Tumblr crosspost (6 June 2020)
Feb. 24th, 2022 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghraineOne of the details about Wickham’s and Darcy’s background that I think is interesting:
Wickham says:
Had the late Mr Darcy liked me less, his son might have borne with me better; but his father’s uncommon attachment to me, irritated him I believe very early in life. He had not a temper to bear the sort of competition in which we stood—the sort of preference which was often given me.
Darcy says:
to have thrown off the companion of my youth, the acknowledged favourite of my father, a young man who had scarcely any other dependence than on our patronage, and who had been brought up to expect its exertion, would be a depravity
‘Favourite’ could have multiple meanings, but in context, I think it entirely probable that Mr Darcy, while loving and over-indulging his son, nevertheless preferred Wickham. If so, both Wickham and Darcy seem to have been entirely conscious of this. What’s intriguing, though, is how wildly different their perspectives are on it: Wickham thinks, or at least says, that Darcy was jealous, while in reality, Darcy merely thinks that it created an obligation to Wickham that would be “a depravity” for him to overlook.
There’s a scholar who has a conspiracy theory that Darcy actually is jealous and resentful and it doesn’t come up for Reasons, but I think it’s more interesting this way.
#my /headcanon/ is that this is actually part of the reason that darcy is so indulged #and actively encouraged to think himself better—and part of the reason that even as a child he wanted to think himself superior #he might not be the favourite but he was SMARTER and BETTER and THE HEIR #i totally headcanon that lady anne would have hammered that in too #while mr darcy felt vaguely guilty (probably /esp/ bc darcy—while awkward—was a genuinely sweet child) #and overcompensated by giving him his way far too much #creating this pretty weird situation for both wickham and darcy that shaped both of their faults
Wickham says:
Had the late Mr Darcy liked me less, his son might have borne with me better; but his father’s uncommon attachment to me, irritated him I believe very early in life. He had not a temper to bear the sort of competition in which we stood—the sort of preference which was often given me.
Darcy says:
to have thrown off the companion of my youth, the acknowledged favourite of my father, a young man who had scarcely any other dependence than on our patronage, and who had been brought up to expect its exertion, would be a depravity
‘Favourite’ could have multiple meanings, but in context, I think it entirely probable that Mr Darcy, while loving and over-indulging his son, nevertheless preferred Wickham. If so, both Wickham and Darcy seem to have been entirely conscious of this. What’s intriguing, though, is how wildly different their perspectives are on it: Wickham thinks, or at least says, that Darcy was jealous, while in reality, Darcy merely thinks that it created an obligation to Wickham that would be “a depravity” for him to overlook.
There’s a scholar who has a conspiracy theory that Darcy actually is jealous and resentful and it doesn’t come up for Reasons, but I think it’s more interesting this way.
#my /headcanon/ is that this is actually part of the reason that darcy is so indulged #and actively encouraged to think himself better—and part of the reason that even as a child he wanted to think himself superior #he might not be the favourite but he was SMARTER and BETTER and THE HEIR #i totally headcanon that lady anne would have hammered that in too #while mr darcy felt vaguely guilty (probably /esp/ bc darcy—while awkward—was a genuinely sweet child) #and overcompensated by giving him his way far too much #creating this pretty weird situation for both wickham and darcy that shaped both of their faults