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A fic quandary!
I was contemplating some of my future plans for Love, Pride & Delicacy (my f!Darcy/Elizabeth femslash fic) that I'm undecided about, and thought of just asking people what they thought made the most sense, maybe in a poll or something. But the particular quandary I'm wrestling with is dependent on knowledge of a plot development that's a significant spoiler, so I'm putting it under a cut instead.
If you don't care about spoilers, or at least ones for that particular fic, feel free to read below the cut and weigh in on The Quandary. If not, that's cool too, I'm just putting it out there.
If you don't care about spoilers, or at least ones for that particular fic, feel free to read below the cut and weigh in on The Quandary. If not, that's cool too, I'm just putting it out there.
[spoiler]
[spoiler]
[spoiler]
OKAY so what happens in the Rosings section of LP&D is that Catherine (f!Darcy) falls in love with Elizabeth (duh). Elizabeth has a major chip on her shoulder about Catherine because of Wickham, but also because of Catherine's own behavior at Rosings, and also because she's correctly getting the distinct impression that Catherine does not approve of her for Colonel Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth presumes for entirely snobbish reasons. The reality, of course, is that Catherine disapproves for snobbish reasons and because she's jealous and because she thinks Fitzwilliam is being cavalier about Elizabeth's feelings when she(Catherine) knows he has no serious intentions. Catherine considers Elizabeth her friend (Elizabeth is not aware of this!) and her(Catherine's) conflicted feelings eventually lead her to try and warn Elizabeth not to expect anything from Fitzwilliam. Elizabeth would not be receptive anyway, but Catherine's complicated motives and real classism lead her to deliver this in the most obnoxious way possible. There's an altered but recognizable version of the Hunsford scene+letter as a result.
Elizabeth, as in canon, feels pretty terrible once she accepts the truth. But there's a big difference from canon. Elizabeth and Catherine are women & acquaintances. There's nothing preventing Elizabeth from trying to make things right with Catherine in some way, through the power ofsong letter writing! She responds to Catherine's letter, expecting either silence or a chilly reply. But Catherine's eventual reply is more gracious than expected and pretty clearly allows for (without at all demanding) another reply. Elizabeth responds again. Catherine writes back. Etc. There's an epistolary gal pals section!
I'm set on that happening. What I'm unsure about is how open this would be. There's nothing really improper about Elizabeth carrying on a correspondence with Catherine. But it's a bit awkward given how much everyone in her social circle has bought into Wickham's story (how much she herself did previously!), especially while he's still in the area. If, say, Lydia knew about it, she might well be indignant on Wickham's behalf and wouldn't be shy about calling Elizabeth out for betraying!!! poor Wickham. If that happens, Elizabeth and Jane's decision not to reveal Wickham's real character would be more strained. Possibly, even, Elizabeth reluctantly does try and explain herself somewhat. Lydia probably wouldn't listen and maybe it wouldn't change anything in the long run. Then again, if Lydia were moderately warier of Wickham, maybe running off with him wouldn't sound as fun to her and she'd stay in Brighton.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm wholly convinced as to the probability of that. Maybe it's more likely that Elizabeth (as in canon) would be daunted by Wickham's reputation, and figure that, since he's leaving anyway, correcting the household opinions on him isn't particularly urgent and she'd downplay the significance of corresponding with Catherine. Or she could find her relationship with Catherine so impossible to explain that she doesn't really try all that hard. Or (etc etc) - this could go various ways, but I'm just not sure that Elizabeth would be inclined (or perhaps even able) to alter Lydia's opinion by enough to change the outcome at Brighton.
I genuinely don't know what I think! (Not a situation that often besets me.) If you're still reading, what do you think?
[spoiler]
[spoiler]
OKAY so what happens in the Rosings section of LP&D is that Catherine (f!Darcy) falls in love with Elizabeth (duh). Elizabeth has a major chip on her shoulder about Catherine because of Wickham, but also because of Catherine's own behavior at Rosings, and also because she's correctly getting the distinct impression that Catherine does not approve of her for Colonel Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth presumes for entirely snobbish reasons. The reality, of course, is that Catherine disapproves for snobbish reasons and because she's jealous and because she thinks Fitzwilliam is being cavalier about Elizabeth's feelings when she(Catherine) knows he has no serious intentions. Catherine considers Elizabeth her friend (Elizabeth is not aware of this!) and her(Catherine's) conflicted feelings eventually lead her to try and warn Elizabeth not to expect anything from Fitzwilliam. Elizabeth would not be receptive anyway, but Catherine's complicated motives and real classism lead her to deliver this in the most obnoxious way possible. There's an altered but recognizable version of the Hunsford scene+letter as a result.
Elizabeth, as in canon, feels pretty terrible once she accepts the truth. But there's a big difference from canon. Elizabeth and Catherine are women & acquaintances. There's nothing preventing Elizabeth from trying to make things right with Catherine in some way, through the power of
I'm set on that happening. What I'm unsure about is how open this would be. There's nothing really improper about Elizabeth carrying on a correspondence with Catherine. But it's a bit awkward given how much everyone in her social circle has bought into Wickham's story (how much she herself did previously!), especially while he's still in the area. If, say, Lydia knew about it, she might well be indignant on Wickham's behalf and wouldn't be shy about calling Elizabeth out for betraying!!! poor Wickham. If that happens, Elizabeth and Jane's decision not to reveal Wickham's real character would be more strained. Possibly, even, Elizabeth reluctantly does try and explain herself somewhat. Lydia probably wouldn't listen and maybe it wouldn't change anything in the long run. Then again, if Lydia were moderately warier of Wickham, maybe running off with him wouldn't sound as fun to her and she'd stay in Brighton.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm wholly convinced as to the probability of that. Maybe it's more likely that Elizabeth (as in canon) would be daunted by Wickham's reputation, and figure that, since he's leaving anyway, correcting the household opinions on him isn't particularly urgent and she'd downplay the significance of corresponding with Catherine. Or she could find her relationship with Catherine so impossible to explain that she doesn't really try all that hard. Or (etc etc) - this could go various ways, but I'm just not sure that Elizabeth would be inclined (or perhaps even able) to alter Lydia's opinion by enough to change the outcome at Brighton.
I genuinely don't know what I think! (Not a situation that often besets me.) If you're still reading, what do you think?