Duty and Desire continues to examine the life, activities, emotions and motivations of Fitzwilliam Darcy after he leaves Netherfield in Hertfordshire, and divides him time between his London house, Erefield House and his great estate, Pemberley. In Duty and Desire, we continue to live Fitzwilliam Darcy's life with him from the late fall of 1811 to the early months of 1812. In the early fall of 1811 Darcy visited his friend Charles Bingley at Netherfield, the estate Bingley has rented in Hertfordshire, near the town of Meryton. Also visiting are Caroline Bingley, Charles's unmarried sister, and his married sister Louisa Hurst and her husband. The party interacts with many of the neighbors and with some of the soldiers who are stationed in Meryton. Charles Bingley falls deeply involved with the beauty of the county, Jane Bennet and she with him. Darcy falls in love with Jane's sister Elizabeth, but because of grudges, which Elizabeth cannot overcome, she will not entertain Darcy's attentions. Moreover, Darcy and Charles's family believe that the Bennet family is far inferior, both in background and behavior, to the Bingleys and the Darcys. Caroline, Louisa and Darcy convince Charles that Jane does not love him. Darcy believes that he has no chance with Elizabeth. The entire party moves back to London at the end of 1811.
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During all of the action in this report, Darcy is motivated by two things: his love for Elizabeth which, though he tries, he cannot overcome; and George Wickham, the son of one of his father's servants, who tried to elope with Darcy's younger sister Georgiana.
Darcy divides his time between Erewile, his house in London and his family estate, Pemberley. Fletcher, his accomplished valet, accompanies him everywhere -- at all his residences and on all his travels.
At the London house he is assisted by the family's long-time butler Witcher, and his extremely competent and hard-working secretary, Hinchcliffe who handles the finances of his holdings, and who Darcy describes as a slave driver.
While he is in town he receives an invitation to dine with the Bingleys. He is sad to see that Charles is dis-spirited, because he has lost Jane Bennet. Caroline is victorious that she has separated her brother from the unsuitable Bennet family, but is terrified that her brother will find out her hand in the plot [as is Darcy]. So far, Charles does not know about the scheming.
Darcy is anxious to get home to Pemberley for the Christmas holidays. During the drive to Pemberley, Darcy thinks about the next few days. It is the first year since his father died, several years ago, that the estate will celebrate the holidays in the extravagant manner they celebrated when his parents were alive. Darcy is both looking forward to the celebrations and dreading them. While he always enjoyed them, they will be reminders of his parents and their love. Guests will include his Aunt and Uncle Fitzwilliam and their two sons, Alexander, Viscount D'Arcy, the elder, and Richard, the younger, who is in the army and is Darcy's particular friend. Richard Fitzwilliam and Darcy share the guardianship of Georgiana.
As in London, there are people at Pemberley who have been with the family for generations. The butler, Reynolds, “…is the most senior member of the Pemberley staff. Reynold's knowledge of the inner workings of life at Pemberley was comparable to none, and during and after the elder Mr. Darcy's illness had been as necessary to Darcy as Hinchcliffe's had been in the financial arena.”
As expected, Georgiana is ecstatic that her brother has returned. Darcy is stunned by her beauty, her new attitude of self possession, and her accomplishments. She directs the household perfectly. On his first night home she has ordered an elegant meal with all his favorite foods.
He is concerned with several things about Georgiana's behavior: she continually asks him about Elizabeth Bennet, and wants detailed answers; she has become very much involved with the church and activities of mercy, visiting the homes of the poorest of the Pemberley tenants. [Darcy is concerned both for her physical safety and the possibility of her contracting illnesses.] The most serious, however, is that she wants to give a yearly, one hundred pound donation to the Society of Returning Young Women to Their Friends in the Country – young women who have been “in trouble”. Darcy disapproves and they argue. However, Georgiana says that, had it not been for his help, she would have been one of those young women. She had made inquiries and found out that the “priest” who Wickham had arranged to perform their marriage ceremony, was really an actor Wickham had hired. Eventually, Georgiana prevails on all counts. However, Darcy says he will accompany her, personally, on all visits.
The Christmas holidays are generally pleasant, except for two things: Darcy's two cousins, Alexander Fitzwilliam, Viscount D'Arcy and Richard Fitzwilliam, have a terrible argument. There has always been tension between them, but this it is much worse. Darcy encourages them to put their differences aside until after the visit, and they agree. The other wrinkle is that Darcy finds out that his cousin Alex is engaged to Lady Felicia, the daughter of His Lordship, the Marquis of Chelmsford. Although Felicia appears, on the surface, to be suitable in every respect, Darcy knows, from personal experience, that one man cannot satisfy her.
In London, after the New Year, Georgiana sits for her portrait with Reynolds, Darcy receives a letter from Caroline saying that Jane Bennet is in London, and Darcy receives an invitation from his old school chum, Lord Sayre, to a house party at Norwycke Castle. Athough Hinchcliffe disapproves of his going [finances in disarray and the behavior is not always the best], Darcy wants to get away from the Bingleys and the Bennets. He is still obsessed with Elizabeth Bennet and does not want a chance meeting her. He feels that the best way to overcome his obsession is to meet other eligible women. In addition, Fletcher is delighted at the prospect. “At Norwycke Castle, among the other masters of his art, Fletcher would be in his element.”
Things at Norwycke Castle are as Darcy expected: there is evidence of money troubles [paintings and books sold]; extravagance in food and drink; gambling every night; and inappropriate behavior [among other things, Lady Felicia is trying to flirt with him, although she is engaged to Alex. She is trying to get him back].
Of all the women present, the only one who attracts Darcy is Lady Sylvanie, the daughter of the elder Lord Sayre by his second wife. Although the second marriage was a very happy one, his sons hated his second wife and, eventually, hated Lady Sylvanie. When the elder Lord Sayre died, his heir, [Darcy's school chum], sent his step- mother and sister to Ireland, when his step-mother was born and raised. He gave them so little money that they almost starved. Lord Sayre receives a notification that his step-mother has died. He is told that, in her will, he will receive the proceeds of some Irish land when he has found a suitable husband for Sylvanie and the marriage has taken place. Sylvanie is, therefore, at Norwycke Castle with a woman she says is her servant. Darcy discovers that the “servant” is really the first Lady Sayre, who has become demented with revenge. He stops a dastardly plot she has engineered, after which the first Lady Sayre commits suicide. Darcy realizes that Lady Sylvanie would not make a good wife for him, or a good mistress of Pemberley or good a mother to his children. Lady Sylvanie marries another member of the house party..
Best part of story, including ending:
I like this story because it is well written, suspenseful, humorous and a page-turner.
Best scene in story:
In my favorite scene, Trafalgar, Darcy's dog, demonstrates that he has learned to open doors on his own.”…a sound at the door brought his head up.” He said “Enter ”…but the only response was a shuffling of the doorknob and a strange tapping noise…the doorknob turned just enough to allow the door to fall away slightly from the frame…the door suddenly burst aside on its hinges, and a large blur of brown, black and white launched itself across the floor. Darcy bolted to his desk and dropped his cup before the whirlwind could come upon him. “Trafalgar – sit!' he bellowed…”
Opinion about the main character:
CHARACTER I like Fitzwilliam Darcy because, as the story progresses, he becomes increasingly honest with himself, examining his true feelings and motivations.
