The "Mr. Darcy" Male Lead

I think women tend to revel in the idea of turning a bad boy into a sincere honest man, or at least being the person around whom the bad boy expresses his inner softie. Whereas the nice guy, who's nice to everyone, doesn't pull at their heartstrings.

I don't like to generalize a lot, but I think most women would fall for a guy if he changed from being a bad boy to being sincere. Well I shouldn't say most women, more like the romantics out there that probably enjoy those types of dramas.

matcha wrote: I think women tend to revel in the idea of turning a bad boy into a sincere honest man, or at least being the person around whom the bad boy expresses his inner softie. Whereas the nice guy, who's nice to everyone, doesn't pull at their heartstrings.

Truth! Personal story time: I was involved recently with someone whom all of my friends warned me was a jerk, but he had always been really sweet to me. I tend to fall into Moods often, and during a particularly bad spell, he refused to leave my side until he managed to make me smile. Long story short, I deluded myself into thinking that I was going to be the one to "save" this person, and I ended up realizing that I was really just trying to convince myself that that was happening. Crap dude was just a crap dude. But during the time that I was going about trying to change him, I kept getting this Highlander-esque thought: "There can only be one woman who can reach this man, and that one is I!" It was a pretty heady feeling, and I imagine that some women who try to rehabilitate bad boys might experience a similar sensation.

Also agree with "Whereas the nice guy, who's nice to everyone, doesn't pull at their heartstrings". I often jokingly say that I don't like nice people because they're all the same, or as Tolstoy put it: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I think it's more difficult on the writer's part to create a Nice Guy character who isn't bland or uninspired and who can grab attention away from the Darcy character.

geegeegee wrote: Mr. Darcy was also a product of his time. Jane Austin wrote Pride and Prejudice in the early 1800's and it was published in 1813. Where in their society, class was everything. Who you were matched with had everything to do with your family's station and pairing up romantically outside of your role/society was rare at the time. Mr. Darcy's arrogance stemmed mostly from this point of view and his falling in love with Elizabeth was hard to fathom for him at first. (Hey Dokko Jin! ...Mr. Darcy on acid) I think western movies leave out the Darcy model because mostly, we've moved way beyond that mode of chosing our significant other. (not completely but for the most part)

Good point---context FTW! I tried to think of modern Cinderella stories as depicted in American films, and the two that popped up were Pretty Women and Maid in Manhattan, both of which go more for the Prince Charming trope over the Darcy. Although the disparity in social status plays a role in keeping the lovers apart for some time, the male leads in either film never really show any disdain towards the female leads for being lower on the social ladder. I found a post in a blog that discusses the evolution of the Chaebol in K-Dramas, and apparently the Darcy variety is a fairly recent development. Prior to the Darcy, the chaebol fell more in line with the Prince Charming: http://www.soompi.com/news/the-evolution-of-male-chaebol-characters-in-korean-dramas I wonder what caused the shift?

Also, are there any female Darcy male leads in K-dramas? The closest I can think of based on the drams I've seen is Dream High's Go Hye Mi.

I have definitely had experience with real life Darcys and I think you guys are right about being attracted to the bad boy but wanting to experience the softer side. I definitely think that was the case for me. In my experience, though, I'm not sure it was the exact darcy-type because, like boredandtwitchy, the guys I usually went for were really sweet to me at first, but i could see they were jerks to others. So maybe that is more like rich George Wickhams (Darcy's foil in P&P).

So I think the allure of these types of guys is that when they are interested in you, they make you feel special because they treat you so much better than everyone else.

That said, I was so tired of HYD after the first two seasons because of how much of a jerk Domyoji is. At the end, I had no sympathy for Makino because he had showed her his true colors again and again. IMO, he is not a true Darcy-type because he's consistantly a jerk and it isn't a situation where his first appearances are deceiving. In HYD, Hanazawa Rui (Shun) is more of a Darcy type, I think.

And side note: Colin Firth=best darcy ever! heheh

I wouldn't ascribe the charm of Mr.Darcy solely to his transformation from conceited to generous and understanding. The original title of the book was "First Impressions", which I've always found a lot more apt to describe the dynamic of the Darcy/Elizabeth relationship, since Mr.Darcy was never really a jerk, as Elizabeth will have to find out later on. Wickham was, despite his suave appearance and despite we all had a huge hint in his name.
What makes Mr Darcy such a great character is Austen's clever style, her irony often nearing sarcasm in portraying him and his entourage. The other, contemporary heroes of the time - I'm thinking of Jane Eyre's Mr.Rochester, or any gothic character by Ms Radcliff, or Richardson's Mr.B - never had the same success, nor are accounted even today as the epithome of a hero.

From this perspective, the only real Mr.Darcy I've seen in K-Drama is Kim Joo Won, just like his absurd family gatherings can be compared to an afternoon tea at Rosings' Park by the drake Lady Catherine de Bourg. And not surprisingly, Kim Joo Won is the one who stands up for his wishes, against the will of his family.
This is the kind of courage women (well, women like me) are attracted to. The courage to make a stand.
This also explains why the second male character in Pride & Prejudice, Mr Bingley, will never be accounted as a romantic hero, no matter how good his intentions or how deep his love for Jane. He's a silly character, influenced by the words of family and friends, although the opposition he was confronted with was way milder than Darcy's.

The fascination of these kind of male characters among women is not easily explained, I think. I completely agree with what has been said until now: it's part the Florence Nightingale Syndrom, as it seems most women have a "saviour" inside themselves, and need to think that love, no, not any love, THEIR LOVE is going to make a difference in the world of their beloved ones.

Personally, I confess I am drawn to the dynamic "first dislike, than love". It's so trite, and yet it works. At least in fantasy. Because I for one ended up marrying the nice guy, and happily so. But I have been attracted to bad guys before, with bad meaning only that they were very wrong for me, not that they were bad per se. In real life I can't stand vulgar people, or men who purposedly offend me (let alone violent ones, but that's something that pertains the realm of insanity, not this discussion). If they hurt me, it's just because they couldn't love me back the way I wanted them to - and this is not their fault, is it?
But they were all clever, they fascinated me because they were intelligent and courageous and I could even learn something from them. I have had my "screen crush" on Doctor House, although in real life a man like that would probably make me wish to jump into a river and be done with. :P


Btw: GREAT THREAD!! :)

Thank you Jeanie. :D

I'm sorry to be so verbose, but I've been thinking all this time about your question:

Epikblazn wrote: Oops, that last question should be: are there any female Darcy leads in K-dramas?*

I haven't come across a female Darcy (admitted Go Hye Mi is a very good instance). I haven't seen "take care of the young lady", so I don't know if her character is what the synopsis seems to suggest.

This said, I don't think I would appreciate such a scenario, the reason being that a "Miss Darcy" would end up being "tamed", a concept that I deeply dislike. While I enjoy watching an arrogant and obnoxious hero being somehow paid back for his misdeeds and rendered more human, the female counterpart would inevitably take the course of "reform the b*tch". And as a woman myself, not only it would make me mad, but I wouldn't find it the least bit romantic.
Mind you, that's me and my "women power" bite. ;)

babiegyrl8 wrote: Thank you Jeanie. :D

I'm sorry to be so verbose, but I've been thinking all this time about your question:


I haven't come across a female Darcy (admitted Go Hye Mi is a very good instance). I haven't seen "take care of the young lady", so I don't know if her character is what the synopsis seems to suggest.

This said, I don't think I would appreciate such a scenario, the reason being that a "Miss Darcy" would end up being "tamed", a concept that I deeply dislike. While I enjoy watching an arrogant and obnoxious hero being somehow paid back for his misdeeds and rendered more human, the female counterpart would inevitably take the course of "reform the b*tch". And as a woman myself, not only it would make me mad, but I wouldn't find it the least bit romantic.
Mind you, that's me and my "women power" bite. ;)

I agree with the female lead part. I don't think it works both was with this scenario. I would be turned off instantly. I do like strong females just not attitude filled ones..

jdrama33 wrote: Please don't apologize---your thought-provoking comments are always welcomed!

I was entertaining the same thought after I had posed the question in the thread, but I have hope that, if handled capably, there could be a decent Miss Darcy storyline without the writers having to stoop to Taming of the Shrew levels of psychological cruelty to effect a transformation. I thought Hye Mi's journey was handled well, and for that matter I thought the same for Baek Hee's own 360 spin from good-to-mean-to-back-to-good, without falling into the "reform the b*tch" trope and without sacrificing Hye Mi's trademark surliness. Maybe that's because their stories had nothing to do with pruning them into suitable women/girlfriends/wives, but was instead focused on making them better individuals, friends, and artists. I feel like the "reform the b*tch" scenario falls into the former instance, since it seems to be more about taking an abrasive, "masculine" woman and "feminizing" her. Maybe? I haven't thought this through fully, and I have a feeling that if I keep going, I'm going to type myself into circles. So... Fin.

P.S.: I also have a doomed crush on Dr. House, hehehe.

Very well said. I agree completely on Hye Mi's and Baek Hee's transformations: they were very well inacted. But as you rightly observe, their change happened among women, so to speak. They didn't change because they fell in love and, blinded by the all-encompassing feeling which moves mountains and everything forgives, they woke up to a new sunrise of femininity and grace! LOL

Perhaps an example could be Bo Ra, from the Snow Queen (I swear I'm not intentionally mentioning all Hyun Bin's dramas here, despite my well known soft spot for him ;) ). She's the sort of character who might as well act as a Darcy's counterpart: haughty and aware of her status. She undergoes a dramatic change, which is only partly due to her falling in love, and more to her accepting and loving herself.
I'm going very much out of topic here.

For now, I am more than contented with a Kdrama female character who does not cringe or freeze as soon as a man comes closer than 3 kilometres, who speaks her mind - at least occasionally :P - and acts according to her own wishes, instead of deferring her whole existence to loving a man. The Darcys of this world sure appreciate the kind. ;)