Chapter 1: The Woman who Cried "Wolf"

AN: "My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me." - Elizabeth Bennet

If the best that some people can do is try to remove MY STORY because they have NO logical, rational response to my questions, by your own actions, you have indicted yourself and de-legitimised your own plot. All I did was ask questions.

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"I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days."
Jane Austen

"I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I'm not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I'm right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself."
Roxane Gay

Once a upon a time, in a reality far too real, students at a university in England was asked to read a story by their professor for her "Austen: Women, Gender, and Sexuality" course. The students were to analyse a story written by someone who categorically who abhors Jane Austen and strong women. This lady was just as bad a bully as Lady Catherine and her friends are equally as evil as she. This is a story about love for Austen. Respect for Austen. A love for strong, independent women. And standing against authoritarian bullies.

And just as important, for the satisfaction of knowing that Darcy and Elizabeth belong in every world together.

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After having distributed the reading notes to her pupils, Professor Anna Childers stood at the front of the lecture hall and asked: "Continuing our series on Austen and her works, can someone please tell me what values Jane would have for a wife that Darcy needs/wants? Have we NOT already established that Jane is the PERFECT TROPHY WIFE? She embodies what society deemed "marriage material" then. In the most recent version that was distributed for your readings, how would pairing a meek complaisant Jane improve the story from the original?"

"None." Spoke on of the more astute students, Lily James. "To be more precise, let me give you the exact talking points to describe Jane:

She is likely tall, blond, and probably has blue eyes. Check!

She is the quintessential English rose. Check!

She sees the world through rose-coloured glasses. Check!

She is subservient through and through. Check!

She can maintain a good table and be a good hostess. Check!

She is naïve. Check!

She is the carbon-copy of what Georgian society wanted in a wife. Check!"

Another student chose to elaborate on the prior analysis, Kate Milston said, "To prove my point, this is what that writer said about Jane, and I quote: "In an agrarian, patrilineal, patrilocal society with a high emphasis on honor/shame, interdependence of community, and maintaining the social order, Jane behaves absolutely properly. In such a context, no "well-bred" woman would ever disobey her parents or husband (even to her own detriment). Her (Jane's) continual acceptance of mistreatment and forgiveness of others bad decisions is also viewed as a positive trait and not a negative one."

Professor Childers smiled, "Exactly! Darcy has spent nearly 10 years in society in canon. He has been the master of Pemberley for 5. He has been exposed to marriageable girls all his adult life. He was not ignorant of his society; he knew it well. Which leads me back to the original question: What exactly does Jane have that makes her the perfect fit?"

The third student spoke up, "Jane has little to no traits to recommend her, Dr Childers. The writer of this story is neglecting the fact that in a society with thousands of people, and a new crop of marriageable girls introduced every Season, somehow, in the realm of possibilities, there never existed the "perfect trophy wife material" AKA a richer, well-connected version of Jane. Frankly, that is utter rubbish!"

Mary from the back corner of the room spoke up, "Jane Bennet represents the classic English rose. And I assure you, there was NO shortage of Jane Bennets in Darcy's society. At this point, the plot line has been massacred and the tale illogical, making it a completely demented story."

"Precisely Mary," cried Professor Barnes. "If Austen cared to pair Darcy with a subservient, sniveling, happy-go-lucky wife, guess what, she would have!"

Tamara Groves, spoke from the fourth row, on the left. "The other consideration is this - Jane is just an older version of Georgiana Darcy in terms of behaviour and comportment. Besides Georgiana being rich and well-connected, she has been born and bred to become the perfect trophy-wife. From her education to her playing the piano to her shyness. So, in a way, the writer of this story maybe promoting incestuous relations. They believe that in killing Georgiana, Jane would in a way come and fill that void. The void of a sister. Perhaps this is an odd outlook but I stand by my words whole-heartedly."

"What an interesting observation, Tamara," Dr Childers told her and then proceeded to ask her class, "what are your thoughts on the plot line and the manner in which the narrative is carried out?"

"I found the cadence of the story to be lacking," spoke Tom Cranwell. "It is quite obvious that little research was done in regard to the societal standing of a family after scandal. The Bennets were well to-do in their society then and only because of their father, Mr. Bennet. As long as he was alive, the situation of the family could pass muster. With his death and the elopement of Lydia, the Bennet family reputation fell apart completely."

Dr Childers could only smile at such a precise insight as Tom continued: "Also, the idea that Darcy would marry Jane within 3 or 4 years after Lydia eloped, Mr. Bennet died and the Bennets lost their standing is frankly quite ludicrous as a plot point. The Bennet name has been tarnished. Jane at this point is one to two steps above a maid. She has no social standing which is derived from the father and she has no wealth! She is living off the generosity of her married sisters and Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. The gap you have is abysmally wide."

"Excellent analysis, Tom," Dr Childers said. "Now what is the perspective from Darcy's side of the family?"

Dr Childers chose a student seated close to the middle of the class to speak, "Even with Georgiana's death, the Matlocks, Darcy's maternal relations would be hurt by his marriage to Jane. He would eviscerate any respect the family name has within their sphere. They would be a laughingstock. Darcy would be laughed out by his own family and friends. The idea to pair Jane and Darcy soon after her family has fallen in this regard is simply reckless," Sarah Ainsley concluded.

"Good point, Sarah," Professor Childers complemented. "Austen was able to bridge the gap, both Darcy and Elizabeth were born in the same sphere. Darcy just happened to be five times richer, but Elizabeth came from a respectable background, and he could marry her. That gap was not too wide and it was reasonable to make the story sensible and realistic."

"What are your thoughts on the death of several of the characters? In comparison to the original work, how well do each deaths serve to advance the story or detract from it?" the professor asked her students.

Aoife spoke up from the second row: "In the story so far, the writer had to kill of Mr. Bennet and Lydia. Lady Catherine, Anne de Bourgh and Goerigana are also dead. Essentially what they are promoting is a marriage, a union based on shared grief. We just have gone through a global pandemic, if I was to consider every person I know that has experienced grief because of loss as a potential partner, I would be a polygamist!" He concluded much to the laughter of the class.

Dr Childers nodded in agreement, "Superb insight, Aoife. Shared grief does not make a marriage! Death, grief, and loss are universal. Again, I repeat: Death, grief, and loss are universal. Everyone will experience it at some point. But not everyone will experience love and respect in a marriage. Hence, that is why Austen wrote about it. Love and intellectual respect for your partner are the bedrocks for a strong union."

Professor Childers returned to the podium and changed the slide to one with four bullet points. "In pairing Darcy with Elizabeth, Austen was highlighting the fact that you don't have to fit the MOLD of society. You don't have to be the bland, typical English rose. You don't have to be this person that society has manufactured and ordered around and made you discard your personality and your quirks and uniqueness. Darcy's interest in Elizabeth is partly because he has been exposed to the same versions of Jane for so long! If Darcy really cared to have married one, he would have and settled for the "perfect trophy wife material" debutante from the his society. But he didn't, he was a man capable of change and growth and saw that he didn't just want your regular "born and society-bred trophy wife" he wanted a partner, a friend, a companion.

"So again, I ask: can someone name the exact qualities Jane Bennet has that would entice a man of Darcy's caliber? Besides her looks and training to be the typical trophy-wife?

The class was silent.

"Precisely!" Dr Childers smiled to her room full of pupils and continued:

"The lack of understanding and insight into the history and cultural mores of the era take away from the attempt. Additionally, the lack of understanding for the audience. The story of Austen has lived on because of the themes it uplifts. This book PRIDE & PREJUDICE, celebrates a story about Elizabeth and Darcy; and their growth to becoming a loving couple with a marriage based on mutual affection and respect."

As you all prepare for your future whether to become fiction writers or lead editorials in newsroom, consider who your audience is. Austen was a masterclass writer, who knew her audience and often, the nuance of her conversations or vernacular from that era will be overlooked by us if we do not understand the historical context. You have to know – you must know - who you are speaking to when you write a story, when you post on any forum. And you can do all the research in the world and write a few good sentences, but those efforts will NOT absolve your actions in cheapening one of history's most famous literary work! One should not be surprised if the reaction they receive in return is critical."

The professor switched the slides again. "So, in light of the insights you all have masterfully shared, in the context of this story, how does it detract from the main themes Austen was trying to portray to her peers in her society?"

The next slide highlighted these words in quote and Dr Childers read it exactly to her class. "Austen paired Elizabeth with Darcy because she was celebrating EXTRAORDINARY women who did not fit the perfect mold of society. Women like Elizabeth that remained true to themselves and their beliefs despite the subjugation that existed in a patriarchal, Georgian society."

Walking away from the screen reflecting her Power Points, Dr Childers shared her view with the class. "I conclude with this: some of these writers struggles with internalized misogyny. And as such, falls under the category of women who experience internalized misogyny and express it through minimizing the value of strong women like Jane Austen and Elizabeth. Women who do this are full of mistrust, and believe in affirming gender bias in favour of men as this writer has clearly done in her story."

According, to sociologist Michael Flood at the University of Wollongong, he defines misogyny as the hatred of women, and notes: "Though most common in men, misogyny also exists in and is practiced by women against other women or even themselves. Misogyny functions as an ideology or belief system that has accompanied patriarchal, or male-dominated societies for thousands of years and continues to place women in subordinate positions with limited access to power and decision making. "

After reading the quote she turned to her pupils, "On a personal note, I love, LOVE this definition because it encapsulates the internalized misogynists we have labeled during this part of our lessons and how their writing above all eviscerates the characters of strong women like Elizabeth Bennet as they cling to the trophy-wife motifs of the Georgian or 1950s era if you prefer a closer time period as an example."

"Instead, misogyny rewards women who uphold the status quo, in the case of our class sessions, this writer punishes those who reject women's subordinate status. Misogyny will typically differentiate between good women and bad ones and punishes the latter as exemplified in the reading material for this week, and do what I just mentioned a few moments ago, Elizabeth's character is completely destroyed and the general concepts of the story are discarded."

One of the reasons I gave you this story is to consider how much fanfiction work can do to distort the original in writing stories that elevate toxic femininity especially in the Georgian/Regency period. This story does not elevate the themes Austen uplifted, but rather everything opposite she espoused during her lifetime.

In particular, this writer wants to promote the old, toxic culture (cult) of domesticity where "true women" were to hold and practice the cardinal virtues of piety, submission, and domesticity.

Piety – Religion was valued because—unlike intellectual pursuits—it did not take a woman away from her "proper sphere," the home, and because it controlled women's longings. Submission – True women were required to be as submissive and obedient "as little children" because men were regarded as women's superiors "by God's appointment". Domesticity – A woman's proper place was in the home and her role as a wife was to create a refuge for her husband and children. Cooking, needlework, making beds, and tending flowers were considered naturally feminine activities, whereas reading anything other than religious biographies was discouraged.

Dr Childers took a moment to review these definitions with the class before wrapping up her lecture in the following:

"In conclusion, this writer has tried to elevate an ambivalent form of toxic femininity and sexism in portraying Jane Bennet as the trophy-wife material of Regency era but her attempts try to impose instances of independence from Jane come off as inconsistent, ridiculous, and shallow."