When I thought about it, I did not want Mr. Darcy and Lizzy to get together. Why? Even though Darcy has jerk-like qualities (that proposal scene was simply horrid), I believe that he carried the book. (Without him, it would have taken a herculean effort for me to continue). Then I thought, why is that? Why wasn't I falling head over heels for the romance that has reduced greater women than I to puddles of mushy goo?
The answer that came to me was so simple I did not understand how I did not figure it out before. I simply did not like Elizabeth. I respected her for her wit primarily; however, as a character, she does nothing for me. As I said, her wit is something I can respect, and while her "battle" with Lady Catherine was awesome, there is something about her that rubs me the wrong way. However, there is a reason that I think might explain it.
Austen has spent the entire book trying to convince us to like Elizabeth. So, by default, I simply cannot like her. The author seemed to be desperate to have Lizzy gain reader approval that, in hindsight, actually made me like the book less. Instead of letting Lizzy stand on her own, as a flawed character (I mean, the entire book hinged on her being an idiot by believing everything she is told at the drop of a hat) she is regulated to: the witty one (because no other woman may be witty), intelligent (what is the plot again?), beautiful (as if there was any question at any point in the book that she was not) and headstrong. Now, if these were just regular characteristics, alright, I'll buy. However, they are praised by Austen (who cannot make up her mind about what marriage should be anyway), and are actually stated in the book as Lizzy's qualities. Don't kill me, but that's just bad writing.
However, the fact that she is Mr. Bennet's favorite just takes the cake. Of course she would be, maybe the reason why Lydia ran away was because she wanted some freaking attention. You'd think that only Jane and Lizzy were the Bennet daughters. In fact, I can barely recall the names of the other two sisters, and I am forced to conclude that they were only placed their to make Lizzy (and perhaps Jane) look better.
To come full circle, how does this relate to Dracy/Elizabeth? I guess I can say that I think Lizzy is not good enough for him. Their marriage is going to be horrible, no matter what the sappy, vomit inducing "happy ending"says. As Dr. H said, when Lizzy stops being "cute", all that's left is her mouth. So, Darcy had better put on some fencing gear, because he is in for a rough ride.
Although I disagree with a lot of this rant, it's a pretty well-written one!
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