I think Mr Darcy is my favourite male character out of everything I have read. Colin Firth's portrayal of this complex role was done to perfection. Every moment is brilliant. The role of Darcy would be incredibly hard to play. If it was not done correctly, by the end of the book he would have gone through a completely unrealistic character change. Colin Firth has captured him perfectly, from the shy, somewhat bored man who hides behind his status and pride, who falls in love and must learn to exert himself and show who he really is to win over Elizabeth Bennet.
In that fantastic book "The Making of Pride and Prejudice", there is an interview with Colin Firth and he makes some very insightful and interesting comments about the character of Darcy and how he approached it. He explains why Darcy is such a snob at the Meryton Assembly: "I remember that it makes sense when Darcy slights Elizabeth at the Meryton Assembly. I agree to come to the party with my friend Bingley...I arrive. I'm terribly shy - terribly uneasy in social situations anyway. This is not a place I'd normally go to, and I don't know how to talk to these people. So I protect myself with a veneer of snobbishness and rejection. Bingley immediately engages the most attractive woman in the room, and that makes me feel even less secure..."
The best bit of this interview is definitely the part where he talks about how he approached the first proposal. "He's saying to her, 'I'm going to put to you a proposal that may make me seem rash, irresponsible and even juvenile, but I don't want you to believe I'm those things. I have thought through every detail of this...nevertheless, having thought it all through I find my love for you is so overwhelming that these objections are rendered insignificant.' And from that point of view, it's a terribly romantc proposal." I just love that! :-)
Another of my favourite parts of this interview (and there are lots) is when he answers the question "Does Lizzy's rejection effect any real changes in Darcy then?" and he says, "Oh yes....His real crime I think is silliness...his failing is foolish, superficial, social snobbery, and that's the bitter lesson he has to learn....He is afraid of anything outside his immediate experience and is quite convinced that he will encounter nothing but barbarianism....He learns his lesson when he falls in love with one of these barbarians and realizes that she's at least his equal, if not his superior, in terms of wit, intellectual agility and sense of personal dignity." I think the fact that he is so changed by love that we like him. Fine, I admit that I'm a hopeless romantic, but there it is.
Someone asked where they could get "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" (I strongly recommend buying it - it's fantastic with lots of great info and pictures)
ISBN: 0-14-025157-X
Published by Penguin Group and BBC Worldwide Limited
(If you can't find it anywhere, try http://www.amazon.com)
Links to other sites on the Web
Colin Firth - An Appreciation
A&E site with Colin Firth's views on Darcy (mentioned above)
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