I decided to write my fan fiction on Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice and chose to focus on the character Mr. William Collins. I went with Mr. Collins because I feel that he is a character rarely explored in either fan fiction or criticism. Most people seem to think Mr. Collins is annoying and therefore do not care much about him. Since a lot of the fan fiction and criticism talked about Darcy or Elizabeth, I decided to go in a different direction. I wanted my fan fiction to give new insight into Mr. Collins by taking a look at his personal life. At some point while reading Austen’s novel I had a random thought that a slash fiction between Darcy and Mr.

Collins would be interesting and give a new take on the romance that so many people (including myself) love. I decided to set my fiction during the actual novel, although I did not attempt to match Austen’s style of writing as I feel like that is extremely difficult to accomplish. My fiction takes place during an off-scene moment in the novel that is mentioned in the paragraph starting:

“His arrival was soon known at the parsonage” (Austen 113).

I feel like writing a slash fiction between Darcy and Collins is challenging in making the scenario seem plausible but at the same time makes the story more interesting as this pairing is not one that I have seen explored before. I did not change the ending to the novel but instead weaved the Darcy/Collins romance into the Darcy/Elizabeth one to give a different meaning to the latter romance while also giving insight into the life two gay men might live during the early

1800s. During the setting of the novel homosexuality was illegal and punishable by death so I wanted to explore this aspect of British history and culture.

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001. Print.

“What It Is to Be a Man”

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. A small amount of the dialogue is directly from Austen’s original novel.

Mr. William Collins walked through Rosings Park, admiring the beauty his patroness

Lady Catherine de Bourgh had brought to the gardens. He didn’t know what Rosings looked like before the arrival of Lady Catherine but he had no doubt that the beauty around him was the result of her Ladyship’s demand for nothing less than perfection. He turned his eyes toward

Hunsford Lane, but the road was still empty of the man he longed for. William released a sigh and surrendered himself to one of his favorite pastimes—thinking on Lady Catherine and all she had done for him.

It was about a year ago now that he had the honor of accepting the patronage in Rosings.

Lady Catherine truly was a woman worthy of respect. Every word said by Lady Catherine rang of truth and William made it his mission to spread praise of her as he spread the word of God.

Before his father mentioned him to Lady Catherine, William wasn’t sure where he was going to find himself. When offered the patronage in Rosings William strived to make himself the best clergyman Rosings had ever known. William found great joy in counselling others but knew his strength was in serving others, rather than leading them, to the best of his ability. William never wished to trouble anyone and always made sure to apologize in case he offended someone by word or action. This trait caused many to think him obsequious but in truth he just feared being dismissed for overstepping the boundaries of his social status. He simply overcompensated in his efforts to make sure everyone knew he didn’t consider himself above people like Lady Catherine or her nephew Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. William again found his eyes wandering toward Hunsford Lane and was about to call himself a fool when he noticed a nice carriage making its way down the lane. He felt real happiness for the first time since visiting his lover in London just before his marriage to

Charlotte Lucas. He bowed to the carriage as it turned into Rosings Park, hoping that Darcy saw him and was pleased by his show of respect for his superiors.

William quickly walked back to the vicarage with his thoughts so full of Darcy he didn’t have a spare thought for even the beauty Lady Catherine brought to Rosings Park. He went straight to the drawing room where his wife sat along with her sister Miss Lucas and his cousin

Miss Elizabeth Bennet to tell them the good news of Darcy’s arrival. His wife Charlotte and

Miss Lucas were appropriately excited about Darcy’s arrival but Miss Bennet didn’t react much at all to the news. He knew his cousin to be a creature not easily pleased and was able to put her lack of reaction out of his head. He instead chose to spend the rest of his evening entirely consumed by thoughts of Darcy.

The next morning found William rising with the sun and him pacing in his study as he watched the clock tick away the time. As soon as the clock announced an acceptable time for visiting Rosings, William found himself hastening out the door with the excuse of paying his respects to Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam.

Upon reaching Rosings William had one of the servants inform Darcy of his arrival, giving the excuse of having information for Mr. Darcy. He didn’t have to wait long for Darcy to appear.

“Sorry for bothering you at this hour, Sir.” William was quick to say as he bowed.

Darcy nodded in acknowledgement of the apology and then suggested they take a walk through the gardens for their discussion. “I am sorry if I interrupted your plans for this morning Fitzwilliam,” William again apologized, getting a thrill from saying his lover’s name aloud after so many months away from the man.

“It’s quite alright William,” Darcy said with a small smirk, knowing the effect he was having on the other man. “How is your wife?”

William seeking a wife was a sore subject between the two men which had been discussed in length shortly after the Netherfield ball and again when William visited his lover in

London before he was to wed Charlotte. Despite having the conversation before, William still felt the need to explain his actions to his lover once more.

“Your aunt, the Honorable Lady Catherine, told me that I needed to find a good wife.

You know how much I respect her Ladyship and therefore you know there was no way I could refuse her demand. She desired for a family to reside at the vicarage which I thought to be a reasonable request given her status. I am sorry for looking for a wife and waiting to inform you of my search, but I knew it would displease you to hear of it.

“I would have liked nothing more than to be with you and only you Fitzwilliam, but I have a duty to her Ladyship and my occupation. If I disappointed your aunt then she would have me replaced and then what would you think of me? I would be a man who ignored his duty and no one can respect a man who abandons his duty.”

“Yes, I understand the difficult situation you were placed in,” was Darcy’s response.

William decided to take the focus off of himself and asked Darcy if he planned to obey

Lady Catherine’s wishes of his marrying Miss de Bourgh.

Darcy’s previously blank expression transformed into one of displeasure, which William was quick to apologize for. “No, I have not given an answer to my aunt on that account yet. I detest the idea of being tied to a woman, even if she is of good birth,” Darcy admitted.

William knew Darcy disliked associating with those of inferior status and so William attempted to remind his lover of the high regard Lady Catherine held for him whenever he could.

His greatest fear was Darcy deciding that he was of too beneath him and then leaving William for another man. Bringing up Lady Catherine and the importance he held in her regard had become such a habit that he found himself mentioning her at multiple points in every conversation.

“I fear Fitzwilliam that if you do not give in to her Ladyship’s wishes then people may begin to suspect something. Everyone expects a man of your status to marry a proper woman and your refusal of every eligible woman would lead to questions best left unasked.”

“I don’t want a wife though,” Darcy responded, “all I want is to be with you. No woman could satisfy me the way you do, even if you do carry on a bit when you get excited.”

The comment was said with a small smile so William chose not to take offense. People thought he was unaware when he was being made fun of but he did notice. He found ignoring insults or jabs at him to be the best way to avoid confrontation. Confrontations always led to someone being offended which William could never see himself attempting. The issue of marriage though was one confrontation that could not be avoided.

“Is there no woman you find agreeable enough to marry even if you are never able to love her? You may not desire a wife but Lady Catherine and God both demand that as a man you must find a suitable woman to marry.”

“God demands it does he? Society would have us hanged for the love we share without hesitation based on the demands of God,” Darcy said bitterly. William placed his hand on Darcy’s shoulder to stop him and allow him to look into his lover’s eyes. “Our love may go against the Bible but I have still managed to marry a tolerable woman without diminishing the love I feel for you. God and society may not accept our love but

I have managed to come to terms with that. I follow His teachings in every other way and I pray for his forgiveness every night. I am sorry that I can’t take away your anger, but you need to accept your role in society by marrying a woman or else risk death. Do not force me to watch as you hang lifelessly from a rope.” William felt tears in his eyes and forced himself to be quiet for once.

Darcy cupped William’s face and gazed down on his lover with a tenderness only his sister and William had the privilege of ever seeing. “Alright, I will look for an acceptable woman to marry.”

Darcy’s words pained William but he knew this was their only option. “So you will marry Miss de Bourgh?”

The two man began walking through the garden once more as they debated on which woman Darcy should take for a wife.

“No, I will not marry her. She is too delicate.”

“Miss Bingley? I know you are good friends with her brother.”

Darcy’s distaste at the suggestion was clear on his face and William rushed to apologize for upsetting him.

“Is there a woman you don’t completely dislike?” William asked after the silence became too much for him.

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet is not entirely intolerable,” Darcy admitted at last.

“Elizabeth Bennet? Forgive me if I am mistaken but I thought you convinced Charles fairly recently not to marry Jane Bennet because their family is not a good match. Why would you now marry Elizabeth when you’ve made your distaste for her family clear to your friends?”

“Their family is intolerable but I don’t find Elizabeth, and even her sister Jane, entirely disagreeable. I stopped Charles’ proposal to Jane because if he’s going to waste his life loving a woman then it might as well be a woman that at least loves him in return. While Elizabeth has her imperfections she has a wit and spirit that I can admire. She also has a little more sense than her other family members, excluding perhaps Jane, and in marrying her I will have married a friend of your own wife. The two are bound to desire the opportunity of visiting each other and will therefore give us a chance to be together without suspicion.”

William allowed that Darcy’s reasons for marrying Elizabeth Bennet were good but questioned if she would accept a proposal from Darcy as she was bound to find out that he had a hand in persuading Charles Bingley to lose interest in Jane.

“I am confident I will be able to gain her acceptance,” said Darcy in response.

“When will you propose? She is here now, at the vicarage visiting Charlotte along with

Miss Lucas.”

“She is?” Darcy asked with some surprise. “I will talk with her some while I am visiting and will propose at some point during my visit when I think she’ll be more likely to accept. Let’s find my cousin so we can pay a visit to your guests at the vicarage.”

Darcy and William turned back to Rosings to find Colonel Fitzwilliam so Darcy could put his plan of marrying Elizabeth into motion. After all it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, although maybe not for the reasons society expects.

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001. Print.