Comparison of 3 proud natures: Prince Andrey / Eugene Onegin / Darcy

[olichka]

Would anyone like to discuss ( compare/contrast ) the above-mentioned proud types : their bad/good sides, why you like them, etc. :ladysman:

Does anyone have any other characters in this category in mind ?

[bazarov]

I don't know who is Darcy, but I know who is Marcy Darcy...
I think Levin is very similar with them.

[olichka]

I don't know who is Darcy, but I know who is Marcy Darcy...
I think Levin is very similar with them.


Fitzwilliam Darcy from " Pride and Prejudice " by Jane Austen.

[bazarov]

I don't see any bad sides on Prince Andrey and especially on Eugene Onegin, if you forget his rift with Lenski.

[olichka]

A lot of people dislike Prince Andrey, particularly in his treatment of Natasha.
Do you think he was cruel or justified when he refused to propose to her again after her aborted elopement with Anatole ?
I personally feel that he was justified ( at least originally ) in not wanting to " follow in the gentleman's footsteps " : after all, Natasha gave him up for a fool, hurting his pride and subjecting him to the ridicule of society. I guess that demonstrates how strong his pride and self -respect were : they were more important to him than love.

[bazarov]

I think he did the right thing. She seemed to be ''the perfect russian wife'', but she didn't and he was at least disappointed, and probably also hurted and betrayed.
I think the problem was he maybe felt in love in some ideal he was looking, and not that much in her as a women, because she wasn't woman yet and she wasn't looking at life on a same way he did.

[olichka]

I think you're right. He saw her ( mistakenly ) as his ideal of a pure and poetical woman, rather than as a real person with her own individuality and faults, so her attempt at elopement with the scandalous Anatol shocked him deeply. Her attempt at elopement with him may also have indicated to him that she was a volatile, unstable character, very different from his own, and that made her the wrong partner for him. Perhaps he thought he could not handle a person like her. Also, her infatuation with the lustful Anatole probably suggested to him that she was a very passionate woman, while he was not of that temperament, and he may have realized that they were incompatible in that respect as well.

The whole problem was that their courtship was too short, complicated by the fact that he went abroad during their engagement to receive medical treatment which didn't allow them to get to know each other very closely.

[halee]

i love everything about mr.darcy so i see nothing wrong in his behaviour, on the contrary, his temperment makes the entire story come to life

[JBI]

Onegin is a Byronic hero, whereas Darcy is a critique of the Old money families in England, and Andrey the societally run Russian aristocrat. Onegin's flaw is his reaction to post-Napoleonic life in a society that he feels outcast in. When he finally proves the flaw of society however, he shocks the idealism that posses Lensky, and causes him to do the only thing left for him, to duel with Onegin, not over the argument, but over the nature of love, and the innocence which Onegin had robbed him of.

Darcy is very different. His flaw isn't knowledge of the world, but rather a limited scope. The novel is highly ironic in the sense that Darcy ends up with Elizabeth, rather than Lady Catherine's daughter, who would probably have been a better match for him. Darcy breaks out of this however, by finally meeting someone who is more proud than he is, and more headstrong, and as a result, is out-witted, and seduced into a marriage where he perhaps will find a bit of counter-balance to his upstrung life.

Andrey is completely different from these as well. He is closer to Lensky than Onegin, in the fact that he relies upon this "innocence" generated from germanic influence, particularly Weimer Classicism, that creates a mock illusion of the virtuous woman. As soon as this perception of animus is shattered however, he rejects the girl, because he realizes life isn't as good as it seems in the novels. He most likely, had he lived, would end up killing himself doing something crazy, like once again entering battle. The man would forever be unable to be happy, because he is mixed with a feeling of expectation versus sincerity. He is completely unauthentic, and insincere, causing his disappointment with life.

[mortalterror]

That is so weird that people should dislike Prince Andrey. I thought he and Pierre were the only two really decent characters in War and Peace. I could never side with Natasha against Andrey because she seemed like such a flighty nitwit, and I hated all of the Rostovs. Frankly, I think Andrey was justified in putting her off and I don't think he was a self-destructive character like Onegin. The difference being here that Andrey was cool, collected, moral, while Onegin is anything but.

I can't say I liked Darcy, but then I disliked everyone in Pride and Prejudice except the father who made fun of them all for being obsessed with marriage.

[JBI]

I'm sorry, but your siding with Andrey is essentially saying that he is right in being obsessively possessive of a girl half his age, who duty and obligation forces to be nice to him, and accept his marriage proposal. Natasha is a young girl, and I think, while being influenced a bit by Pushkin's Tatiana, has a romanticized expectation of life. She agrees to marry Andrey, yet why would she possibly like him? Anatole, though she is deceived, seems to be genuinely more romantic, and far more sensible than Andrey. Natasha has no need of the financial security of Andrey, or for his half-loving remarks. She sees her first opportunity for sensible relations after the breaking away from Boris. Andrey has a romanticized view of life, whereas Pierre has a realistic view of life. The romantic view dies with Andrey, and the realistic view ends up married to the girl and happily ever after.

[mortalterror]

Really, I saw Pierre as the Romantic and Andrey as the realist. I like Pierre, but he's a ten thumb bumbler, who couldn't find his * with both hands. Pierre has all of these lofty ideals, but Prince Andrey can actually put Pierre's plans into effect. Pierre wants to make changes, to make things better, but Prince Andrey knows how the world works, takes action, and makes changes.

When Natasha went for Anatole I saw her as just another young girl who couldn't tell the difference between wheat and chaff, who had a thing for bad boys. She let herself be fooled by pretty words and a handsome face, and by a shallow, callow youth as silly as herself. I thought they deserved each other.