#Dev yearned for family. his most perfect world has him and his sister and his parents

[bridgertonbabe]

Your ranking of the Austen heroes

Okay so bearing in mind I haven’t read all of the books (I own most of the books, I just keep rereading my faves and put off reading the others as the procrastinator I am, doh!), here’s my ranking of the Austen heroes;

1. Captain Wentworth - my man, my guy, my number one. He appeals to the lazy bitch in me because Persuasion is the shortest of Austen’s novels so it makes it easier to reread whenever I’m in the mood to. But he is the epitome of everything I crave from a romantic regency hero; his love for Anne remains constant, he yearns and pines for her, he gets angsty around her because of the heartache of not being with her, he rescues her from stroppy toddler; and of course the letter. I have never had a reaction to a romantic novel the way I reacted to reading his letter. I gasped, I clutched at my heart, I had to put the book down and walk around my room with giddy excitement because I knew the longing was all building up to something but Austen really knocked it out of the park with that one. I am half agony, half hope - my fucking god Jane, your mind!!! I will never get over this, it’s the love letter every hopeless romantic out there deserves to receive. A man of Captain Wentworth’s character is the type of man I aspire to one day find in this world and fall in love with, and my god such a high standard will only lead to my perpetual disappointment. 

2. Mr. Darcy - we all love a bit of enemies to lovers but what we love more than that is a man who listens to a woman’s valid criticism, takes everything on board and actively chooses to do and be better. Even though he was sure Elizabeth could never love him the way he had fallen for her after she rejected him, he still chose to right his wrongs and do everything he could to be a man worthy of Elizabeth’s heart. Below the surface level that the likes of Mrs Bennet see, he’s a very loving and caring person; he does what he thinks is best for his closest friend and he’d do anything for his sister. There’s a reason why us girlies keep harping on about Mr. Darcy to this day; we don’t ask that much from men, just for them to learn from their mistakes and grow from them. I also love just how much of a dumbass he is, being all “I guess Elizabeth Bennet is tolerable but not enough to tempt me!” and several chapters later he’s all “she has the finest eyes” - not to mention he steers Bingley away from Jane due to how cringe her family are, only to be unable to control himself and propose to Elizabeth, being willing to marry a woman from the same cringe family he advised his friend from marrying into because of how much he loves her. This silly man loves his dearest loveliest Elizabeth most ardently and loving her was the making of him. 

3. Knightley - I now forever associate Mr. Knightley with Johnny Flynn’s portrayal of him; tearing his clothes off and collapsing to the floor because of how tormented he is with his love for Emma. I aspire to one day have someone be so in love with me that this is how they react lmao. I love how Knightley and Emma are friends to lovers, how they tease one another, but how they’re also not afraid to speak up when the other is being messy af (I phrase that as if Knightley is ever the messy one). Knightley knows perfectly well when to rein Emma in, never in a controlling manner, but in a more nurturing way to ensure she remembers how to act and treat others. The only hang-up I have with Knightley is the age thing, mainly due in part that he’s known Emma since she was a young girl and he was already a young man so I find it a bit icky. I’d have preferred if they were closer in age or if he was only acquainted with her since she had become of age. But that ickiness aside (and best ignored so I can properly enjoy the story), I still think of Knightley fondly; he’s one of the good ones.

4. Colonel Brandon - I respect the fuck out of Colonel Brandon. He is nothing but a perfect gentleman; I just wish Jane had properly developed his and Marianne’s relationship. My man pines for her all novel long and yet he has for more interaction with Elinor than his love interest, which always bothered me, not to mention the fact they were paired off in a paragraph in like the very last chapter. I wanted more, especially considering Colonel Brandon is such a stand up guy. That being said, a similar hang-up to Knightley that I have is of the age difference between him and Marianne. Again, I would have preferred if they had been closer in age, if Marianne was a little more mature and not so girlish. But basing it on the character of Colonel Brandon alone, he is the goodest of boys and deserves the world. 

5. Edward Ferrars - of the books I’ve read, Edward’s my least favourite hero. Yes, he seemed sweet at first but the whole twist of him already being engaged to another woman? And he failed to mention it to Elinor? And then he’s gone for like half of the book while Elinor pines after him? Only to return without much of an apology or explanation? I really don’t fuck with him, he should have been held accountable far more than he was, and it always annoyed me Elinor just welcomed him back without so much as a demand to explain himself. You can best believe any one of the other four heroes listed above would have explained to their love interests of their own accord what happened and whole-heartedly apologise for upsetting their respective woman. One of my best friends, who has read all of the Austen novels, was complaining to me the other week about another Austen hero being the worst (can’t think of him off the top of my head) so I can’t say for certain that Edward Ferrars is by far the worst of the Austen heroes - but for the time being, of the books I’ve read thus far, he’s the worst to me.