Plus why does everyone call him just plain "Darcy"? He does have a first name; he's not Brodie from Homeland.
In the Regency period and much later in England that was how you addressed a man you were familiar or friendly with. A man's first name was rarely used publicly after he became an adult. He would be introduced as Mr. Darcy or Mr. Smith or Mr.Holmes.
If you think back to Sherlock Holmes he calls Doctor John Watson, 'Watson' not Doctor or John.
Married women would be Mrs. Darcy (Wickham, Bingley, Younge) in public. Single woman would be as follows - Oldest Daughter (oldest Daughter present) Miss Jane Bennet, then younger sisters Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary, Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia.
One last reason is that his first (given) name is Fitzwilliam which is the same as his cousin Col. Fitzwilliam's last (family) name so it avoids confusion.
AS to the first part Darcy - I have read the source material and really feel that P.D. James doesn't understand or relate to any of Jane Austen's characters. Most are written like the author read the first half of Cliff Notes P&P and went to town
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Annabelle2918
10 years ago
Most are written like the author read the first half of Cliff Notes P&P and went to town
This very much seems to be the case. Most fan fiction - and this is essentially fan fiction - is written by people who know the original characters very well and have a great love for them...
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Rheli
10 years ago
But Elizabeth is merely familiar or friendly with him?
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ldub613
10 years ago
Elizabeth is his wife of 6+ years in this version. When she calls him Fitzwilliam it is usually when they are alone
Other P&P variations have dealt with Lizzy deciding what to call her husband Fitzwilliam Darcy. In Public she would probably call him Mr. Darcy or Darcy because Fitzwilliam is his cousin's (and uncles ) Last name. Since Lizzy met Col. Fitzwilliam before she was married to Mr. Darcy she associates Darcy's first name with his cousin.
Just to clarify during this period of history English people of the higher classes did not use first names in public. And even only in private if invited. If you watch Downton Abbey you see this with the staff always referred to by last names.
While they aren't featured in this version Lizzy's aunts & uncles in P&P are referred to as Aunt & Uncle Phillips and Aunt & Uncle Gardiner (last name) while a modern person would refer to them as eg. Aunt Mary & Uncle Edward
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syntinen
10 years ago
And let's not forget Emma. Emma has known Mr Knightley as a close friend al her life, and still calls him 'Mr Knightley', feeling that even plain 'Knightley' (as Mrs Collins calls him) would be an un-called-for familiarity. And even at the close when they have declared their love and are engaged, she still doesn't feel she would ever feel comfortable calling him 'George'.
Edited to add:
Lizzy's aunts & uncles in P&P are referred to as Aunt & Uncle Phillips and Aunt & Uncle Gardiner
And in the period a man would do that to his own sister after she was married. I don't think we ever find out what Mrs Bennet's given name is; but as long as she was unmarried her brother would refer to her as 'my sister Lucy' and as soon as she was married she would become 'my sister Bennet'.
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silverwhistle
10 years ago
And in the period a man would do that to his own sister after she was married. I don't think we ever find out what Mrs Bennet's given name is; but as long as she was unmarried her brother would refer to her as 'my sister Lucy' and as soon as she was married she would become 'my sister Bennet'.
Not sure how universal that is. I've done a lot of work on 18C letters involving gentry and professionals, and first names do still sometimes pop up in this context. The main differentiation seems to be with unmarried sisters – the eldest unmarried one is Miss [surname], the others Miss [first name]. Someone who isn't a family member may refer to married ones as Mrs X, but family members will still often use first names.
Seingner Conrat, tot per vostr' amor chanhttp://www.silverwhistle.co.uk/knightlife
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Caia1972
9 years ago
We don't know Mr. Bennet's first name either, because his wife of at least 24 years - Jane was 23 at the beginning of the novel - always calls him "Mr. Bennet", and not just in public, but also in private conversations at home. She never drops the title either - she always calls him "Mr. Bennet", never just "Bennet".
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teatat
10 years ago
Minor quibble but with single women: The oldest would be Miss Bennet, the others would be Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Mary Bennet ect. A close friend or relation can drop the last name. For example Sir William uses “Miss Eliza” and her cousin uses “Miss Elizabeth” but Darcy and Bingley always call her Miss Elizabeth Bennet (or Miss Bennet when Jane isn’t there.)
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Julie-30
10 years ago
You don't call someone "Miss Elizabeth Bennet" when you are chatting with her. You would call her just "Miss Elizabeth." As in, "Good afternoon Miss Elizabeth. How are you?"
http://currentscene.wordpress.com
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teatat
10 years ago
You may have a source that says otherwise but according to David M. Shapard annotated edition of Pride and Prejudice:
“…cried Bingley; ‘let us hear all the particulars, not forgetting their comparative height and size; for that will have more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet,…”
“Miss Bennet: Bingley uses his form instead of ‘Miss Elizabeth Bennet’ because it would not be considered proper for a man who had no intimate connection with a woman to use her first name when addressing her directly” Note 29 chapter 10
And:
“…and I take this opportunity of soliciting yours, Miss Elizabeth, for the two first dances…”
“
Miss Elizabeth: as a cousin Mr. Collins feels entitled to omit her last name in addressing her…” Note 16 Chapter 18
The first one is stricter than I remembered. So, it's true that Darcy and Bingley would not address her as “Miss Elizabeth Bennet” but they would definitely not address her as “Miss Elizabeth”.
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Julie-30
10 years ago
She's Miss Bennet when her sister Jane isn't around. When Jane is around, she's Miss Elizabeth.
http://currentscene.wordpress.com
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teatat
10 years ago
If you have a more reliable source I'll be happy to concede the point.
Otherwise I will continue to believe the information from Shapard I quoted (that men like Darcy and Bingley would not address her as "Miss Elizabeth". Shapard has a Ph.D. in European History and his specialty was the eighteenth century.
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Julie-30
10 years ago
I'll see what I can find. I've gleaned my information just from reading novels from the period.
For example, in Austen's Mansfield Park, Mary Crawford makes some comment about (elder son) Tom Bertram being "Mr. Bertram" and (younger son) Edmund being "Mr. Edmund Bertram." And, from my reading of all of Austen's other books, it seems to be consistent with females -- Miss Lastname is reserved for the eldest sister, and Miss Firstname is for the younger sister(s), unless the eldest is present.
http://currentscene.wordpress.com
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teatat
10 years ago
Thanks and just in case it’s not clear I’m not arguing against Miss [Last name] being reserved for the eldest. I’m arguing that a younger sister wouldn’t be addressed as Miss [First name ONLY] by a gentleman who is not an intimate connection. (So the Edmund example isn’t really relevant. As you say he’s Mr. Edmund Bertram not Mr. Edmund.)
Can you site any examples from the texts where a gentleman who is not a connection addresses a lady directly as “Miss [Firstname only]”? The only one I can find is Sir William addressing Elizabeth as Miss Eliza. (Which IMO is not enough to prove the case.)
Marianne Dashwood is often addressed as “Miss Marianne” but always by relatives, other women and the servant. Colonel Brandon only does it in adaptions.
In Mansfield Park Henry Crawford addresses Julia indirectly as “Miss Julia Bertram” and then uses pronouns for direct speech.
“I must entreat Miss Julia Bertram,” said he, “not to engage in the part of Agatha, or it will be the ruin of all my solemnity. You must not, indeed you must not” (turning to her).
But maybe there are other examples I haven’t thought to do searches on.
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mmsbk
10 years ago
Actually oldest daughter is Miss Bennett, next is Miss Elizabeth Bennett , Miss Mary Bennett etc etc .
Miss Jane , Miss Elizabeth etc is either what close but inferior persons might call them, (maids, villagers or what have you ) or what young men might call them before reaching the intimacy of their first name only.
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