Jane in January and You – Who are your favorite Jane Austen couples?

In fanfic, I like Laura Hile’s, Elizabeth Elliott and her new beau Admiral Patrick McGillvary, although she calls him Mr. Gill. Miss Elliott is changing by the moment in Hile’s books.

I must say, that Darcy and Elizabeth is still my favorite, although I am afraid that Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehlre (sp?) drive my idea of the two characters. The Gardiners are a solid favorite also.

Like many others, I like Anne and Wentworth, Emma and Knightley, the Gardiners… I think the Westons would be interesting to read about – since Mrs W was a governess, and both are older (though she is still young enough to bear a child), it’s probably a real love match (although theoretically she could have married him for security).

My favorite couple is Anne and Captain Wentworth. I love that they remained in love even after heartbreak and separation and that they are given a second chance.

Favorite couple, huh? Well, aside from the characteristics we assign to Darcy-brooding and blazing- he’d probably be considered a stick in the mud (or somewhere else for that matter). And Lizzy is mostly sassy with brains. So we’ll take them off the table, right?

So which couple would we most like to eavesdrop on New Year’s Eve? Simple: Lydia and Wickham. Hell, these two warrant their own reality show. Bad behaviors aside for the moment, they both have redeeming qualities. Starting with Wickham, have you ever wondered how and why he survived those few days staying at Longbourn after the wedding? There was no monetary compensation coming from that quarter so why did he tolerate the visit? I’d like to suppose that he craved the family setting he’d never had; that Mrs. Bennet’s fawning and pride in her new son-in-law was completely novel for him. And maybe the idea of having sisters he didn’t feel obliged to hit on was also a welcome relief. Jane’s naturally kind personality must have felt welcoming as would Kitty’s adoration. So what if Lizzy and her father were snarky and distant: nothing new there really. And Mary … I could easily see Wickham entertaining himself and Lydia with a week long game of “Let’s make Mary crack a smile.”

And then there’s Lydia, bold, brash, and without filters. Obnoxious, yes. But imagine she was your neighbor (not too close) or the girl whose nail appointment coincided with yours every two weeks. You can’t say you wouldn’t be entertained by the ongoing updates of that marriage! And it helps that underneath the questionable behavior and antics, she adores her husband.

Place them a few years forward and lose the foreboding prospects by imagining they’re just another couple in a wide circle of acquaintances within the neighborhood. Yes Sir, I’m voting for Lydia and her Dear Wickham – and damn glad he’s hers, not mine.

Seems I’m not alone in my love and admiration for Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth as my favourite non-P&P couple. They were young when they first fell in love, yet that love stood the tests of separation and time. And who wouldn’t admire and love a man who could write a letter like his, in which amongst other things he admits his faults.

A minor character couple from canon that I don’t think have had a mention yet are Admiral and Mrs Croft. If I were to be adopted by any of Jane Austen’s older couples, it’d have to be them for me!

I’m a fan of Emma and Mr Knightly. There are others too, but that pairing has always intrigued me.

I guess I’m the only one who loves Jane and Bingley. o.O But honestly, I don’t think I have a second favorite couple. I like Anne and the Captain, Jane and Frank Churchill, Fanny and Edmund, Henry and Catherine, and all of the older, supporting couples (Crofts, Westons, Gardiners, etc.) I’d like to peek in on the Hursts and see what their marriage is like behind closed doors. How on earth did he ever bestir himself to court a woman? But for entertainment, my top pick has to be the Palmers from Sense and Sensibility. I love the way she thinks his indifference and sarcasm are amusing. They are the perfect foil for the Bennets. Mrs. Bennet is vexed by her husband’s humor and neglect, and he delights in riling her up. Mrs. Palmer blissfully misinterprets her husband’s rudeness, and it seems he couldn’t provoke her to anger if he tried.

I do love Anne and Captain Wentworth, but I have a very soft spot for Marianne and Colonel Brandon. Brandon appeals to me – I have a thing for his quiet and somewhat reserved manner that softens to reveal a vulnerable and loving man inside. Of course, it’s only someone like Marianne who could opening him up and bring that out.

I have to agree with many of the above in selecting Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth as my favorite Jane Austen romantic couple. The character of each is nearly without fault making each of them very likeable and their reunion well-deserved! Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley make an interesting couple, but her character is much more flawed than his so I prefer him to her. And while I read the comment above about Mr. Knightley being too much older than Emma, it never struck me that way. I’ll admit to being influenced by television and cinematic adaptations though as I see them as Jonny Lee Miller and Romola Garai. Colonel Brandon and Marianne as played by Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet did strike me that way though. And I think Mr. Knightley does help Emma by saving her from herself and her deepest flaws. This is the same point that Mr. Bennet makes to Elizabeth when asking why she has accepted Mr. Darcy. He knows how clever she is and believe that she needs someone with an even better understanding in order to be happy. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are another great favorite; I think their characters may be equally flawed (although we don’t want to seem to admit it on the part of Elizabeth.)
And as mentioned by many others above, the Gardiners, the Crofts and the Westons all make great supporting romatic couples. Each pairing consists of good, kind individuals.
Maybe the best pairings are those that consist of people of equal worth (moral, not financial) who have also suffered equally. I’ll stop now🙄!
Looking forward to the publication of A Short Period of Exquisite Felicity!