Schmidtt’s Heroine’s Journey with respect to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

(Spoilers) 

Even above romance, Pride and Prejudice is a work of social commentary. Jane Austen is big on what marriage means in her world and how largely that’s influenced by money and class. The characters’ journeys reflect this. Elizabeth Bennet, our heroine, has a pretty standard heroine’s journey where she learns not to judge based on appearances as much, although the internal changes she goes through aren’t very large. Her development is overshadowed by Mr. Darcy’s. 

Very simply, the plot follows the Bennet family, which consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. The Bennets are landed gentry, but on the poorer and lower class side. Mrs. Bennet’s goal in life is to get her daughters married, and she thinks they have a chance at making good matches when the amiable Mr. Bingley, along with his friend Mr. Darcy, move into the neighborhood. Darcy is extremely rich, but so proud and unfriendly that no one likes him. When a charming young man, Mr. Wickham, comes to town, Elizabeth readily buys Wickham’s story about the hardships Darcy had caused him. Meanwhile, Bingley and Jane hit it off, until suddenly he goes back to London. Eventually Mr. Darcy, who has fallen in love with Elizabeth, proposes to her. She rejects him because 1) she doesn’t want to marry except for love, plus Mr. Darcy has been really rude, 2) she knows Mr. Darcy meddled with Bingley and Jane, and 3) she thinks he sabotaged Wickham’s career. Darcy explains that Wickham was actually just lying. Elizabeth thinks everything over and eventually decides that Mr. Darcy told the truth and starts viewing him more kindly. A couple months later, Elizabeth is sightseeing with her aunt and uncle, and they happen to be near Mr. Darcy’s estate, Pemberley, so they go in to look around. Darcy sees them, he suddenly acts nice toward everyone (significant because her aunt and uncle are socially far below him), and he and Elizabeth are friendly. Just as Darcy is (maybe) about to propose again, Elizabeth gets word that Lydia has run off with Wickham, and they aren’t married, which is really scandalous and will hurt the rest of the Bennets by association. The family is in crisis for a while until they hear that Lydia and Wickham have finally gotten married, thanks to Mr. Darcy secretly doing all the work and paying off all of Wickham’s loans etc. Bingley (after getting the go-ahead from Darcy) gets engaged to Jane, and finally Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get engaged. 

Mr. Darcy’s character development fits very easily into Schmidtt’s heroine’s journey. As an immensely rich man from a prestigious wealthy background, he was lacking in empathy towards people below him socially. When Mr. Darcy proposes the first time, assuming that Elizabeth would automatically accept him because of his immense wealth, he is shocked and disillusioned when she rejects him. Dwelling on Elizabeth pointing out how rude he’d been, he gradually realizes his faults, and when she shows up at Pemberley, he has grown more amiable and puts in the effort he needs to make to make people like him and not just assume their goodwill because he’s rich. I would reorder the steps of the journey so that Support and Rebirth are before Eye of the Storm and All is Lost. He doesn’t have a visible support step, although presumably he has friends. Anyways, at Pemberley, Elizabeth is a lot kinder to him, he’s about to propose again (probably), when news about Lydia arrives and all is lost. He sets aside his pride to do something nice for her without expecting anything back, and when he proposes the second time, is completely prepared for and okay with getting rejected. My favorite part of every Jane Austen novel is when, at the end, after the main characters get engaged, the love interest gives a little speech about his pride and conceit etc. Mr. Darcy’s speech spells out the steps of his heroine’s journey really nicely. Then they get engaged, and he returns to a new world. During the engagement, Mr. Darcy has to socialize with Elizabeth’s “low class” social circle, and he puts in the effort to be a lot nicer (even though he doesn’t have to anymore). 

Now for the big question: can a man have a heroine’s journey? I say yes. Schmidtt’s heroine’s journey is all about spiritual and internal growth, something Darcy absolutely experiences. Also, Darcy is a character in a book written by a woman and is always seen through a feminine lens, so his actions are influenced (consciously or not) by Jane Austen’s perspective and experiences. Mr. Darcy doesn’t dissect the patriarchy or explore his gender identity, but he does come to grips with his privilege as a wealthy man. He realizes that he doesn’t actually live in his illusion of a perfect world. Importantly, even if he’d never married Elizabeth, he’d still be kinder and more empathetic, because his change wasn’t surface level or just to get Elizabeth to marry him, it was a deeper change and understanding. Mr. Darcy’s character growth, his heroine’s journey, is genuinely one of the most, if not the most, important parts of the romance. Without it, their connection would feel disingenuous, the social commentary would be completely undermined, and the whole book would just be shallow.