Sunday, 21 October 2012

• I Am Marrying Mr. Darcy

  
  This post was submitted by Jenny.
  
  Unlike most girls who fell for members of N’Sync or early 90's film stars when they were younger, I had crushes on historical figures and literary characters. My mother told me that after studying the Civil War some in kindergarten, I came into the kitchen and announced that if I could have married anyone, it would have been Abraham Lincoln. Men of stalwart virtue, with a classical/old world air caught my attention more than any other sort and also made my selection sparse, even nonexistent.

  So entering middle school and high school with dreams of finding some William Wallace or Martin Luther of course left me entirely disillusioned. I could never be very satisfied with the average school-age guy—I thought they were short-sighted, immature, and unpleasant. That’s not to say that I didn’t have male friends whom I liked a lot, I just couldn’t ever see them as potential romantic interests.
  
  Reading only made it worse, I fell in love with Professor Bhaer of Little Women, and likewise with Mr. Darcy. They were upstanding, proper, restrained yet passionate, chivalrous, honest, virtuous, purposeful, serious when it called for it, selfless, intelligent, cultured, refreshingly masculine. I wondered if I could ever find some sort of realistic equivalent in my day and age. I was hopeful for a few years, but repeatedly disappointed.
  
  I became more and more convinced that I was destined to be a spinster. I had missed the boat—I was born a few centuries too late for my tastes. And I became very resigned to my fate.

  Then came college and with it, a whole new circle of friends. Here, I met people who were very much like myself—people who loved philosophy, literature, history and art, and who loved to discuss it in a fruitful way. We met together often to discuss our own writing and to give/take advice. I also met a young man who I always thought hated me. His name was James.

  He had been the one to start our amateur “Literary Society,” and he displayed a fervent love for good literature, poetry, and old philosophy. He was extremely quiet and serious and would barely ever talk to me or even look at me. Rather than putting me off, this made me curious. He was so...untouchable. He was tall, with large blue eyes and dark hair, a handsome/Grecian face, and a cold-set mouth.
  
  He only ever talked to say something brilliant, but subdued—an observation about a text, or a breathless appreciation for the beauty of a certain line in poetry. Other than the warmth he had for beauty in the art discussed, he never showed strong emotion other than a seeming annoyance. He liked classical music, wore 1940s era clothing and coats (genuinely old, not the Hipster kind), was an excellent student, had professors falling over themselves to have him as an aid even though he was just a Freshman. He was brilliant.

  Long story shirt, after many months I came to discover that he far from hated me, and had been observing me from afar all that time. He thought I was beautiful. We spent some time amongst friends, talking here and there, but he still seemed so shy. At last, he asked my Dad if he could court me.

  And let me say that the Mr. Darcy vibe never went away, but only enriched. I love this man, and he is the ultimate gentleman. He always holds doors, always is gentle with me, and always considerate. Though he is commanding if need be, it is never unfairly or cruelly, but more to snap me back to reality. He is strong, but so incredibly loving. He is passionate for bigger things—he wants to start a classical-education focused school, where children can come and learn the old philosophers, Latin, Greek, history, math, science.
  
  He wants to take courses in Europe. He wants to write a well-done novel, in the old-literature style.

  In more ways than one he is a treasure. He is the Mr. Darcy I never thought I would have found. He is everything I could have ever dreamed of. For all his seriousness and old-manness, he has the heart of a warrior for things that matter.

  What about you? Do you have a “dream man”? And if so, have you found him?
  
  image source

  • 3:30 PM
  • 5529 Views
  • 44 eProps
  • 26 Comments