Why 200-yr-old Mr Darcy’s still hot

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Pride and Prejudice turns 200 on January 28, and it’s still a read-hot favourite

He completes two centuries on January 28 but Mr Darcy continues to intrigue women. Despite being revived again and again in the form of movies and TV shows, Pride and Prejudice holds a timeless fascination and we never get tired of Darcy’s pride, aloofness and leashed emotions.

As Jane Austen’s iconic work Pride and Prejudice celebrates its 200th anniversary, we explore why Darcy’s attraction still remains strong.
Filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava says, “I think Jane Austen’s books are timeless. I recently re-read Persuasion, Mansfield Park and my all-time favourite Pride and Prejudice. Like generations of women before me, and generations of women after me, I loved the character of Darcy. He is the eternal romantic hero. While Elizabeth is ‘prejudiced’, Darcy has too much ‘pride’. But in the end they both get together. It is old-fashioned, comfortable and feel-good to see triumph in love.”
His aloofness makes Darcy interesting, says author Milan Vohra. “The less available a guy, the more attractive he seems. He reinvents himself and comes through for Elizabeth. He starts out as far from being the ideal romantic hero but the transformation is exhilarating. Which woman doesn’t want a man she can improve?” says Milan.
Darcy is brooding but he is gorgeous. He doesn’t speak much but when he does, the words are dipped in sarcasm. Darcy is the ultimate man — soft at heart yet scared of revealing his love for Elizabeth. Yes, he is rich and arrogant but he loves his sister and he saves Elizabeth’s family from public shame, apologises for his arrogance and his prejudices.
“What is there that you won’t love?” asks author and film critic Manisha Lakhe. “In almost all the relationships, people fail in a simple thing called love for all sorts of reasons. Darcy failed too but his love outshines the prejudices. That’s the kind of hero women want in their lives. In Persuasion, Austen sums her idea of love very clearly. Men keep a photographic memory of their wives and the girls as they are leaving on the ship and our heroine says you go to battle to new places but we have to pretend everything is fine and continue to live. It’s a wonderful analysis of all the characters and the one thing that comes through is constancy. They love consistently and women today are tired of the lotharios in their lives. Give me Darcy any day! That’s why we will go to the cinema again to see Darcy,” she adds.
Darcy is rich but he carries a balanced head on his shoulders and his humility makes him irresistible, says content writer Stutee Goenka and explains, “He symbolises the innocence of love. His way of proposing to Elizabeth was unique. He maintains the vanity of being the best catch, and is cautious initially about falling in love. He portrays himself as haughty and arrogant, yet he falls for her like a simple young man and pursues his love. If a man can go to any length to follow his heart, what else can a woman ask for?”