Pride And Prejudice Character Review: Caroline Bingley

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Pride and Prejudice. Read at your own risk if you are unfamiliar with the book.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Pride and Prejudice to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

For most of human history, women have been told, both consciously and unconsciously that being single is unacceptable. A woman needs a husband. This has created in some women, especially those seeking a wealthy husband, a less than likable reputation.

In Pride and Prejudice, Caroline Bingley is one of these women. The older sister of Charles Bingley, Caroline knows that she must marry, like all women of the era. She has her sights set on one man: her brother’s best friend, Mr. Darcy.  But while Elizabeth Bennet, Caroline’s unknowing rival for Mr. Darcy is charming, intelligent, likable and witty, Caroline is the opposite. She is a two-faced snob who pretends that her family wealth does not come from trade. She is constantly flirting and throwing herself at Mr. Darcy, despite the obvious signs that he is not interested in her whatsoever. She also pretends to be friends with Jane Bennet, but then convinces her brother (with the help of Mr. Darcy) to walk away from Jane.

If Pride and Prejudice were set in a modern day high school, Caroline would be the perfect mean girl.

To sum it up:  Caroline is the character we love to hate. We cheer when Darcy and Elizabeth marry, knowing that Caroline has not won, she will not be Mrs. Darcy of Pemberley. Ironically, sometimes the favorite or the most memorable character is not the hero or heroine that we love, but the villain or the pseudo villain that we love to hate. It’s fun to watch them try to win, knowing that in the end, they won’t. A writer’s job is to create compelling and memorable characters. If being compelling and memorable means that the we love to hate to the character, then so be it.

Advertisement

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Casting News

The casting for the upcoming movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is as follows (so far):

• Mr. Collins (Matt Smith, Dr. Who)
• Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth, Romeo and Juliet)
• Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James, Downton Abbey)
• Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston, Boardwalk Empire)
• Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley, Malificent)
• Jane or Lydia Bennet???? (Bella Heathcote, Dark Shadows)****- IMDB does not specify who she is playing, but but my guess is either Jane or Lydia.
• Caroline Bingley (Emma Greenwell, True Blood)

Bear in mind that not all of the casting has been announced. I’m still ambivalent about Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy, but only time will tell.  Overall, I am extremely pleased with the casting and will be very happy to sit in a dark movie theater and watch the Bennet sisters kick some zombie a$$.

Confrontation- A Modern Pride and Prejudice Fanfiction

*-I do not own any of these characters beyond the Darcy and Bingley children.

*-Rated PG for language.

*-Please review

Confrontation

“That bitch, how dare she, in my home” Elizabeth’s rage was so great that she had to be bodily removed from the party and was not set down until she and Will were safe within the confines of their bedroom.

The comment had been partially heard by Elizabeth, but it was enough to break the mask of civility she had put up for the day. She had always disliked Caroline Bingley, but had tolerated her because she was Jane’s sister in law.  But that comment was the last straw.

Her husband remained silent.

“Dammit William, cant you see what she is doing?”.

“She is Charles’s sister, I cannot ask her to leave”.

Elizabeth did not know why, but she agreed that Caroline be invited to their home for the mutual 1^st birthday party of Anne Darcy and Fanny Bingley. She had promised herself that she would a proper hostess and not under any circumstances let Caroline get under her skin.

But she did, she would have tackled Caroline if Will had not dragged her away.

“She still believes the fantasy that you marry her, Will and somehow, Georgie will marry Charlie”.

“It’s been five years, Lizzy, I hardly think that after all of this time and two children, even Aunt Catherine has accepted us…”.

Of course, that had only come about after letting Will stand up for the both of them, Elizabeth had enough. She declared in no uncertain terms that until the day Catherine respected their marriage, their children would be off limits to her.  It was only after the death of Catherine’s only child, Anne, and the subsequent birth of their daughter Anne that Catherine began to thaw to the idea that her nephew was happy.

“Caroline has had eyes for you for years, only you have been too blind to see”.

“Did you think that I didn’t know that?”.

“Then why did you not tell her you were not interested?”.

“I don’t know why I didn’t say no back then. Please, I beg of you, hold out for a little longer, I will talk to Charlie”.

He could still see the fire in her eyes.

“For me, please Lizzy”.

“Fine, I will behave, but one more comment and she is out on her ass”.

“Thank you, can we return to the party?”.

“Yes, we can” Lizzy agreed.

“Are you ok?” Jane asked as Lizzy and Darcy returned to the party. Dear sweet Jane, who seemed to let nothing bother her, especially annoying her sister in law.

“Just peachy”.

“It’s my fault, Lizzy, I was the one who brought up the idea to invite her, she is family…”.

“No, that ok, I can deal with her, it’s only a few more hours”.

Then she turned around to see Darcy and Caroline talking. Without warning, Caroline attempted to kiss him. Any attempt or promises to control her temper disappeared.

Lizzy pulled Caroline away from Darcy and knocked her to the floor.

“Get your hands off my man, now”.

“We are just talking, weren’t we Darcy?”.

Before he could respond, Elizabeth nearly pounced on Caroline “I want you to listen to me and listen well, for I will not repeat myself. We are married; he is the man I love and the father of my children. Nothing you do or say will break up this marriage and if you attempt to do so, you will be sorry. Am I understood?”.

“Darcy, you must control her, she is like animal”.

“No Caroline, she is right. I have always tolerated you because your brother is my best friend, but I will not have you coming to my home and insulting my family. Elizabeth is my wife and will be until the day I die. I have never been attracted to you, nor will I ever be”.

“You cannot be serious, she is a….”.

“What is exactly do you think my sister is?” Caroline unexpectedly turned to face her sister in law.

“She is a…” suddenly the words disappeared.

“Whatever you accuse my sister of; I must be guilty of the same crime”.

“Charles?” Caroline turned around, looking for her brother.

He was about to respond, until a little voice broke the tension.

“Daddy, my shirt is dirty” Lizzy and Will’s four year old son, Bennet stood there, his shirt covered in chocolate ice cream.

Caroline looked at the boy, who was most certainly a Darcy, but he also has his mother’s striking eyes. Then she saw the pictures.

The pictures of their wedding, the pictures of their children. The pictures of the life together that would never be hers.

Elizabeth Bennet had won, she was Mrs. Darcy, wife, mother, lover to the man she would never be with.

“C’mon buddy, lets get you cleaned up” Taking his son by the hand, Will led him upstairs.

“If you excuse me, it appears I have worn out my welcome” she was determined to leave with her dignity in tact.

As she walked out, she took one last look. She had spent too many years hung up a man who she had finally realized had no interest in her. Maybe one day, she would find a man who would return her affection.

 

The End

Portrait Gallery

*-Of course I do not own any of these characters

*-Please review. The original text from the novel is italicized.

Portrait Gallery

“Bloody hell” Fitzwilliam Darcy opened his eyes, no matter what manner he tried, sleep remained elusive.

He wandered through the halls of Pemberley, until he reached the portrait gallery. It was a mere hallway, but it had been chosen to hold the portraits of Darcy family going back for nearly 200 years.

The most recent portraits were his parents wedding portrait 30 years ago and himself and Georgiana painted a dozen years ago. With every new generation, older paintings had been moved further down, making space for the next generation of Darcy’s.

Fitzwilliam had hoped to add his own family to this wall. The only issue was that the women he so desperately wished to join him on that portrait had blatantly refused him.

“You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner.”

She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued,

“You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.”

Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. She went on.

“From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that ground-work of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immoveable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

Those words had haunted him. He had tried to remind himself how unwise a match with Elizabeth Bennet was. Her family was wholly unconnected in addition to lacking any sort of decorum. It was not for him that he tried to convince himself that she was unsuitable; it was for Georgiana as well.

She was not out in society yet, but she would be in the next few years. If and when he had married by then, his sister’s chances at a good match were as much hinged on her character as his and by extension, his wife and children.

He could do better for a wife, and he could do worse. Caroline Bingley, if he was of a mind to be persuaded, would be a suitable wife. Her rank and wealth would be approved in the eyes of his peers, but to wake up with her everyday, it sent a chill down his spine.

Of course, his aunt would be more than pleased if he and Anne would ever marry. But again, to wake up next to Anne, that would be worse than Caroline Bingley. She was amiable enough, but too amiable.

He needed a wife who would excite him, in and out of the bedroom, who would make him feel like every day was their honeymoon.

That night they danced at Netherfield, he could feel her fine eyes burning into him. If they were not in a crowded ballroom and propriety demanded control, he would kissed her until their lips were bruised and swollen, until she truly knew how much he loved her.

But fate and his foolish pride had chosen otherwise. She loathed him and would likely end up married to another man. His punishment was appropriate, he hoped he might be one day back in her good graces, but if he was unable to, Elizabeth Bennet would always reside in his heart.