Last year I was about to go on a first date with a guy I had recently met. I didn’t know too much about him, but from the conversations we had had, I was wary about how well a match we would make. I had also heard some unseemly stories about him, but nothing incriminating enough to make me want to cancel the date. Around the same time, I happened to be re-reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Many say that Austen was the grandmother of chick-lit, and in many ways, I could see some classic chick-lit tropes. You have the love-hate relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, the headstrong main character, and a host of unsavory men waiting to lead Elizabeth astray. The novel started bleeding into my current situation. “Tom* is totally going to turn out to be a Mr. Collins,” I complained to my roommate. “Not true,” she replied. “He could end up being your Mr. Darcy.”
All of a sudden, I realized that most men can be categorized into the four central male characters in Pride and Prejudice. Now, some people might not agree, and I admit that some generalizations will be made, but I believe Austen does a wicked job of summing up the male population with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Collins, Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Bingley. If you haven’t had a chance to read Pride and Prejudice yet, I suggest you put that on your to-do list. Or, if you refuse to give Austen a chance, you can always Google the plot summary in order to understand the role that each male character plays. For those who are familiar with the story, read ahead and see if you agree with my claim.
Mr. Collins: Austen put in best when she wrote that Mr. Collins was “not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society.” We all know those guys. You know, the ones with the super-inflated egos that are constantly bragging about their “connections.” What they lack in common sense, they make up with pompous ass-holery. A modern day Mr. Collins would probably be that guy who keeps hitting on you, even after you’ve made it perfectly clear that you are SO. NOT. INTERESTED. Only girls with low self-esteem (like Elizabeth’s poor friend Charlotte) would ever agree to go out with a guy like Mr. Collins.
Mr. Bingley: Kind, charming, and handsome, Mr. Bingley is a great catch. He’s steady as a rock, says what he means, and popular with everyone. He’s the modern day Mr. Nice Guy, the Boy Next Door. Any girl would be lucky to end up with Mr. Bingley. However, he does lack an adventurous side. And he’s not the most opinionated of guys. Let’s put it this way—if he were an ice cream flavor, he would be vanilla.
Mr. Wickham: Watch out for this guy—he’s the devil in disguise. You know all those songs about guys who are eating girls up and then spitting them out? Yep, that’s Mr. Wickham. He can charm the pants off any girl, and he has no second thoughts about doing it either. B-b-bad to the bone. But oh, he is so sexy. He’s dangerous and deceitful and he’ll lie right to your face, but therein lies the thrill. The modern day Bad Boy, Mr. Wickham will be the biggest mistake you will ever make… and perhaps the best mistake as well.
Mr. Darcy: He is both your equal and your opposite. He constantly challenges you, but he always has your best interests in mind. You might hate him at first, before you really get to know him. But after you scratch the surface, you realize that he is loyal, intelligent, and trustworthy. In a way, Mr. Darcy is in the eye of the beholder. He’s the one. And it doesn’t matter if he’s a Mr. Bingley to someone else and a Mr. Collins to another, he’s Mr. Darcy to you. He’s the only one who can match your wits and your temper. He is constantly pushing you to be a better version of yourself, and you are doing the same for him. I hate to say it but, he completes you.
So what do you guys think? Know any Mr. Wickhams in your life? Are you dating a Mr. Bingley, or pining for a Mr. Darcy? Are you currently trying to dodge a Mr. Collins? Do you think I’m completely wrong? Comment and let me know!
(And for anyone who’s interested, Tom* ended up being a Mr. Collins for me, but I’m sure his girlfriend thinks he’s her Mr. Darcy)
* Signifies a name change