Key Quote
“"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"”
Mr Darcy · Volume 2, Chapter 11 (First Proposal)
Focus: “struggled”
Darcy's first proposal reveals love framed as a battle against his own pride — he declares his feelings while simultaneously insulting Elizabeth's social standing.
Technique 1 — SEMANTIC FIELD OF CONFLICT / MILITARY METAPHOR
'Struggled', 'repressed' belong to a semantic field (group of related words) of warfare and internal conflict. Love is framed as a battle Darcy is losing. Modal verb 'must' suggests compulsion — as though love is an uncontrollable force overriding his rational judgment.
'In vain' positions his own pride and class prejudice as the adversary (opponent). The irony is that he frames HIS struggle as the focus, not Elizabeth's feelings — revealing his condescension despite genuine emotion.
Key Words
RAD — STAGNATE
Despite appearing to progress (declaring love), Darcy actually stagnates: his proposal is still rooted in class superiority. The word 'struggled' reveals he sees loving Elizabeth as degrading — his pride remains intact despite the declaration.
Key Words
Technique 2 — SYNTACTIC FRAGMENTATION
Short, punctuated clauses ('It will not do.') mimic someone losing composure (self-control) — Darcy's usually controlled, elegant speech breaks down. The fragmented syntax contrasts with his social polish, revealing the eruption of genuine emotion through the cracks of his performative persona (public mask).
Austen uses form to mirror content: just as Darcy's feelings break through repression, his language breaks through its usual structure. The most emotionally honest moment is also the most linguistically fractured — authenticity disrupts artifice.
Key Words
Context (AO3)
CLASS PREJUDICE
Darcy's 'struggle' is against Elizabeth's inferior social standing and embarrassing family. His proposal reveals how class prejudice was internalised (absorbed into one's thinking) even by those capable of genuine feeling.
PROPOSALS & FEMALE AUTONOMY
A woman's refusal of a wealthy man was almost unthinkable in Regency society. Elizabeth's rejection of Darcy — and earlier of Mr Collins — represents radical female autonomy (self-governance). She risks poverty to preserve her self-respect.
Key Words
WOW — THE PANOPTICON OF CLASS (Foucault)
Foucault's panopticon theory suggests social surveillance makes individuals self-police their behaviour. Darcy's 'struggle' is the panoptic effect of class ideology — he has internalised society's rules so deeply that loving across class lines feels like a moral transgression. Austen shows that class is not merely external hierarchy but psychological imprisonment — Darcy is both oppressor and victim of the system. Elizabeth's refusal breaks the panoptic power: she refuses to be grateful for his condescension, disrupting the expected script.
Key Words