#Colonel Fitzwilliam

[firawren]

Colonel Fitzwilliam: Hey I ran into Miss Bennet on my walk today. We had a nice chat.

Darcy: Oh yeah? About what?

Col F: You know, the weather, me being a poor second son, how you broke Bingley up from that gold-digger.

Darcy: You told her that??

Col F: It just kinda came up, but don't worry, I told her to keep it secret because it would be bad if the lady's family found out about it.

Darcy *sweating*: Yes...that would be bad...

Col F *laughing*: Yikes, can you imagine?

Darcy: I'm really trying not to...

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Sample Size: 3,122 stories

Source: AO3

[checkoutmybookshelf]

[anghraine]

It's a very little bit funny that I used to be mildly notorious in my corner of Austen fandom for disliking Colonel Fitzwilliam, who at the time was extremely idealized in those fandom spaces, particularly by contrast with Darcy having things like "flaws" and "character growth."

I still don't like Colonel Fitzwilliam as this perfect ideal apart from maybe some extremely minor, defensible faults because he's human after all, someone who would have been exactly suited to Elizabeth really and did love her but truly is too poor to choose her (alas!) and totally is handsome, to boot.

But I do like Colonel Fitzwilliam as a man who is fundamentally decent, good-natured, intelligent, and strong-willed, but with a fundamentally aristocratic perception of himself and the world. I like that he's willing to tease and criticize Darcy as part of flirting with a pretty girl, but leaps to Darcy's and Georgiana's defense when he thinks it's important. I think it's interesting that it would be so easy for him to resent Darcy, and instead they seem to be genuine bffs with healthy respect for each other (likely for a very long time given their blood relationship and close ages) as well as co-guardians and amicable relatives.

Darcy is not a man prone to overstatement, so his description of his relationship with Colonel Fitzwilliam as one of "constant intimacy" is really intriguing to me—far more than Fitzwilliam's casual and rather shallow and self-interested flirtation with Elizabeth, tbh. It's doubly interesting because Fitzwilliam seems to only sort of know the Bingleys, and while he approves of Bingley, my impression is that he knows the whole family through Darcy rather than as general social acquaintances. We never see the Bingleys and Fitzwilliam in the same social settings, even ones where they might credibly interact like Pemberley, and Fitzwilliam makes a point of clarifying to Elizabeth that he only slightly knows Bingley's sisters. There are all these gradations to how Darcy interacts with both social sets, his mentorship-type friendship with Bingley and his intimacy with his cousin, that I don't think a simple consultation of the table of precedence fully explains.

I do find Colonel Fitzwilliam deeply boring when he's reduced to Darcy's rival for Elizabeth's affection despite never having any serious interest in Elizabeth—the kind of "so there, Darcy" vibe that underpins Fitzwilliam-as-rival is meh given their own relationship. But for such a minor character, there is genuinely quite a bit going on, I think.

[variouspolltournaments]

Anti-Propaganda is not allowed. Please only give reasons to vote for something and not give reasons to vote against something.

[ankahikoibaat]

Kind Regards And Warm Wishes by thebitterbeast

In order to bolster the spirits of the troops off for war, a scheme to pair up civilians to write to the soldiers anonymously is started. Mary Bennet is one of those civilians. Richard Fitzwilliam is one of those soldiers. The friendship they form through their letters lead to them finding what they did not know they were looking for.

@janeuary-month day 1; letters

[dionysiaproductions]

Today at Pemberley, The 5th of November -- Evening Edition

This evening a large crowd gathered at Pemberley from the town and surrounding countryside. Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, with much pomp and circumstance, chose the winning Guy Fawkes because of “his lovely little mustache made of twigs and leaves which will burn splendidly.”

As the bonfire blazed, fireworks lit up the black sky with bursts of orange and white. Each explosion was greeted with cheers from the crowd. During the display, Col. Fitzwilliam bid Miss Caroline Bingley accompany him to a secluded section of the gardens.

There, the Colonel asked Miss Caroline Bingley if she would do the kindness of marrying him.

“This has been a rather scandalously quick courtship,” Miss Caroline observed. “People are liable to talk.”

The Colonel would hear none of it. “My parents are informed. Your brother approves. We have both searched long enough for a match to know when we have found that which we desire. Do I have your assurances?”

To which the lady assured him, “You can have whatever you’d like from me and most certainly, you have my assurances.”

Previous days at Pemberley here

[bethanydelleman]

Speaking about Darcy not marrying Anne de Bourgh, I've often wondered why Lady Catherine was so into Darcy marrying Anne when Colonel Fitzwilliam would probably be more interested. He needs to marry rich to maintain his lifestyle, he has no estate of his own (that we know of) so he's be staying at Rosings, he's family just like Darcy. Seems like a win win situation to me

This question is in reference to this question.

See you're not thinking like a rich person; that's the problem with your question. Lady Catherine is already sitting on a very large estate, but the purpose of life is to make your wealth even bigger and better! That is why your rich daughter needs to marry an equally rich guy so you can have two massive estates.

What are you a communist? Do you believe in equal distribution of wealth? Are you trying to push some sort of charity case on Anne de Bourgh?!?!?!?!

So yeah, that's why.

[citizen-of-the-fandom]

sometimes I have accepted fanon as canon and I don't notice how much until a fic writer gives Colonel Fitzwilliam any other name than Richard and I go "pfft, didn't do their research, everyone knows his name is Richard" and then I realize no.

Jane Austen never gave him a first name. It could be anything.

Lady Catherine might have won the right to name her nephew and christened him Fitzwilliam Fitzwilliam.

We just don't know.

[hotjaneaustenmenpoll]

[firawren]

Maybe Darcy should have invited his cousin along to the proposal 😅

Image adapted from here

[inspjavert]

POV You're Mr Darcy and just said some stupid shit

[aquitainequeen]

Colonel Fitzwilliam: Darcy's so lucky, he gets to have his own way in everything. I'm a younger son, so I'm well used to self-denial and depending on the good will of my richer relatives.

Elizabeth Bennet: ...When have you been prevented by want of money from going wherever you chose, or procuring any thing you had a fancy for?*

Colonel Fitzwilliam: ...

Elizabeth Bennet: ...

Colonel Fitzwilliam: Fair enough, I have a pretty easy life, but! I still suffer from want of money; younger sons cannot marry where they like.

Elizabeth Bennet: (oh, you want to go there?)

Elizabeth Bennet: Unless where they like women of fortune, which I think they very often do.*

Colonel Fitzwilliam: ...

Elizabeth Bennet: I can keep going all afternoon.

[ardentlyinlovedarcy]

Pride & Prejudice Variations Poll - part 2

Let's make it more competitive 😄

[anghraine]

Aaaand it's time for today's trivial Pride and Prejudice headcanons poll!

We get physical descriptions of some kind for five different members of the extended Fitzwilliam family in P&P: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Georgiana Darcy, and Anne de Bourgh. Of these, Colonel Fitzwilliam gets the briefest physical description and is the only one whose height goes undescribed (Darcy, Lady Catherine, and Georgiana are tall, while Anne is very small).