New Review of Darcy’s Struggle
All the stars, please! 5-stars!
Kelly Dean Jolley has written a masterful retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this time from Mr. Darcy’s perspective. He does not try to use Austen’s voice, but rather finds a voice of his own that suits Darcy and nicely nestles in Austen’s world. It’s a retelling and not simply a mirror image of the original. As such, Jolley takes some liberties with the timeline and plot, leaving the reader to enjoy more of the romance and tension, more character growth and introspection, more of the family dynamics, and more of the friendships and enmities in this version. Darcy’s demeanor that comes across as arrogance is in reality simply shyness. Once he truly sees Elizabeth, he is motivated to overcome that ingrained shyness in order to get to know her better and then his personal growth truly begins. The story unfolds through Darcy’s witnessing of and participation in the events, his introspections, and his conversations with the other people around him, including Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth appears confident and lively which masks her own insecurities. She congratulates herself on being able to “study character” but admits she doesn’t have a complete read on Mr. Darcy and she becomes withdrawn during the times she studies her own character.
The story is interspersed with philosophy and religion in a way that is very deliberate and integral to the plot. Some quotes help show character growth, some are for humor, some are for plot development itself. All of them make Darcy and Elizabeth, and the reader, think about relationships and emotions and how people change and come together or grow apart.
Elizabeth has strong opinions on marriage and what a good marriage looks like and she’s eager to ensure Darcy is on the same page. Both of them have witnessed other marriages and relationships and have ideas about what is important in a marriage. As events unfold and their ideas are challenged, their views on what constitutes a good marriage, and what is a happy marriage, evolve and mature.
The relationships are all complex and dynamic. Whether romantic, familial, friendships or enmities, all of them are deeper than they first appear. The story itself is full of tension and events happen that keep everyone guessing, including Darcy. The dynamic between the character growth and the pace of the action gives the reader reason to both savor and devour Darcy’s Struggle.
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