The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Mar. 2nd, 2013 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkI love the LBDs, but the way Jane's relationship with Bing was resolved frustrates me.
In the original book, Bingley came back after Darcy told him he was wrong, basically proposed to Jane on the spot, and Jane accepted. In LBD, Jane is much more standoffish, insisting that they "just be friends" because they've "become different people," with the implication being that her heart was broken so she's unwilling to let him back in so easily.
But here's the thing. The whole snafu with their relationship was the result of poor communication, not because Bing genuinely treated her badly. And sure, Bing is too easily swayed by his friends and family, but that's also not exactly a fault. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've seen way too many bad relationships in fiction (and I mean bad as in abusive or unhealthy), and Bing and Jane's just doesn't come anywhere close. They made mistakes, but they were minor mistakes. They hardly "changed" as people. People in healthy, vibrant relationships forgive each other for much more serious mishaps than what happened between Bing and Jane. And if anything, his willingness to move with her to New York should indicate just how serious he is at trying again. Even if he couldn't, there's such a thing called long-distance relationships.
Maybe the whole will-they-or-won't-they dynamic was for drama. Maybe it's an attempt to be more "realistic" compared to the original. But I find it frustratingly overwrought.
In the original book, Bingley came back after Darcy told him he was wrong, basically proposed to Jane on the spot, and Jane accepted. In LBD, Jane is much more standoffish, insisting that they "just be friends" because they've "become different people," with the implication being that her heart was broken so she's unwilling to let him back in so easily.
But here's the thing. The whole snafu with their relationship was the result of poor communication, not because Bing genuinely treated her badly. And sure, Bing is too easily swayed by his friends and family, but that's also not exactly a fault. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've seen way too many bad relationships in fiction (and I mean bad as in abusive or unhealthy), and Bing and Jane's just doesn't come anywhere close. They made mistakes, but they were minor mistakes. They hardly "changed" as people. People in healthy, vibrant relationships forgive each other for much more serious mishaps than what happened between Bing and Jane. And if anything, his willingness to move with her to New York should indicate just how serious he is at trying again. Even if he couldn't, there's such a thing called long-distance relationships.
Maybe the whole will-they-or-won't-they dynamic was for drama. Maybe it's an attempt to be more "realistic" compared to the original. But I find it frustratingly overwrought.
