The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love
Nov 2023 · Quirk Books
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240
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About this ebook
“A wildly entertaining read.”—The Washington Post
Covering cultural touchstones ranging from Normal People to Taylor Swift and from Lord Byron to The Bachelor, The Darcy Myth is a book for anyone who loves thinking deeply about literature and culture.
You already know Mr. Darcy—at least you think you do! The brooding, rude, standoffish romantic hero of Pride and Prejudice, Darcy initially insults and ignores the witty heroine, but eventually succumbs to her charms. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers plot, and one that has profoundly influenced our cultural ideas about courtship. But what if this classic isn’t just a grand romance, but a horror novel about how scary love and marriage can be for women?
In The Darcy Myth, literature scholar Rachel Feder unpacks Austen’s Gothic influences and how they’ve led us to a romantic ideal that’s halfway to being a monster story. Why is our culture so obsessed with cruel, indifferent romantic heroes (and sometimes heroines)? How much of that is Darcy’s fault? And, now that we know, what do we do about it?
Covering cultural touchstones ranging from Normal People to Taylor Swift and from Lord Byron to The Bachelor, The Darcy Myth is a book for anyone who loves thinking deeply about literature and culture.
You already know Mr. Darcy—at least you think you do! The brooding, rude, standoffish romantic hero of Pride and Prejudice, Darcy initially insults and ignores the witty heroine, but eventually succumbs to her charms. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers plot, and one that has profoundly influenced our cultural ideas about courtship. But what if this classic isn’t just a grand romance, but a horror novel about how scary love and marriage can be for women?
In The Darcy Myth, literature scholar Rachel Feder unpacks Austen’s Gothic influences and how they’ve led us to a romantic ideal that’s halfway to being a monster story. Why is our culture so obsessed with cruel, indifferent romantic heroes (and sometimes heroines)? How much of that is Darcy’s fault? And, now that we know, what do we do about it?
About the author
Rachel Feder holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan and is an associate professor of English and literary arts at the University of Denver. She is the author of Taylor Swift by the Book: The Literature Behind the Lyrics, from Fairy Tales to Tortured Poets; The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love; Harvester of Hearts: Motherhood Under the Sign of Frankenstein; and Birth Chart, a poetry collection. With McCormick Templeman, she is the coauthor of AstroLit: A Bibliophile's Guide to the Stars. Rachel also edited the Norton Library's edition of Dracula.
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