Why Darcy is not an example of the bad boy archetype whatsoever and other thoughts that no human being would ever ask to read :)
The fact that we all interpret characters differently based on our own preferences, experiences, biases, values etc is a huge part of what makes fandom so fascinating and fun, but I personally was surprised to see how many critics and fellow Austen lovers view Darcy as a "bad boy."
I will totally grant that he dislikes being around most people and doesn't bother concealing that because he's both haughty and extremely introverted, and he doesn't 'people please' or even choose to be friendly much of the time because he's a special combination of acutely awkward and arrogant along with being a naturally independent thinker who's just genuinely unconcerned with how he's viewed by society at large. Plus, he's a very wealthy, white, high-status male who manages a gigantic state during the Regency Era, so he hasn't exactly had to reflect on how his frosty mannerisms impact others---people always defer to him anyway. (This is partly why it's considered so extraordinary that he cares so much about securing Elizabeth's hard-earned approval - especially because she's...wait for it...relatively poor lol)
So if you define bad boy as being haughty, awkward, frosty, snobby, and extremely introverted, I definitely get why Darcy would qualify. But in so many ways Darcy is the polar opposite of how I personally conceive of a bad boy!
The man is OBSESSED with behaving ethically at all times and like a proper gentleman, harshly judging anyone - including and especially himself - who falls short of those ideals. Elizabeth declaring that he wasn't behaving like a true gentleman is like THE most horrifying, shattering insult the man could ever receive, and Darcy is almost comically aghast lol. Bad boys take pride in behaving badly and defying people's norms of how people are "supposed to" act - Darcy is the literal antithesis of that!
Darcy never acts impulsively or recklessly - he's meticulous, he plans, he carefully weighs the likely outcomes and consequences of his actions. Even the letters he writes have to be neat, organized and thorough. He's horrified that Bingley writes his letters so carelessly and without making sure they're clear, organized and free of any errors. He never drinks too much like Mr. Hurst, he doesn't gamble or womanize ever and rather endearingly clutches his proverbial pearls when ACTUAL bad boys like Wickham do, and he loves schedules and routine. He's actually kind of an uptight, 'goody goody' nerd :)
This all just my take. Austen deliberately wrote bad boys like Wickham, Willoughby, Frank Churchill before he's kind of semi-redeemed, and more - charming, reckless, careless, uninhibited, rule-breaking rakes with a ton of amiability and charisma but very few standards and ethics. Darcy is the literal OPPOSITE of all that, and I'd love to hear her take on many modern scholars and Austenites perceiving Darcy as among the OG "bad boys" :)
