#who would simply solve all the democrats' problems with the bully pulpit if she'd ever gone into politics!

[anghraine]

Would love to hear about your modern AU concept as well, if you're happy to talk about it :)

*the modern P&P adaption that is, sorry if it wasn't clear

Now that my exams are over, I am! And it's predictably long and rambling, so there's a quick summation at the very end.

Anyway, the concept for me is driven by two different gripes with US modernizations of P&P.

The first thing I'm grumpy about is how, although Austen famously prioritizes the experiences and perspectives of her female characters over the male ones, queer US modernizations (whether fic or adaptation) seem to skew strongly towards queer male experience. Individually, that's okay, but as a trend ... I do find it aggravating that m/m predominates so much over f/f even with an author as preoccupied with female experience as Austen. Lesbian Darcy/bi Elizabeth rights!

My second issue is with the ... not universal, but not-that-unusual treatment of modern US American Darcy as conservative or at least old-fashioned in the context of 2022 (or 2015 or whatever—I think it's a bad take regardless, though particularly egregious now). This is generally a way of "updating" his snobbery, but ... the original character's positions are fairly progressive for his time and circumstances, if with a blind spot about socioeconomics, and his tastes are modern.

Funnily enough, that is probably the easiest thing to translate into a modern US setting despite many other cultural differences, because "fairly progressive with a blind spot about socioeconomics" is THE stereotype of US liberals and especially "coastal elites." And relatedly, I think the reluctance to update the direct political power of families like the Darcys and Fitzwilliams as ... direct political power is both an understandable avoidance of a minefield but also kind of toothless. The closest US analogue to a Whig earl in the House of Lords isn't some random businessman, it's a senator from a Democratic political dynasty.

Also, I dislike Pemberley-as-corporate-enterprise on general principle. I much prefer things like Darcy's open-to-the-public art collection to be represented by an art gallery rather than the visual equivalent of elevator music.

So. In the modern adaptation of my dreams, Elizabeth's family comes from a western red state, where they've managed to hang onto a small family farm thanks to the comparatively low cost of living—but that's rising thanks to rich people bringing up prices. Enter Bingley with his fortune in trade micro-chips or something (truly the nicest Silicon Valley bro to ever bro). The Darcy character is Bingley's college BFF, who is clearly wealthy because a) she exudes it, b) Bingley's sisters "mention" it, and c) she owns a good-sized house in Seattle and runs a prestigious art gallery there. Nobody realizes she's one of those Fitzwilliams until later, however.

The easiest way to convert Darcy's names to a modern US woman's is simply to swap them to Darcy Fitzwilliam. That said, I like to give Darcy a pretentious first name and amuse myself by calling modern f!Darcy Narcissa—both because of her arrogance and because Fitzwilliam is the only person who can call her "Narcy" and live.

I don't think the exact initial insult would make a lot of sense translated literally, but there definitely is one, and Elizabeth basically sees Narcissa as a cross between "rich artsy type with no concept of normal life" and "the Seattle chill given human form." Narcissa, meanwhile, is the sort of US liberal who holds genuinely progressive positions—some more so than Elizabeth, in fact—and thinks that The Community should do everything within their power for LGBT+ people in hostile environments, but also doesn't get why they don't just ... move.

There is also definitely a (male) Wickham whom Elizabeth is regrettably fooled by.

I think the tension between Mrs Bennet and Elizabeth is complicated by a few things. I definitely see Mrs Bennet as a pushy where-are-my-grandkids type, and as someone who can be fairly indifferent about her less-favored children's personal happiness but a total helicopter mom about their life/career decisions, which clashes badly with Elizabeth's easy-going but very independent personality. I also suspect that Mrs Bennet is a non-voter because, while she's not aggressively bigoted, she just doesn't care that much and insofar as she does, it's all about the parasocial relationships. Elizabeth can't ever talk to her about her life (or most things) without it becoming all about Mrs Bennet's feelings, so she doesn't bother.

Mr Bennet is pretty much his familiar self—he resents his wife and is openly contemptuous towards her (I imagine there's some reason that Mrs Bennet can't work or isn't about to). He's indifferent to his younger children, but fond of Jane, loves Elizabeth in his way, and has supported the last two through some tough spots. At the same time, he's never bothered to save enough to pay off the mortgage or put any of his children through college, so the girls' loans are a point of legitimate frustration for Mrs Bennet (though her spending is a significant part of the reason they couldn't do more, since "keeping up with the Joneses" isn't exactly a FAFSA income deduction category).

I have some other ideas, but those are the basic ones!

TL;DR—lesbian Darcy/Elizabeth with political undercurrents, but none of them are Republicans. The Darcy character in particular is a smart, socially progressive (but rich and out of touch) artsy Seattle lesbian from a Kennedy-style Democratic dynasty. Elizabeth, meanwhile, is chill and personable, bi, and very independent (to the dismay of her wannabe-helicopter mother).