Well, to be quite frank, I just finished Particular Attachments, and quite liked it. Since I took the liberty of introducing, and subsequently addicting half my youth group (the female half--thus far) to JAFF, I pass along recommendations every once in a while, and this is one I mentioned as a particularly good read. If we are going to use PA as an example for marrying for financial security, let us look at Allison's Mrs. Hurst, and really, Ms. Austen's. She married for security only, and is stuck with a husband no one is capable of loving, or even really liking. In PA, Lizzy may have married for security, but she also married a man that she knew she, and the community would respect. Huge difference between her and Charlotte, or her and Mrs. Hurst.
Now, as far as Mr. Bingley and stupidity go, I am agreeing (again) with Allison.The verdict--not really stupid. I think Bingley's main fault is a slight lack of maturity. If he was more mature, aka, thought about things longer before jumping into them, he would appear much more intelligent. I really think that Darcy's "taking care of" his friend does more harm than good. I think, if he had been given the opportunity, Bingley easily could have proven himself to be just as, or at least close to, intelligent as Darcy, but he had grown used to Darcy doing the majority of the thinking for him, and Darcy's friendship was important enough that he would say nothing. In most of my fan-fic (most of which will probably never be seen by the outside world) Bingley has to majorly grow up, and behave more independently before he acquires a bride and happiness. And, depending on the story, there is occasionally major consequences for his initial immaturity, not limited to his losing Jane. I think the story is Paths of Men, (Not mine) which I really like because it completely and totally portrays the consequences of Bingley's immaturity and dependence on Darcy. In it, his friendship with Darcy is mostly broken, and, released on London without his friend's influence, his immaturity shines through, but in the end, he does grow up, too late, however, as Jane get married to Colonel Fitzwilliam.
One other thing. In the original, Lizzy give Jane permission to like Bingley "for you have like many stupider persons" To me, the degree of stupider (comparative degree, for those who haven't spent weeks stuck in a Grammar book), does imply that, at least in Lizzy's eyes, Bingley is stupid, at least slightly. If she wanted to say that without implying Bingley to be stupid, she could have. Of course, at this point we are discovering that Lizzy's skills in character study on short notice are vastly lacking, so her comment should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt.
