The Return of The Austen Interviews
#8 – Another Interview with Miss Caroline Bingley
JACK CALDWELL – Hello, everyone—Jack Caldwell here. For this edition of The Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles, I’ve decided to bow to popular demand and bring back The Austen Interviews!
For those of you living in a cave, this is a series of interviews I have with Jane Austen’s characters, in a studio outside of time and space. I’m an author—I can do that. I’m pleased to re-launch this series with one of the most controversial characters in Jane Austen canon. For your reading pleasure, the original interview from 2011 has been reposted and may be found HERE.
Let’s have a warm welcome for the lady ladies love to hate, from Pride and Prejudice—Miss Caroline Bingley.
CAROLINE BINGLEY – You do love to copy yourself, do you not? This is how you introduced me last time.
JC – Sorry about that, Caroline. May I still call you Caroline?
CB – Would you not if I declined?
JC – Nope.
CB – I thought as much. You may proceed with the inquisition.
JC – C’mon, Caroline. It’s not like that. Remember, I’m one of the few authors that like and defend you.
CB – You did not defend me in THE COMPANION OF HIS FUTURE LIFE.
JC – No, I did not. But that was a comedic exercise in putting Austen’s timeless dialogue in different characters’ mouths, changing the meaning of the words.
CB – The fate you wrote for me was not at all humorous. And that cowboy book! What was the title…?
JC – That was PEMBERLEY RANCH.
CB – I was not treated with care or dignity in that one.
JC – You went off at Beth Bennet like a madwoman.
CB – Can you blame me? Have your home burned down before your eyes by a marauding horde and see how you comport yourself!
JC – That wasn’t a marauding horde. That was General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea.
CB – Is there a difference?
JC – Not really. Back to the interview. You must say I was nice to you in Mr. DARCY CAME TO DINNER and THE THREE COLONELS.
CB – True, and I do appreciate that. But I must complain about how you ended things in THE THREE COLONELS!
JC – Now, now, Caroline! Mustn’t give away the ending! Besides, it leaves things open to a sequel.
CB – There is going to be a sequel?
JC – More about that later. Now, in CRESCENT CITY…
CB – I knew it. We’re here to help you sell books, aren’t we?
JC – Yep.
CB – Popular demand, my eye! Now I see what you are up to.
JC – Put a sock in it, lady. I’m an author—I can do what I want.
CB – Does that mean you have the right to dress me like a harlot in BOURBON STREET NIGHTS?
JC – You’re not a harlot. You’re a Golden Girl.
CB – But I wasn’t golden.
JC – You weren’t painted golden! It wasn’t a James Bond movie. The Golden Girls is the name of the LSU dance team.
CB – Who dance about in their underthings.
JC – That’s how Golden Girls roll (thank goodness). That what people wore in 1998.
CB – At least I ended up with my Johnny again.
JC – Yep, my usual “darker Darcy”, John Buford.
CB – I see you tend to use the same characters over and over again.
JC – I’m lazy; what can I say? Besides, John Ford used the same actors in many of his films.
CB – So you think you are another John Ford?
JC – Wait a minute! You’ve seen Ford’s movies?
CB – You used your magic author’s powers to move me into the 21st Century. Of course, I’ve seen Mr. Ford’s films.
JC – He’s great, isn’t he?
CB- I assumed the point of this exercise was to conduct an interview of me, not discuss classic movies.
JC – You’re right. So, how’d you like what I did with you in ELYSIAN DREAMS?
CB – *Sigh* Back to your books again. I have no immediate complaints, but I must wonder about your choice of character that played my mother.
JC – Catherine Bingley?
CB – You know my mother has passed. So, instead of resurrecting her, you gave me a thinly-disguised Lady Catherine de Bourgh?
JC – I had to put her in somewhere. Besides, I gave you a mother.
CB – Thank you for small favors.
JC – You’re welcome. I spread joy wherever I go.
CB – That was sarcasm, Mr. Caldwell. At least you didn’t kill me in RUIN AND RENEWAL.
JC – Hey! No giving the plot away!
CB – Really, sir! You placed me in Baton Rouge! Of course, I was in no danger. But what you put my poor Johnny through—I will never forgive you!
JC – Stop talking about the plot!
CB – I suppose I should be grateful. At least I do not act like a manic. As I said before, I have been refashioned into a demon in the world of fiction. No evil is beneath me. I have been portrayed as mean, wicked, insane, or sexually deranged. And I never seem to learn from my errors and mistakes. I’ve become a female version of Mr. Collins!
JC – Yeach!
CB – You said it, buster! I am no Lucy Steele, after all!
JC – You got that right; that was one mean witch. But, I wonder if you would have behaved like the selfish Fanny Dashwood had you succeeded in becoming Mistress of Pemberley.
CB – *Sniff* I like to think I would have acted better than that!
JC – We’ll never know, will we? Aww, don’t get upset! I’ve always thought that you had a bad rep. In a way, you’re the most American character Jane Austen invented, if you don’t count her naval characters.
CB – American? Really, Mr. Caldwell, you do not have to be insulting!
JC – It wasn’t an insult. Look, you’re socially mobile; you wish to move up in the world, rather than remain stuck in the class in which you were born. You couldn’t wait to quit the sphere in which you had been brought up.
Your father made his money through business, rather than sitting back and collecting rents from tenants. He was hard working and ambitious, and desired a better life for his children.
You wanted to marry Darcy for his social stasis. You weren’t in love with him, were you?
CB – Not really.
JC – Marriage was the only option open to women of that period for advancement. Why not go after the best guy available? There is nothing more American that setting your sights on the stars and reaching as high as you can. It is better to try and fail than never try at all.
CB – That sounds vaguely like Casey Kasem.
JC – I suppose. There’s something else that Austen didn’t know.
CB – What would that be?
JC – The Regency was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. British industry with British arms built a world-wide empire. This prosperity destroyed the traditional agrarian economy. In only a few decades, men like your father would be knighted, if not elevated to the peerage. Impoverished titled families would rush to secure the new wealth by marrage and save their estates. They even married Americans! Basically, my dear, you were born before your time.
CB – Are you saying that in 1850, Darcy would have been pursuing me?
JC – Nah. He was too smart not to make shrewd investments on the QT. You’re out of luck there.
CB – Oh, well. I have my Johnny, in any case. (SHE SNAPS HER FINGERS) That’s for Fitzwilliam Darcy! Eliza Bennet is welcome to him.
JC – That’s the spirt, Caroline! And thank all of you out there for reading. What do y’all think? Have I changed your opinion of Caroline Bingley? Let’s discuss!
Until next time, I’m Jack Caldwell of The Cajun Cheesehead Chronicles.
14 comments
Skip to comment form
It is really dangerous to be drinking a cup of coffee while reading these interviews. That aside, in Pride and Prejudice Caroline’s status is not equal to Darcy despite her wealth. Elizabeth, despite her lack of money is a gentleman’s daughter which places her above Caroline. I agree that later, when many of the estates are running out of money, Caroline would’ve had a good chance at getting someone of Darcy’s status or a peer because they would need the money. I also agree that Darcy would have other investments….steam engine, perhaps even in the import business, such as the Gardiner’s trade company. Thanks for another fun post.
Author
You are absolutely right, Deborah. Caroline’s big set-down in THE COMPANION OF HIS FUTURE LIFE is that exact point. Still, it is possible that in the mid-19th Century, a Mr. Bingley would have received a knighthood due to his success in business. Caroline was born before her time.
My issue with Caroline is that, despite what she would like you to believe, she was crass and shrewish.Her treatment of others she either perceived to be below her in status, or worse, a threat, illustrated it. Frankly, she reminded me of a schoolgirl and how they act among themselves.
Think about it, She was from trade and not native to the sphere to which she aspired. She did not drink in all the subtle nuances of the first circles with her mother’s milk. She was raised by a mother who was ambitious but also clueless. Th solution was to send her to a finishing school With those of the first circles, where she was below them in status and she simply did not belong. I think her parents were unknowingly cruel in this move.
I am certain, that like schools everywhere, then and now, cliques were formed, outsiders derided and excluded, treated as Caroline thought was the correct manner to treat the Bennets. What she never realized was that the manner in which she was treated, the comments she was forced to bear, were SCHOOLROOM behaviors, and would not be used or tolerated outside of that closed society. She believed she had acquired the correct way to interact with society based on how she was treated, because I am certain this daughter of trade was NOT treated well. The hauteur and supercilious attitude was learned there.
Jane does not illustrated for us how the Bingley sisters were actually received by the tonne, only how they perceived their status. If her reception had been what she thought it should be, she might not have been so desperate for Darcy’s status. Elizabeth’s response to her poor behavior was gracious and witty, however seething she may have felt inside. Witness how much it took for her to abandon civility when she responded to Darcy’s very uncivil proposal.
So, no, even though her training was flawed, she chose to emulate the worst of what she was exposed to and treated with. There is no excuse for that. For the P & P Caroline Bingley,, and to some extent her sister, although we are told next to nothing about her, I find she is a character with an ego and an agenda (Darcy’s status and money) that has become too inflated by her self-interest and nasty personality, however it was learned. After all, ultimately, we are responsible for our own behavior and hers was deplorable.
Author
Much of what you describe is correct. Obviously, this social-climbing was occurring during Regency times, or Austen would have not created a Caroline Bingley. However, I cannot call her deplorable. Was she nasty? Yes, but so was Elizabeth, to a certain extent. Besides, Caroline’s major crimes were against Jane, not Elizabeth.
As an American, I understand Caroline’s motives. We are all social-climbers here. We (supposedly) celebrate those who rise from the sphere in which they had been brought up. However, I don’t approve of Caroline’s methods.
When Austen created such despicable characters as Fanny Dashwood, Mrs. Ferrars, Lucy Steele, Lady Susan, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mrs. Norris, and Mary Crawford, Caroline Bingley in comparison fades into the woodwork. That’s why I think she is redeemable.
Thanks for reading and posting such a thoughtful response.
I’m still hung up on waiting for the sequel to Three Cols. Truly one of my favorites! I enjoy minor characters and their stories so I always like to see Caro get her own life and leave others to theirs.
Author
ROSINGS PARK is coming along rather slowly. Caro and Sir John are major characters, as are Anne and Sir Richard, and Elizabeth and Darcy. That’s right — all six of them are in Kent, and so is Lady Cat! Let the sparks fly!
CB – I thought as much. You may proceed with the inquisition.
Worth the price of admission! Thx Jack!
Author
Thanks, Kirk!
I like the suggestion that Caroline was before her time and might have had some redeeming qualities overall. Or, that she might have been motivated by tragedies in her life (like in Pemberley Ranch). I think that as a “modern” reader, it’s taken me a while to understand how rigid the class structure seemed in P&P, and how socially inferior the Bingleys were, compared to the landed gentry of the Darcy and Bennet families. Caroline was disparaged because of her pretentiousness, which I feel seems to have as much to do with her reaching beyond her social status, as her innate rude-ness in how she treats everyone. From what you’ve pointed out in this post, maybe that’s why she is sometimes portrayed as over-the-top mean, deranged, or cruel, because in today’s society we’re less likely to dislike her just because of her social status.
Author
Or some writers are reliving their high school years.
In my THREE COLONELS universe, Caroline herself realizes the mistakes she has made and tries to make amends. However, she has not exorcised her “inner witch,” which makes her interesting.
In PEMBERLEY RANCH, the brutal hardships she endured, coupled with her obnoxious personality, makes her damaged beyond repair.
I have fun with her in MR. DARCY CAME TO DINNER.
If you want to read about a damaged and redeemed Caroline, read CRESCENT CITY. It will blow your mind.
I KNEW you had ‘a thing’ for Miss Bingley….you’ve given her some great parts in your books.
This is the first time I’d read the first interview in addition to this new one, both so clever and funny. I can’t wait to hear about the sequel to Three Colonels. I’ve read ‘Mr Darcy Comes to Dinner’ at least twice and I think it’s time to read it again. I am going to sound like a broken record and gush about ‘The Plains of Chalmette,’ too.
The biggest praise I can give for your writing is that you made me love a modern romance. The Crescent City trilogy is amazing, and the characters wouldn’t leave my mind for weeks after I’d read all three in a very short time period. I REALLY didn’t want to read a modern retelling of P&P, just not my thing. I REALLY did not want to relive hurricane Katrina, or Rita for that matter. (My son’s friends were nearly in the same situation as one of your couples getting married the weekend hurricane Rita hit the coast and threw Houston into a panic. My son was there to take photos of his best friends’ wedding and ended up being the best man.) I couldn’t put the books down once I got past the initial jarring of stepping into a modern world. And yes, I loved Caroline’s part in the CCT. You got ‘a THING’ for the Golden Girls too. 😉
Every time I read a book of yours, Mr Caldwell, I wonder what it was that made you decide to enter the Jane genre. Whatever it was, I also thank my lucky stars that you did. Because you are one of the best of the best. The research you do is quite evident and I love that part too!
Okay, I’m done gushing….for now. I turned into a JC fan-girl several books ago, so I don’t even feel embarrassed begging for another story very soon. Puh–leeeeze?
Author
Wow. All I can say is thank you so much for your kind words.
As for my next project. Next year — are you ready for my Frederick Tilney/Sir Percy Blakeney x-over, THE LAST ADVENTURE OF THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL?
oooooh…..yeah, Babe!
After this I will go back and read The First Interviews. This was enjoyable. Caro should read or views the movie, Mean Girls, as I am sure there were cliques in her day as I am sure there were and are through the ages. I MUST read your modern trilogy. I know the one “rape” incident put me off but you had some reassuring words about that. I have the books on my kindle so I have no excuse not to read them. I have enjoyed all your books; the most recent being the Scarlet Pimpernel last adventure one, which prompted me to go back and read the original and view the movie. And then I had to buy all the books by the original author although I have not yet read those. Too many books on my TBR pile. I realize, again, how old this blog is but I am playing catch-up.