pride And Prejudice 1940 #Pride And Prejudice 1980 #Pride And Prejudice 1995 #Lady Catherine de Bourgh

[batrachised]

normalize saying "Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted?!" when things aren't going your way

#pride and prejudice #lady catherine de bourgh

[thesargasmicgoddess]

"...there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness at the side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it."

~J. Austen

Jane Austen hoements from England 🇬🇧🤣🤭🌸

#me #sargasmicgoddess #adventures #my travels #new content #england #jane austen #pride and prejudice #lady catherine de bourgh

[loosethreadstitchery]

Whether it's finding her food dish empty, or an obstinate young woman refusing to promise not to marry her nephew, Lady Cat-herine de Purrgh is most seriously displeased.

Covid has finally caught me (or vice versa), so have a silly quote from one of my favourite comfort books.

Pattern here My Etsy shop

#pride and prejudice #jane austen #lady catherine de bourgh #cross stitch #embroidery #fiber arts #fibre arts #crafts #my designs #quote

[bethanydelleman]

Hello!

I liked your post about Anne de Bourgh probably just being sick, and another question came to my mind with regard to her.

I am quite astonished to see, that in a lot of JAFF, when he can't get Elizabeth, Darcy marries Anne de Bourgh. Usually there is some hidden motivation behind that: for example she is pregnant and he wants to save her reputation, or he wants to give her an opportunity to escape from Lady Catherine (relying on the non-canon assumption, that Anne is suffering under her mother's care) etc. For me it is a big question whether Darcy would marry her under any circumstances, and I am curious to hear your opinion about that. I always love your thoughtful answers!

Thanks

This question is in reference to this post.

As a general rule, I think that if Darcy meant to marry Anne de Bourgh, he would have already done it. So no, I don't think he'd marry her.

Anne's age is unclear, but the cradles line implies that she and Darcy are close in age, which is around twenty-eight. That isn't terribly old for Darcy, but it is for Anne if she's expecting to produce some children. I do think Anne being around Darcy's age makes sense, because it makes Lady Catherine more desperate. She's probably been previously thinking to herself, "Darcy is enjoying his youth, lots of time to marry" but now the deadline is feeling near and she's starting to wonder when Darcy will do his duty... (because obviously he's not going to squelch on her, right? RIGHT?)

Often I'll see in JAFF Darcy giving up on love after Elizabeth and marrying Anne out of duty, but that seems out of character to me. There are lots of women out there, I feel like Darcy would just try again. He's only twenty-eight, he can find someone else he loves! I really think that before he met Elizabeth at Pemberley, he was planning on doing just that. He thought it was over.

As for saving Anne from her mother, which I don't think is a real concern, there are other ways to do that if Darcy really thought it was a problem. He could invite Anne for a visit to Pemberley or his house in London. He could talk to his uncle, who would have more standing to talk to his sister about it. But it's unlikely he would see this as his duty or even as something he interfere with. Lady Catherine is Anne's mother, he is the nephew, it's not his place. Those hierarchies were very important in that era.

If Anne were pregnant or something... this one bothers me so much! It's SO OUT OF CHARACTER! Darcy cares about Pemberley, he would not want some random kid as his possible heir! If he has already rejected Anne as a suitable wife, why would he accept her now that she is "ruined"? If he really cares about Anne, he could find her a suitable husband with his money, power, and connections, he doesn't have to marry her himself. And again, this isn't his problem. This is Lady Catherine's responsibility.

(Not to mention how freaking misogynistic it is for JAFF to imply that Lady Catherine is so incompetent that Darcy has to help her run her estate. Women can run their own freaking estates!!!)

So to sum up: No, Darcy would not marry Anne, under any circumstances. Maybe if Lady Catherine kidnapped Georgiana and held her for ransom. (Don't write that, I beg of you)

#question response #thank you for the compliment! #jane austen fan fiction #JAFF #mr. darcy #anne de bough #lady catherine de bourgh #pride and prejudice

[a-s-fischer]

Janeite/18th-19th century literature youtuber who at the end of every episode lists their patreon supporters after saying "I enjoy the privilege of the patronage and condescension of the following:"

#jane austen #pride and prejudice #lady catherine de bourgh #mr collins #if you quibble with the 18th century remember Jane Austen's juvenilia

[anghraine]

Sometimes, people suggest that Elizabeth is not truly romantically in love with Darcy towards the end of P&P, but just has a rational respect for his character (and property). Here are my three favorite pieces of evidence against it:

1- The coffee scene

When Darcy returns to Hertfordshire, there's a delightful period of frustrated pining between Darcy and Elizabeth. My personal favorite moment is at a gathering where Elizabeth is assigned to pour the coffee. She follows Darcy with her eyes, resents any not-her people he talks to, etc, and then gets mad at people for interrupting her by wanting coffee.

Absolutely top-tier content.

2- I do, I do like him; I love him.

Yeah, she does outright say she loves him.

There is something incredibly endearing about Elizabeth's struggle to defend her choice to her father—a choice that in this context represents many things, but IMO a big one is that she's both physically and emotionally moving beyond him.

It's also pretty funny that she has to wrangle with the legacy of Past Elizabeth's hot takes, it's bittersweet, it's a lot of things. But, ngl, my favorite part is when Mr Bennet concedes that the marriage is okay with him if she likes Darcy despite his pride and unpleasantness, and Elizabeth replies that she does like Darcy and she loves Darcy (both are important!) and it upsets her to hear him described that way. Just a lovely moment.

3- Lady Catherine v. Elizabeth

During Elizabeth's confrontation with Lady Catherine, she wonders how she could ever have thought Lady Catherine was similar to Darcy. I find this hilarious, honestly.

I mean, seeing Darcy's traits writ large in Lady Catherine is a perfectly natural and reasonable thing to do, even if it also flowed out of Elizabeth's prejudices at the time. Anyone would see the resemblance. But Elizabeth has got it so bad at this point that she's just like "how!!! could I have thought such a wrong and unfair thing." <3333

Honorable mention - Lydia aftermath

Elizabeth privately feels like she could have loved Darcy after he leaves her at the Lambton Inn post-Lydia disaster. It's only afterwards, out of scene and as the Lydia situation hits its nadir, that she realizes what her feelings for Darcy already are. It's a hellish time anyway, but she still owes half her sleepless nights to Darcy.

...out of dispassionate respect, I'm sure.

#anghraine babbles #austen blogging #austen fanwank #elizabeth bennet #fitzwilliam darcy #otp of otps #mr bennet #lady catherine de bourgh #i know a lot of people are drawn by how much darcy loves elizabeth and it /is/ very endearing quality content #but elizabeth's feelings evolving into this true and slightly unhinged love for darcy is what seals the otp deal for me #bless everything they choose to be <3 #long post #jane austen #pride and prejudice