Reviews of The Other Mr Darcy (continued) and Pride and Prejudice Question 3

As we reach the weekend, I can take a moment to stop and breathe. It's been a very busy week for me on my blog tour, but it's been very enjoyable to see people's responses and interact with so many of you out there. It was great to see the different opinions about Mary and Mr Collins as a couple (Question 2).

The reviewers have been busy, too. Here's a summary of the latest reviews and links to the reviewers' websites. I must say I'm in awe of all the people who have time to read so many books and are able to summarize them so accurately and evaluate them so skilfully.

Barbara at Everything Victorian and More had a succinct but to-the-point review. Well, it really couldn't get more flattering. Barbara's verdict: "This book is so elegantly written, the reader would think they are reading Jane Austen."

mjmBecky at One Literature Nut talked about her process of warming up to Caroline (as a reader), and concluded that she "enjoyed this clean and charming read."

Grace over at Books Like Breathing talked about her initial resistance to reading about Caroline, and her similar reluctance to accepting this other Mr Darcy. Her assessment by the end of the book: "Monica Fairview did a wonderful job creating a likeable Caroline and an attractive new Mr. Darcy."

Speaking of Mr Darcy:



Pride and Prejudice: Question 3

The iconic wet shirt scene in the BBC 1995 mini-series wasn't in the original novel. Apart from its obvious appeal, how does it add to the story? Is it only there for sexual titilation, or is it a good addition in other ways? And, objectively speaking (I admit I'm not objective, but for the sake of argument), why should a man in a wet shirt be appealing? (Image above not wet).

Comments

  1. I'm sure it does add to the story, but all I'm seeing is sexual appeal. As far as why a man in a wet shirt would be appealing, I guess it's the same reason men find women in wet shirts appealing. I'm sure another commenter will have a more eloquent answer...

    Laura Hartness
    LauraHartness@gmail.com

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  2. I haven't seen these mini-series, so I haven't seen the scene. Honestly, I don't like the idea of it and a man in a wet shirt doesn't necessarily attract me.

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  3. Personally, I don't find the idea of a man in a wet shirt appealing. Now, if they'd focussed on his eyes as he emerged from the pool, that would be a different story.

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  4. I don't think it adds a thing, but maybe it's just because I'm an old tired woman, who just see's a wet shirt, as one more thing needing to be washed:-(

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  5. I think it adds something. Darcy is uptight and snobbish, having a scene in which he has removed his tight and confining clothing mirrors the change in his attitude. Elizabeth sees him as something other than what has previously been presented to her. I am not complaining about seeing Colin Firth in a soaking wet shirt either though!

    emily DOT wittenberg @ gmail DOT com

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  7. I think it is not only sexual appeal for modern female viewers of the movie, but it illustrates Darcy's "real" behavior when at home and in private. The audience, and Lizzy, are allowed to see a side of Darcy that even Mr. Bingley probably hadn't seen.

    In this scene he is disheveled, not fashionably dressed and immaculately groomed; he is the "uncivilized" (as he himself described the country society near Netherfield!) "country boy" without pretensions, a person his old housekeeper knows, and his sister probably knows, but one he keeps hidden from basically everyone else. The sophisticated city man that everyone else sees, would be horrified to touch, much less dive into, a pond in the country, but the real Mr. Darcy is not detached, cold, and formal, he just appears that way in public. When Lizzy gets a glimpse of him in this way in the movie, it is an unexpected intimate moment that reinforces his character as revealed in his letter, and the trust he placed in her, and his real regard for her, by allowing her to see this side of him.

    southbayladiesteaguild at yahoo dot com

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  8. A man in a wet shirt would show whether he was musclar or not.
    enter me to win
    jrs362(at)hotmail.com

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  9. I loved that this scene was added to the movie, even though it wasn't in the actual book.
    This scene offers a chance for Elizabeth to see Darcy as something other than cold and proper... she catches Darcy doing something that is not only totally inappropriate for a man of his standing, but also doing something that shows a bit of recklessness and boyishness.

    Colin Firth was one of my first movie crushes because of his role in Pride and Prejudice!

    grochowskis@hotmail.com

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  10. I dont think the scene added anything to the story but it was great eye candy.

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  11. I think that it adds something. Darcy is normally uptight but when he gets to Pemberley, his home, he can kinda relax and he does something which he would never do with other people seeing it. Elizabeth sees another side of Darcy when she sees him with his wet shirt.


    Colin Firth looks great in wet white shirt. And I think a punch of other guys who would look good too that way.

    milkavainamo@lyseo.edu.ouka.fi

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  12. Every time my family watches this scene we all think "Yuck! Why would he come home and jump into such a slimy looking pond!?!" And, how does he come out so clean?

    Funny thing about this, too, is that Andrew Davies (producer) seems to get into the wet shirt thing. In the newest Sense & Sensibility, Edward is shown chopping away at a huge stack of wood in pretty much a wet shirt (very similar to Colin's). Pretty funny, as I found neither scene all that "sexy".

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  13. I think it adds to the story because it shows Elizabeth that Darcy is not just a stuck up aristocrat and that he has a fun side, etc. I'm sure that it is there for sexual tension and titillation as well...besides its Colin Firth, and isn't he just yummy!?

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  14. I agree with Emily .. . Darcy is supposed to be uptight and him jumping into the pond and walking around all wet makes him appear more relaxed and human. Usually in the period pieces the men are all buttoned up, when he is wearing only a wet undershirt, it is sexy as it is much more than you would expect to see!

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  15. It doesn't. In my opinion, it actually detracts - because that moment, in the book, is all about Darcy and Elizabeth looking at each other and being insanely embarrassed because the last time they really talked, they were screaming at each other in a parsonage. The 'wet shirt' etc etc makes it... because, by their standards, he's wandering around without his clothes on.

    Which - to be an utter humbug - is wildly uncharacteristic anyway. So no, I don't think it adds anything. At all.

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