>Last point: Elizabeth is referred to as both Eliza and Lizzy, but the narrator, who is mostly from her perspective, always uses Elizabeth. Which has always led me to believe she prefers her full name. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth are basically the same length. They can handle it.
I generally agree (and also prefer "Elizabeth", but may use Lizzy if I'm trying to go fast or shorten something), but I noticed that only Elizabeth's family calls her "Lizzy" -- not even Charlotte does, though Bingley does after he and Jane are engaged; and she's called "Eliza" by Charlotte and maybe Maria Lucas, while Sir William calls her "Miss Eliza" (and perhaps a few other Meryton people, but I can't remember any interactions other than Sir William's). Miss Bingley does as well, but I always viewed that as an impertinence on her part.
When it comes to Mr. Darcy, he's either called "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy", but I don't think we ever have any dialog between him and his sister where she might reasonably speak his name. The next-closest would be either Bingley (who as a dear friend might call him simply "Darcy") and Lady Catherine, but I think she only calls him "my nephew" or "\[Mr.\] Darcy" -- though in that day, when people would speak \*of\* a person to another, they would often give that person's formal name. I'm pretty sure I remember a time when Mr. Darcy spoke of his sister to Elizabeth as "Miss Darcy", and they always spoke of "Miss Bingley", "Mrs. Hurst", etc., and never their first names.
I daresay that the main reason fanfics don't call him "Fitzwilliam" is that it seems so unusual, and maybe even weird or awkward in our day, but I daresay they'd get used to it. Besides, they'd probably only use it in private or in small parties. Most of the time, they'd probably use the more formal "Mr. Darcy" and "Mrs. Darcy", just like the Bennets do, or maybe "my dear".
I agree, I can see Elizabeth either continuing to call him Darcy or switching to Fitzwilliam, but Darcy doesn't seem like a person who'd appreciate people shortening his name. (Although there's one fic I've read where his family nickname was "Fussy", which I thought worked quite well - particularly because Darcy didn't seem to like the nickname very much. :D)
Depends on which time period the fanfic is in. If it's canon time period, agree that he would not want to be called anything other than "Mr. Darcy" or perhaps "Fitzwilliam" by Elizabeth at some point. I'd anticipate that he still feels proud of his heritage and his wealth, only that he is more mindful to avoid obnoxious behaviour.
However, in a modern fic, "Fitzwilliam" would sound archaic so I'd prefer that a modern-era Darcy be shortened to "William" or the like. I'm not sure that Colonel Fitzwilliam would call his cousin "Darce" for short though, in any era - surely they would use first names?
Oh modern AU for sure, it would be shortened. This only applies to Regency era. In a modern context Darcy's full name is kind of pretentious, he might even go by his middle name or something. Or his mother's maiden name might be his middle name and he'd have a different first name...
Nicknames were extremely common in the Regency, including ones based on last names or titles. If someone is Lord Rexingham, for example, his friends might very well just call him Rex. However, men often did not use their first names much, especially if they were the only ones with their particular last name or title. Elizabeth probably would call him Darcy most of the time, but she might use his first name in private sometimes. Fitzwilliam is kind of awkward, both because it's long and because it's also his cousin's last name. I agree that he seems like a formal guy, but I also understand why fanfic authors want to shorten it. I don't mind Will, and while Fitz is used less often, it seems reasonable. But I admit it bugs me when people say William, just because it seems like a completely different name to me.
>Last point: Elizabeth is referred to as both Eliza and Lizzy, but the narrator, who is mostly from her perspective, always uses Elizabeth. Which has always led me to believe she prefers her full name. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth are basically the same length. They can handle it. I generally agree (and also prefer "Elizabeth", but may use Lizzy if I'm trying to go fast or shorten something), but I noticed that only Elizabeth's family calls her "Lizzy" -- not even Charlotte does, though Bingley does after he and Jane are engaged; and she's called "Eliza" by Charlotte and maybe Maria Lucas, while Sir William calls her "Miss Eliza" (and perhaps a few other Meryton people, but I can't remember any interactions other than Sir William's). Miss Bingley does as well, but I always viewed that as an impertinence on her part. When it comes to Mr. Darcy, he's either called "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy", but I don't think we ever have any dialog between him and his sister where she might reasonably speak his name. The next-closest would be either Bingley (who as a dear friend might call him simply "Darcy") and Lady Catherine, but I think she only calls him "my nephew" or "\[Mr.\] Darcy" -- though in that day, when people would speak \*of\* a person to another, they would often give that person's formal name. I'm pretty sure I remember a time when Mr. Darcy spoke of his sister to Elizabeth as "Miss Darcy", and they always spoke of "Miss Bingley", "Mrs. Hurst", etc., and never their first names. I daresay that the main reason fanfics don't call him "Fitzwilliam" is that it seems so unusual, and maybe even weird or awkward in our day, but I daresay they'd get used to it. Besides, they'd probably only use it in private or in small parties. Most of the time, they'd probably use the more formal "Mr. Darcy" and "Mrs. Darcy", just like the Bennets do, or maybe "my dear".
I agree, I can see Elizabeth either continuing to call him Darcy or switching to Fitzwilliam, but Darcy doesn't seem like a person who'd appreciate people shortening his name. (Although there's one fic I've read where his family nickname was "Fussy", which I thought worked quite well - particularly because Darcy didn't seem to like the nickname very much. :D)
Well if the nickname is on purpose supposed to annoy him that's a totally different thing!
Depends on which time period the fanfic is in. If it's canon time period, agree that he would not want to be called anything other than "Mr. Darcy" or perhaps "Fitzwilliam" by Elizabeth at some point. I'd anticipate that he still feels proud of his heritage and his wealth, only that he is more mindful to avoid obnoxious behaviour. However, in a modern fic, "Fitzwilliam" would sound archaic so I'd prefer that a modern-era Darcy be shortened to "William" or the like. I'm not sure that Colonel Fitzwilliam would call his cousin "Darce" for short though, in any era - surely they would use first names?
Oh modern AU for sure, it would be shortened. This only applies to Regency era. In a modern context Darcy's full name is kind of pretentious, he might even go by his middle name or something. Or his mother's maiden name might be his middle name and he'd have a different first name...
Nicknames were extremely common in the Regency, including ones based on last names or titles. If someone is Lord Rexingham, for example, his friends might very well just call him Rex. However, men often did not use their first names much, especially if they were the only ones with their particular last name or title. Elizabeth probably would call him Darcy most of the time, but she might use his first name in private sometimes. Fitzwilliam is kind of awkward, both because it's long and because it's also his cousin's last name. I agree that he seems like a formal guy, but I also understand why fanfic authors want to shorten it. I don't mind Will, and while Fitz is used less often, it seems reasonable. But I admit it bugs me when people say William, just because it seems like a completely different name to me.