she flies with her own wings

CHARLES BINGLEY Pride & Prejudice | 2005 dir. Joe Wright

the drama, the shock, the revelation, of Elizabeth waltzing into her house at the crack of dawn with a visibly disheveled Mr. Darcy (chest fully out)  UNCHAPERONED, and being like “He’s asking Papa for my hand in marriage 🥰” when her entire family thought she loathed him with every fiber of her being will never be matched

via @regina-del-cielo​

Bingley, discovering a less than proper, newly engaged Darcy at the Bennet’s breakfast table, his best friend who at one point in time convinced Bingley not to marry into the Bennet family because of their lack of priority, and had also never even told Bingley that he had a thing for Lizzy versus Darcy, who is well aware of both of these facts.

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005) dir. Joe Wright

First, I must tell you I’ve been the most unmitigated and comprehensive ass.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005) | Mr. Bingley + Jane Bennet

Favourite Literary Duos: Fitzwilliam Darcy & Charles Bingley

PRIDE & PREJUDICE 2005 | dir. Joe Wright

One of many things I love about the characterizations of Pride & Prejudice’s “core four” (Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane and Bingley) is that they’re all partially right AND somewhat wrong. It speaks to one of the book’s themes about how we all view life through the prism of our own subjective biases, experiences, hopes, fears, etc., with the result being that sometimes we’re correct while other times we end up embarrassingly misguided :)  

Elizabeth totally misjudges both Wickham and Darcy’s characters and is loath to change her mind due to stubbornness and pride, but she’s completely correct in predicting that Lydia is going down a dangerous path and in knowing that Jane and Bingley care for each other very deeply. 

Darcy is utterly misguided when it comes to assessing Jane’s feelings for Bingley and in clinging to his own haughty reserve and rigidity. He’s right, however, about maintaining that actions reflect a person’s real character far more than charming manners ever could and clearly has an accurate read on not just Elizabeth but Bingley, Bingley’s sisters, etc.  

Jane is wrong in not initially letting herself see the truth about Caroline Bingley, Wickham or anyone else and keeping many of her real feelings and opinions to herself, but she assessed Bingley correctly from the start and was certainly correct about generally giving people the benefit of the doubt (as Elizabeth eventually did with Darcy!) and in her belief that we have to ‘allow for differences in temperament and situation’ before condemning others’ choices. 

Bingley was completely right in maintaining from the outset that Jane and Elizabeth shouldn’t be condemned for the ‘situation’ (i.e. lack of money and status!) or even behavior of their relatives (”If they had uncles enough to fill all of Cheapside,” cried Bingley, when his sisters were being insufferably snobby and Darcy was pointing out that their family connections make them less desirable matches, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable!”) He was wrong, however, in allowing himself to be persuaded that Jane didn’t love him, guided by his own insecurities and desire to avoid conflict with Caroline, Darcy etc. rather than trusting his own feelings and desires—and Jane’s. 

By the end, though, Elizabeth has learned not to be so quick to criticize before truly knowing someone and discovered that allowing herself to revise her initial judgments is actually a sign of strength. Darcy has worked to become markedly less snobby and prideful and a somewhat more open person. Jane has matured to the point where she can now acknowledge the reality that not everyone and everything is good just because she wishes they were (including her awful new sister-in-law!) and is even a tad more assertive while still retaining her fundamentally optimistic, sweet and forgiving nature. Bingley learns to trust himself and pursue what and who he wants rather than relying more on Darcy’s judgment than his own or trying not to make waves. (Interestingly, Darcy and Elizabeth both needed to have a bit LESS pride in their own opinions, judgments etc. while Jane and Bingley both needed to have a bit MORE pride/confidence in themselves!)  

The thing that makes P&P such an ultimately hopeful piece of literature for me is the message that when we ARE in the wrong, which we’ll all be quite a lot, we can make an effort to change, grow and correct our mistakes :)

PRIDE & PREJUDICE 2005 | dir. Joe Wright