Was Captain Tilney the Darcy of Northanger Abbey?
Ok, stay with me here.
I was really excited to have the opportunity to write
Captain’s Tilney’s story for my recent project with Christina Boyd’s Dangerousto Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes and Gentleman Rogues. He’s always intrigued me
— strange, I know, but I guess I like a bad boy. Sure, I know his younger
brother Henry is supposed to be the real hero of the story but if I’m being
completely honest here, I would have to say that squeaky-clean Henry and sweet-but-silly
Catherine don’t really fascinate me.
Jane Austen doesn’t give us much info about Captain Tilney —
we know he’s handsome, he’s rich, and he likes the ladies, but that’s about it.
When I looked at him a little more closely though, I realized he shared quite a
few qualities with Mr. Darcy and it led me to wonder if Captain Tilney could be
something of an antihero in Northanger Abbey.
So first similarity I noticed between Darcy and Captain
Tilney was in their appearance:
Captain Tilney
Having heard the day before in Milsom Street that their elder
brother, Captain Tilney, was expected almost every hour, she was at no loss for
the name of a very fashionable–looking, handsome young man, whom she had never
seen before, and who now evidently belonged to their party. She looked at him
with great admiration, and even supposed it possible that some people might
think him handsomer than his brother, though, in her eyes, his air was more
assuming, and his countenance less prepossessing.
Mr. Darcy
The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man,
the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked
at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a
disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be
proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large
estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding,
disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.
And then of course there is the fact that neither one of them
really liked to dance:
Captain Tilney
His taste and manners were beyond a doubt decidedly inferior;
for, within her hearing, he not only protested against every thought of dancing
himself, but even laughed openly at Henry for finding it possible
Mr Darcy
“You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly
acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would be
insupportable.”
They both had responsibilities to tend to which their fathers,
either directly or indirectly, put on them.
Captain Tilney
The money is nothing, it is not an
object, but employment is the thing. Even Frederick, my eldest son, you see,
who will perhaps inherit as considerable a landed property as any private man
in the county, has his profession. — Gen
Tilney
Mr Darcy
"How many letters you must have occasion to write in the
course of the year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think
them!"
"It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead
of to yours."
“He is the best landlord, and the best master," said
she, "that ever lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who think of
nothing but themselves. There is not one of his tenants or servants but what
will give him a good name.
And most important of al: neither of them had ever really
been in love before.
Captain Tilney
Frederick too, who always wore his
heart so proudly, who found no woman good enough to be loved.
Mr Darcy
"If your master would marry, you
might see more of him."
"Yes, sir; but I do not know
when that will be. I do not know who is good enough for him.”
Of course, there was one fundamental and massive difference
between Darcy and Tilney. Darcy was never a seducer; Captain Tilney on the
other hand destroyed Isabella Thorpe’s reputation and engagement for no more
reason than the fact that he could. But Darcy too admitted that he really
didn’t think much of anyone else’s feelings— he did what he wanted regardless
of how it would affect others.
I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride
and conceit… I was spoilt by my parents, who allowed, encouraged, almost taught
me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle;
to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly
of their sense and worth compared with my own.
And Darcy admits freely that it was the love of a good woman
that forever altered him and his bad behavior.
Such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest
Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first,
but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled.
Jane Austen, of course, left Captain Tilney unredeemed,
unchanged. But I think that like Darcy, he really just needed to fall madly in
love with someone who made him wish to be better, to improve himself. And that’s where I came in, dreaming up the
lady who could bring a rogue like Captain Tilney to heel! She’s not your usual
regency era-girl but I thought she had just enough spunk to teach a guy like
the Captain a thing or two about life and love.
Of course that’s just my take on things! I would love to hear
what you think about it!
Amy D'Orazio
"Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes &
Gentlemen Rogues” excerpt about:
CAPTAIN FREDERICK TILNEY
The heroic army officer and handsome, au
courant heir to the Northanger estate, Frederick Tilney regularly entertained
the casual liaison but with never any earnest commitment. Upon first
acquaintance, even Catherine Morland might had thought him more handsome than
his brother.
“Then you do not suppose he ever
really cared about her?”
“I am persuaded that he never did.”
“And only made believe to do so for
mischief’s
sake?”
—Catherine
Morland to Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey, Chapter
XXVII.
FOR MISCHIEF’S SAKE
by Amy D’Orazio
“No man is offended by another man's
admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman only who can make it a
torment.” —Henry
Tilney to Catherine Morland, Northanger
Abbey, Chapter IXX.
We arranged to fight our duel at
that place where all the most elegant duels were fought: the secluded gardens
near the Circus, accessed by the Gravel Walk. Naturally, the occasion was to be
held at dawn. I had been in my chair, subject to the shavings and combings and
clippings of old Morley until at last, I cried out, “’Tis enough man! I am not
gone to my wedding day!”
Morley frowned at me, his dark eyes
sharp with disapproval. “Your wedding day? That is not a day I shall likely
live to see so I must keep at my art on these more common events.”
His meaning in emphasising common
was not lost on me. He thought it a deplorable practice, young men having at
each other to first blood or worse. But how else would a man’s honour be
upheld? Was Wellington the object of such censure? Surely, he had spilt more
blood than anyone, and what was a war but a duel commenced on a grand scale?
But Morley did not understand it; he
never had, so to placate him, I simply settled myself back, mentioned something
of a wayward curl in my hair, and let him have his way with me.
When he was satisfied, I gave myself
a long look in the glass, ever fond of what I saw. The truth was often spake,
in circles both low and high, and it was that none were as well favoured as
Captain Tilney. Indeed, I congratulated myself for as much as I was ever well
in looks, I was particularly so this fine morn. I daresay I did not fool myself
when I thought that the impending danger to my person rendered it that much
more agreeable.
I was soon off. My jaunty step and
the tune I whistled earning me a scowl from Robard, my second, who met me at
the gate. “A’nt nothing to be cheery about, man! A meeting with the grim reaper hi’self!”
“Perhaps so,” I owned. “Then again,
one cannot live forever, and what better cause to die for than the pleasures of
a woman!”
“Women aplenty in Bath,” he
complained, “unattached to anyone, yet you favour the engaged. I shall never
understand you.”
“Pray do quit the attempt.” I
flicked my gaze in his direction for a moment. “Silence befits such occasions
as these.”
We went on with only the sounds of
Bath at dawn to accompany us. It was a strange hour. The night coming to a
reluctant close while the day sent furtive tendrils of light across the houses
and roads and fields. The occasional snoring drunk, having failed to obtain his
bed, obscured our path. Here and there maids were darting about, procuring milk
or eggs or whatever might be needed in their houses.
Robard had not ceased whinging all
the way and was quite ruining my pleasure in the morning so in vexed tones, I
bade him stop. “How many have you seen me through now? Yet never have you had
such a foul humour as this!”
“Too many.” Robard spat on the
ground near my feet. “Time and enough you settled your blood and began
feathering your own nest ’stead of poaching on others.”
“Pah!” I scoffed at the very notion. “I
promise you this, sir, on my mother’s own grave. I shall gladly prefer death
over the slow demise of matrimony. There is not a woman alive worthy of being
my beloved, and if I cannot love then I shall be ever watchful on behalf of
gentlemen too beef-witted to avoid their own destruction.”
Robard did not comprehend me, but he
was as near an idiot as anyone whose society I would willingly bear. He had
leg-shackled himself at an early age, but the girl had gone and died in
childbed, taking his heart with her. Ever the fool, he had recently succumbed
to a betrothal with another enchantress in muslin but at least he did not
proclaim he loved her. I shook my head at him even as he stood agape
considering my words.
We had arrived by then, so I turned
my attention away from Robard to behold my challenger, Mr. Peter Carver. I had
been at school with him from an early age, lads of only eight or nine, and we
became fast friends after taking a whipping together for some bit of mischief I
cannot now recall. Back then, I much admired him for his ability to take his
stripes with nary a shout, nary a tear, no matter how hard our headmaster
whipped his young rump. I was far more tender in those days and scarcely
outlasted the first lick.
Alas, Carver was not as unaffected
now as he was then. He had awaited me by stamping about, muttering and cursing
and shaking. From his rumpled coat and unshaven cheeks, I surmised that he had
not seen his bed the night prior. Gad! Did he wish to be killed then? A night
of spirits and venting the spleen did nothing for success on the field of
honour. I offered him a bow, but he only sneered contempt at me in return.
Robard and Carver’s second, a man called Langley, were far more civilised, bowing
and nodding.
The surgeon was nervous, perspiring
despite the morning chill. He stammered about, weakly insisting that an apology
be offered. Naturally, I refused, which made my challenger scowl at me and
mutter rude insults, defaming my character in an egregious and incorrect
manner.
“Do you deny,” said Carver, “that
you were the instrument of the ruination of an innocent soul?”
“I suppose that would depend on your
idea of what ruination is,” I replied calmly.
His face became an alarming shade of
purple, and he leant forward, attempting to give me a sharp poke in the chest.
One step back was all that was needed to avoid his advance. He stumbled
forward. “She was in your bed!”
“I cannot deny it.”
“She had not known a man before!”
“No.” I agreed. “That she had not.”
“You have stolen what was rightly
mine,” he bellowed suddenly, his fetid morning breath, soured by drink, washing
over my face. “You are the lowest of thieves, seducers, and rakes! I demand
your sworn apology, else you must face the consequences.”
“Consequences it is then for I shall
never apologise for my assistance to you.”
“Assistance?” he scoffed meanly. “Seems to me you assisted only
one in this matter, and it was not me. The pistols then!”
The pistols were presented to us in
their open case. Robard and my friend’s second both examined them carefully,
and Robard observed they had been made by Manton. I admired the fine English
walnut on the stocks, as well as the excellent balance, when I held one in my
hand. Very fine indeed.
“Shall it be first blood, until one
cannot stand, or death then?” I inquired in what I felt to be a very reasonable
tone. I had no wish to kill the wretched fool—he was my friend after all—but it
was to him to decide.
“Death!” he shot back immediately.
I stood regarding him with some
impatience. He was my inferior with a pistol on the best of days. Certainly, on
this day, lacking the advantages of rest, sobriety, and even temper, I would
fell him immediately. I had no wish to do that but knew it as true.
“I should think first blood will
answer.”
“Never,” he growled.
“Peter, you know you cannot win and
I despise the notion of killing you.”
“It is on that point that we
differ,” he said. “For I wish most ardently to kill you, and in as painful a
way as possible.”
His arm jerked mightily, raising up;
he seemed as surprised as I was to find himself pointing his gun at my chest.
Robard and Langley gasped and lunged toward him. I held up my hand to forestall
their intervention.
“That, sir, does not answer to the
strictures of a gentlemanly duel,” I said softly. “To shoot me in that way is
only murder. Put the gun down until the proper signal is given.”
Carver glared at me but did not do
as I bid. “I knew you admired her.”
“She is a vastly handsome girl.”
“I should have strung you up by the
ballocks when I saw you looking at her!”
“No man can be offended by another
man’s admiration of the woman he loves,” I said in sedate tones. “It is only
the woman who can make it a torment. See here old friend; it is not I who has
offended you but she, the one who claimed to love you.”
“You too claimed to be my
friend—since we were in short pants!”
“And I am your friend still.”
“No friend of mine would do such a thing.”
“I think once you know why I did it,
you will thank me.”
His laugh, a sad, deranged cackle,
filled the air. “Thank you? Never.”
“Not even if I saved you from your
own grievous error?”
He stared at me, dumbfounded.
“No matter how I admired her, a
simple refusal would have put me off. She did not refuse, Peter.”
“She said you forced her.”
“I have never forced a woman, nor
would I. Not once did she say no. Not once did she indicate reluctance.”
Slowly, inch by inch, the gun moved
down by his side.
“You should not have attempted to
seduce her,” he said. “Women are weak creatures! They lack the fortitude to—”
My laughter shocked us both. “A lady
is not brawny, that is true. They cannot run so fast nor walk so far as a man,
nor can they lift or throw or heave; but, they have fortitude enough to break
us, my man. That they surely do.”
He did not argue; indeed, he could
not. I saw by his looks that he attempted to summon his rage but could not.
Confusion and sorrow would overcome whatever shards of ire remained in him.
“I did not seduce her for my
benefit,” I told him. “I shall never deny I had my pleasure in her—she is,
indeed, a charming little piece and I regret you do not know it for
yourself—but there are women in abundance in Bath and London and nearly
everywhere else I go. I am a handsome fellow with a good figure and an ample
fortune—I do not require your woman or anyone else’s, I assure you.”
I turned then, motioning to Robard
who looked puzzled. He held the gun case, and I motioned him towards me. I
opened the case and replaced my pistol within; then, I turned back to my
friend, spreading my arms wide and presenting him with an easy shot at my
chest.
“Shoot me if you like,” I
declared. “But if you would rather know the favour I have done
you, come let us go have some breakfast, and I shall tell you a little tale.”
AMY D’ORAZIO is a former scientist and current stay-at-home mom who is addicted to Austen and Starbucks in equal measure. While she adores Mr. Darcy, she is married to Mr. Bingley and their Pemberley is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She has two daughters devoted to sports with long practices and began writing stories as a way to pass the time spent at their various gyms and studios. She firmly believes that all stories should have long looks, stolen kisses, and happily-ever-afters. Like her favorite heroine, she dearly loves a laugh and considers herself an excellent walker. She is the author of The Best Part of Love and the soon-to-be released A Short Period of Exquisite Felicity.
ABOUT
DANGEROUS TO KNOW: JANES AUSTEN’S RAKES & GENTLEMEN ROGUES
“One has all the goodness, and the other all the
appearance of it.” —Jane Austen
Jane
Austen’s masterpieces are littered with unsuitable gentlemen—Willoughby,
Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot, et al.—adding color and depth to
her plots but often barely sketched. Have you never wondered about the pasts of
her rakes, rattles, and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there's more than one side to
their stories.
It is a universal
truth, we are captivated by smoldering looks, daring charms ... a
happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. All the while, our loyal confidants are shouting
on deaf ears: “He is a cad—a brute—all wrong!” But is that not how tender
hearts are broken...by loving the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane
Austen created? In this romance anthology, eleven Austenesque authors expose
the histories of Austen’s anti-heroes.
Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes
& Gentlemen Rogues
is a titillating collection of Georgian era short stories—a backstory or
parallel tale off-stage of canon—whilst remaining steadfast to the characters
we recognize in Austen’s great works.
What say you?
Everyone may be attracted to a bad boy…even temporarily...but heaven help us if
we marry one.
GIVEAWAYS
Enter Rafflecopter to win fifteen
books from the anthology authors! One winner. Fifteen books! Contest ends
midnight, December 30, 2017. One “Grand Prize #1 winner” will be announced
January 2, 2018.
Rafflecopter giveaway
Grand Prize #2
Follow our “Dangerous to Know: Jane
Austen’s #RakesAndGentlemenRogues” Blog Tour and comment on each stop to be
eligible for #RakesAndGentlemenRogues Pleasures prize pack: ‘Pride &
Prejudice’ Print, autographed by Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle; Bingley’s
Teas (Willoughby & The Colonel); Jane Austen playing cards; set of 6 Austen
postcards; and ‘The Compleat Housewife’ notecards set. (All guest comments will
be entered in drawing to win. Comment at each site to increase your odds.)
Contest ends midnight, December 30, 2017. One “Grand Prize #2 winner” will be
announced January 2, 2018.
THE
#RakesAndGentlemenRogues BLOG TOUR
🎩Monday, November 20: FEATURE w/Katie
Oliver (George Wickham), From Pemberley to Milton, https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com
🎩Wednesday, November 22: FEATURE
w/Joana Starnes (Willoughby), Babblings of a Bookworm, http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com
🎩Friday, November 24: FEATURE
w/Sophia Rose, (General Tilney), Herding Cats & Burning Soup, http://www.herdingcats-burningsoup.com
🎩Monday, November 27: FEATURE w/Amy
D'Orazio (Captain Tilney), My Jane Austen Book Club, http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com
🎩Wednesday, November 29: FEATURE
w/Brooke West (Henry Crawford), VVB32 Reads, https://vvb32reads.blogspot.com
🎩Monday, December 4: FEATURE w/Beau
North (Colonel Fitzwilliam), Obsessed
with Mr. Darcy, https://obsessedwithmrdarcy.wordpress.com
🎩Thursday, December 7: FEATURE w/J.
Marie Croft (John Thorpe), Harry Rodell blog/ROSIE AMBER team, https://harryrodell.wordpress.com/author/rodellh
🎩Monday, December 11: FEATURE
w/Jenetta James Hannah McSorley (William Elliot), Austenesque Reviews, http://austenesquereviews.com
🎩Thursday, December 14: FEATURE w/Karen
M Cox (Frank Churchill), Darcyholic Diversions, http://darcyholic.blogspot.com
🎩Monday, December 17: FEATURE w/Christina
Morland (Sir Walter Elliot), Of Pens & Pages, http://www.ofpensandpages.com
18 comments:
Captain Tilney always struck me as a bit cold and most certainly a cad.
I especially love the way this story ends, and I am so glad that it happens to be the last story in the anthology! Such a great ending to the entire book!
What a remarkable comparison, Amy. Frankly I would never had made the connection--but when you put Miss Austen's words up as evidence, I find it a rather compelling supposition. And I love everything about your Capatin Tilney story. Love.
Thank you, My Jane Austen Book Club, for hosting this stop on your lovely site. Thankful for the support and hope you enjoy our #RakesAndGentlemenRogues.
It's always those aloof, beyond-our-reach, handsome characters who always capture our attention. Like desserts through a bakery window--you know it's bad for you but you want it all the same. Maybe just a bite won't hurt...
I just did the gasp as my lightbulb came on after reading a little into your comparison post, Amy.
I read your story first when I got the chance because I was dying to know how you would write Frederick Tilney. I was struck by how much you put into his story yet it rang so true with Austen's Tilney as well.
Thanks for hosting Dangerous to Know tour, Maria! :)
Such a great story, and what a perfect ending!!! Yesssss, the best punishment for a rake & rogue, and also the best way for him to redeem himself and his chequered past. LOL didn't the lady bring Capt Tilney to heel in the most rewarding way, and richly deserved too! Loved everything about it, especially because I so didn't see it coming.
Thanks for a great story, Amy, and thanks for hosting the naughty boys today, MG!
Capt Tilney - I never really paid much attention to him until now. I’m intrigued! Great comparison Amy 👍
I haven't gotten to this part in the anthology, yet, But am looking forward to it as I would love to know if Tilney can be compared to Darcy.
I love reading about these bad boys!
I think I need to speed-read to your story in the anthology, Amy. Not to say you're being Jane Bennetish here ;), but in looking for the good even in a man like Captain Tilney, you've definitely intrigued me. Great analogy between two of JA's brooding men.
This book keeps sounding better and better!
Many thanks to all who have commented!
Jan Ashton, HA! Usually I would say, skip around, pick and choose--but on this, I must insist you leave Amy's story last...It is the best way to end our collection. ;)
I need to refresh my memory of his character... it's a bit fuzzy, but I'm looking forward to reading his back story!
I will never understand the casting of that feller as Mr. Darcy! ...Any story with a "dangerous cackle" sounds promising!
I didn't see the similarities between Darcy and Captain Tilney but the vast differences between them. Darcy is a gentleman but Tilney is a scoundrel, a cad.
The excerpt is very tempting and I would like to know what happened next. Thank you for leaving us with a cliffhanger, Amy.
Maria, Thank you for hosting this #RakesAndGentlemenRogues blog stop and supporting our anthology. The winner of the rafflecopter draw for all the books from the authors is Becky Cherrington. The winner for the blog tour comments (announced by a live draw on Facebook) for the Bingley's Teas, assortment of notecards, postcards, and playing cards as well as the autographed Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle poster was dholcomb1 (Denise Holcomb). Congratulations! And thank you to all who supported "Dangerus to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues" blog tour. So appreciate!! You made it fun.
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