1. Be Yourself ! Perfection Is Over-rated!
Another follow-on to my previous point, as much as I love Darcy - he is too perfect! There is nowhere for the character to go; he was at his pinnacle when they met. He is gorgeous, talented, an international human-rights lawyer, mildly elitist, with a heart of gold, who has trouble expressing himself emotionally - as, I have found, most public school boys are. His breeding, education, friends and accomplishments all affirm that he is practically perfect - a male Mary Poppins. Living with that would drive you to distraction or murder. You want pizza and a beer; he wants escargot and white burgundy. Come a Saturday, you want to watch the football, do a bit of shopping, then play pool/darts in the pub; he prefers that you watch him ponce around playing cricket and sip Pimm's with the ladies or stay in and watch a black and white film with people long dead. On a Sunday, you want to go to Camden Market and wander the canals down to the zoo; he wants a day in the country, shooting defenseless creatures, at his old mate's estate, which has been in their family for centuries. So, if he lived, the only way one could further the story would be for him to change - to become less of who he is; we all love Darcy too much to see him become not himself. I would have hated to see him becoming goofy - that is not him. And if he were to become an addict/loser, then, that would mean that Bridget would have been a bad influence on him. We all deserve someone who loves us for who we are, but that will grow and change with us, to cheer us up when we're down, and will inspire us to be the best version of ourselves. It is good to laugh and to play, to be able to cry and be vulnerable, to know that someone has your back, and that you are safe to be yourself in all your unflinching, imperfect beauty. Darcy had nowhere to go but into the ground. Maybe! I'll leave my final judgement until after I've read the book!