Mr. Darcy's romantic-hero status called into question

Blasphemy echoed throughout the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Sunday.

Writer and podcaster Dolly Alderton declared Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy to be the original practitioner of “negging” — or the use of backhanded compliments that actually increase the listener’s need to seek approval rather than flattering them — and called him conceited and rude.

“Him being held up as a romantic hero is a myth which has had a really insidious ripple effect on dating culture right up until now,” Alderton said, according to The Guardian.

Her comments came during a lighthearted debate among authors over whether Heathcliff or Mr. Darcy is the bigger, um, jerk.

The audience, after hearing from the writers, declared Heathcliff to be worse.

For more delightfully British insults, check out The Guardian’s full article on this somewhat sacrilegious discussion.