Guest Post: Margie compares Prof. Emerson to Mr. Darcy

Hello Everyone,

Today's post was submitted by Margie, who you may know as the administrator of the very popular Professor Gabriel O. Emerson Fanpage on Facebook. She shared a guest post with us during our recent fundraiser for the American Red Cross/One Boston Fund, and we were happy when she agreed to share her thoughts on how much the Professor and Mr. Darcy have in common.

We've been happy to hear from several of SR's readers who were willing to share their views on the Gabriel series.  If you'd like to submit a post for consideration, please feel free to email jenn@argyleempire.com.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy Margie's fun and informative piece and, if possible, leave a comment below.

Thanks and enjoy!

Take Care,
Jenn

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As an avid reader, you know how easy it is to fall in love with characters that live in books.  I fall in love with new characters constantly, almost every day, but never like this.  I fell in love with Gabriel Emerson so hard, I was head over heels! There are only two characters I have ever given my heart and soul to and they are Mr. Darcy & Edward Cullen.  Then I met Gabriel Owen Emerson and I was toast! I became obsessed. Really obsessed. I read this book over and over when it finally hit me, “OMG!  He IS Mr. Darcy!!!!!”

I would like to show you a few parallels I found in Gabriel’s Inferno and Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice!

This post will be rather informal and mostly in pictures! (I made these pictures for our Fanpage in January when Pride & Prejudice celebrated its 200th Anniversary, because I am a Jane Austen FREAK!)

First of all Gabriel is an arrogant, selfish man. Well, so is the haughty Mr. Darcy!

 • Both men claim to be very selfish, yet they do nice things for others without the need to publicize their generosity.  Gabriel gives Rachel money to buy Julia a new bag and doesn’t want her to know it is from him. In addition to that he buys her clothes and gives her the bursary so she would not have to struggle as much and go without things she may need.  Mr. Darcy goes out of his way to help Elizabeth too.  He makes sure her little sister is taken care of after she runs off and elopes with his enemy Wickham.  He takes matters into his own hands and pays Wickham off to marry Lydia that way the other Bennett girls will not have to live in shame and be ruined because of the actions of their little sister.  He never tells Elizabeth of his involvement but like Julia the ladies eventually find out who is behind the anonymous generosity.

• In the beginning of Gabriel’s Inferno, Gabriel shames Julia for being poor. In her apartment he asks her “Why do you live here?” All the while making mental notes in his head about how unsatisfactory Julia’s little apartment was, “trying for her sake to hide his distaste.” He even noted how she had no place to hang his Burberry coat!  Poor Julia is humiliated; she has nowhere else to go. There is a very famous scene in P&P when Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and tells her that he loves her despite everything that is wrong with her situation, “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relation, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” They both show actions that are very arrogant toward the women they love. But both are more than willing to eat humble pie to make up for their rude behavior later in the story.

They adore their little sister 

• Both men are orphans and inherited a lot of money from their biological parents. Darcy losing his parents at a young age left him to raise Georgiana.  This situation makes the siblings very close. “He is certainly a good brother. And this is always the way with him.  Whatever can give his sister pleasure is sure to be done in a moment.  There is nothing he would not do for her.” (P&P pg.162)

• Gabriel was an orphan and adopted into a good and loving family. Gabriel loves his feisty little sister Rachel the way Darcy loves his baby sister Georgina.  He also sees to it to keep his sister happy, “He didn’t relish spending an evening with both of them, but his sister was suffering at the moment, and he wasn’t about to do anything to add to her suffering.” (GI pg. 43)

• Both girls bring out compassion and the heart in their brothers. Darcy doesn’t have a brother but he does have a cousin Col. Fitzwilliam which to me plays the Scott role in Gabriel’s Inferno.  Darcy is jealous of the easy way Col. Fitzwilliam has with Elizabeth as Gabriel is a bit put off with how well Scott and Julia get along. Scott knows Julia and has seen her grow up.

One of my favorite things about Gabriel and Darcy is the way they watch their beloved.  They stare at the then with such intensity it makes me tingle all over!

• Both men were so head over heels in love before they even realized what in the world was going on. I love that sooooo much.  And they were not afraid to go and tell their lady loves just how much they wanted them. They both basically say “you either want me now or never.”  Luckily both ladies loved their grumpy beaus with just as much passion and agreed to be with them.

• Both Darcy and Gabriel have no problem admitting their faults to Julia and Lizzie and they apologize when they are wrong.  They own up to their shortcomings and try to work on them for the betterment of their relationships.

• I love the Dante Seminar fight in Gabriel’s Inferno.  It reminds me of the first proposal Mr. Darcy makes to Elizabeth.  The dialogue in both scenes is of them flinging insults at each other all the while pining away for one another.  After all, there is a thin line between love and hate. The arguments in both books are a few pages long and do a great job of building the longing both couples face when trying to win the love of the other.  I LOVE IT!!!!

• Another scene I think is super sweet is when Gabriel finds Julia in his carrel.  She is embarrassed and he does everything he can to reassure her that he is happy she is there and it is not a problem for him.  A similar situation occurs in P&P when Elizabeth and Aunt and Uncle are visiting Pemberley at a time they are sure Mr. Darcy is away.  Meanwhile Mr. Darcy comes home early and finds Elizabeth at his home.  She is embarrassed and he also does everything he can to reassure her that her visit is a pleasant and welcome surprise and tries to make her comfortable.

There is a lot of Elizabeth Bennett in Julia Mitchell as well. Both are smart young women. They both love to read!  They have fathers who adore them. They are kind girls who try to find the goodness in everyone they met.  Yet, they are feisty when they need to be and I can safely say that they both fit Lady Catherine’s description of the “Obstinate headstrong girl.”  When they fell in love with their prospective suitors, nothing or no one stood in their way of happiness. I think both heroines are good role models for young women because they do not mindlessly follow what other people tell them to do, they do what they feel is right for them.

No story would be complete without the rival girl trying to break our love birds apart and while Gabriel’s Inferno has Paulina, Pride & Prejudice has Caroline Bingley.  Both ladies think they have rights to the men because of past experiences and family connections. Paulina & Caroline are similar in ways that their vanity and entitlement cause them to think poorly of those they feel are beneath them. Both are jealous and deceitful women with their sights solely to try and break the couples apart.

I hope you have enjoyed my Gabriel and Mr. Darcy comparisons.  Both are the most beautiful characters and both stories are timeless.  I feel Gabriel’s Inferno reads like a classic novel, so perfectly like poetry.  It is beautiful.  I know that Gabriel and his Julia will live on as a classic literary couple much like my Darcy and his Elizabeth.