Pride and Prejudice Part 3

Through vol. 3, chapter 7

Well, readers, we have covered a lot of ground this week! This section contains so many of my favorite moments from P&P and really builds the anticipation for what’s to come in the end. MUCH could be said on this section, but I’ll be brief today as I’m on vacation with the family and have had less time than usual to reflect/write.

I will take a moment here to remind you all that if you have not yet begun binging the BBC miniseries, this is a great time to do so. I am delighted to announce that my husband has (reluctantly) joined me for my annual re-watch, and he is enjoying it much more than he’ll publicly admit. (We actually have a contest going for the best impression of Mr. Collins, and I’ve been accusing him of “taking delight in vexing me” at every minor inconvenience.)

Let’s get into the story!

Vol 2, Chapters 12-17

Summary:

Darcy surprises Elizabeth during her walk on the morning following his rejected proposal and hands her a letter. In the letter, Darcy both acquits himself of wrongdoing in the case of Wickham by pointing out Wickham’s true character/history, and also expresses that his own interference between Jane and Bingley was not solely based on her family’s poor connections and personal impropriety (of which he gives ample evidence) but also because of his certainty of Jane’s indifference to Bingley. Elizabeth, though still stung by the tone of Darcy’s proposal, finds his character cleared and even admits to herself the reasonableness of his objections to her family.

Elizabeth returns to Longbourn along with Jane. They are met by Lydia and Kitty acting silly as per usual. They share the news that the militia is leaving Meryton to summer at Brighton. The young girls hope to prevail upon their parents to take the family there as well, but as yet their father remains opposed to the plan.

Elizabeth finally has an opportunity to acquaint Jane with what happened in Kent (while leaving out the particulars regarding Darcy’s interference with Mr. Bingley). Jane is horrified to learn the truth about Mr. Wickham, but agrees with Lizzy that they need not share the news with their friends and family since his stay in Meryton will be soon over.

things to note:

• Mr. Darcy’s letter - so many things here! One thing I’ll draw out here is a seemingly insignificant quote regarding Mr. Wickham’s childhood:

  “My father supported him at school, and afterwards at Cambridge; —most important assistance, as his own father, always poor from the extravagance of his wife, would have been unable to give him a gentleman’s education.” (vol 2, ch 12)

Wickham’s father is crippled by the extravagance of his wife. In perhaps a small way, here, we see yet another example of imprudence in marriage. Perhaps our guard should also be up as we approach chapter sixteen and hear the seemingly insignificant point which demonstrates the lavish spending of yet another character:

“Look here, I have bought this bonnet. I do not think it is very pretty; but I thought I might as well buy it as not.” (vol 2, ch 16)

• The effects of Darcy’s letter on Elizabeth are numerous. Not only does her attitude towards him change drastically, but her eyes also become open to her own folly in so blindly trusting Wickham:

“But vanity, not love, has been my folly. — Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away…Till this moment, I never knew myself.” (vol 2, ch 13)

Lizzy finds herself condemned of the same vanity which she has so often found ridiculous in her youngest sister. This whole chapter (vol 2, ch 13) is great - seeing Lizzy reflect on the letter and all that has passed. We get even more of the blindness/false appearance imagery, and some great foreshadowing of coming events.

Vol 2, Chapter 18 - Vol 3, Chapter 2

Summary:

Lydia Bennet is invited by the wife of Colonel Forster to join them at Brighton, along with the regiment, for the summer. Lizzy tries in vain to persuade her father against allowing such a scheme, but is overruled. Wickham takes leave of Elizabeth and her family and is noticeably perturbed by Lizzy’s veiled reference to her increased knowledge of his relations to Mr. Darcy.

Lizzy and her aunt and uncle, while on their tour of Derbyshire, make a visit to view Pemberley (only after Elizabeth has been assured of the family being away for the summer). Elizabeth is delighted by the beauty of the estate and hears high praise of Mr. Darcy from his housekeeper. As the travelers begin to tour the grounds, Elizabeth encounters Mr. Darcy and is shocked by his civility to both herself and her relatives. He begs leave to introduce Elizabeth to his sister who is to arrive the following day, along with Bingley and his sisters.

Darcy, his sister, and Mr. Bingley pay a visit to Lizzy and the Gardiners at their inn. Elizabeth and her relatives are pleasantly surprised at Mr. Darcy’s warm attention to them all which extends even to the point of inviting them to dine at Pemberley.

things to note:

• So many things here…(I will refrain from jumping straight to Darcy and Elizabeth’s first meeting in this section which is simply *chef’s kiss*)…let’s start with Lydia. Sigh. The way the various family members react to Lydia’s invitation to Brighton is extremely revealing. I’ll just take a quick look at mom and dad Bennet’s reactions here:

  • Mr. Bennet, up to this point, has been a fairly likable, if a bit too detached, character. He provides the comedic relief and often seems to respond just perfectly to the oft-mentioned “silliness” of his family. But I’d argue that this section is when we first see Mr. Bennet’s real failings on display. His utter lack of concern and flippancy regarding his daughter’s lack of virtue is extremely distressing. He desires “peace at Longbourn” more than he desires to uphold his duty as a father, and he will face the consequences later on.

  • Mrs. Bennet’s failings as a mother have been less forgivable throughout the story, but they struck me especially here. First, her selfishness and vanity come out vividly. Rather than trying to encourage her daughters towards something higher when they find themselves inconsolable at the approaching departure of the militia, she laments along with them, reminiscing:

    “I am sure, said she, I cried for two days together when Colonel Millar’s regiment went away. I thought I should have broke my heart” (vol 2, ch 18).

  Then, Austen points out, in her farewell to Lydia, her advice is limited to:

  “injunctions that she would not miss the opportunity of enjoying herself as much as possible” (vol 2, ch 18).

  Elizabeth feels shame at the way both of her parents refuse to see reason as regards Lydia and the damage she could do their whole family.

• I would be remiss if I did not call out this extremely revealing passage that opens vol 2, chapter 19. This opening paragraph really pulls together a lot of the themes of prudence/passion in marriage that we’ve been looking at:

  “Her father captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humor, which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind, had very early in the marriage put an end to all real affection for her.”

  For those of us who have been scratching our head, wondering, “how did these two end up together?”…here’s our answer.

• Finally, we’re back to Mr. Darcy! (This is my favorite part of the whole book.) First, I love the reversal that goes on here - in the past, Darcy has been awkward and uncomfortable around Lizzy (and society in general as he has admitted to be one of his great faults), and here Lizzy finds herself speechless and awkward in the face of Mr. Darcy’s ease of manner.

  • I also love the way that Darcy’s warmth and eagerness to be better acquainted with the Gardiners surprises them all. We have been privy to Elizabeth’s reflections and “growth” after all that passed at Kent, but Darcy’s own transformation is on display here in a big way! (I love how the Gardiners are so shocked at how different Darcy is than the way Lizzy and her friends and family described him.)

Vol. 3, Chapters 3-7

Summary:

Lizzy, along with the Gardiners, go to Pemberley to return Georgiana’s visit. Elizabeth is struck, again, by Mr. Darcy’s attentions to her (and enjoys the irritation of Miss Bingley on the occasion). The next morning, Darcy comes to the inn and enters right as Elizabeth has received the news from Jane that Lydia has eloped with Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth, through tears, shares the news with Mr. Darcy and is convinced that any remaining regard for her must have vanished with the news which she is sure will ruin her family.

Elizabeth and the Gardiners rush home to be with her family. They find Mr. Bennet already gone to London to discern the whereabouts of Lydia and Wickham, Mrs. Bennet in the depths of despair, and the neighborhood already largely acquainted with the rumors of the escapade. Mr. Bennet returns from London and leaves the search in the more capable hands of Mr. Gardiner. Shortly after his return, Mr. Bennet receives news that the couple have been found and persuaded to marry given that certain, quite moderate, financial agreements may be reached (though it was clear that the couple had initially no intention of matrimony). Though Mrs. Bennet is (perhaps unduly) delighted with the outcome, Mr. Bennet is distressed at the thought that his brother-in-law, Mr. Gardiner, must have settled a great deal of money on Mr. Wickham in order to induce him to consent to the marriage.

things to note:

• Something so brilliant, here, is the way in which Mrs. Gardiner is always a step or two behind the reader. Despite the former openness between them, Lizzy has been reticent to acquaint her aunt with what occurred in Kent, so Mrs. Gardiner continues to regard Mr. Wickham as the victim and Mr. Darcy as the perpetrator. Witnessing Mrs. Gardiner slowly become undeceived as to Darcy’s character given the high praise she hears from his housekeeper as well as his kind attentions to herself and her husband, and seeing her suspicions begin to dawn as to his interest in Lizzy adds so much dramatic irony!

• Chapter three may be my favorite in this section. So many gems.

  • First, I love this direct allusion to the way Miss Darcy’s manner could easily be misconstrued. Here, yet again, we come back to the theme of perception vs. reality:

    “Georgiana’s reception of them was very civil; but attended with all that embarrassment which, though proceeding from shyness and the fear of doing wrong, would easily give to those who felt themselves inferior, the belief of her being proud and reserved.” (vol 3, ch 3)

  • Also can we talk about this delicious moment in which the mean girl gets put in her place?

    “I remember, when we first knew her in Hertfordshire, how amazed we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty…But afterwards she seemed to improve on you, and I believe you thought her rather pretty at one time.”

    “Yes”, replied Darcy, “but that was only when I first knew her, for it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.” (vol 3, ch 3)

    Mic. Drop.

• A quick thought on chapter four. First, though I think the context here does an excellent job at revealing the high stakes of Lydia’s folly for herself and her family even for modern readers, it’s important to realize that Wickham and Lydia’s choice to elope will render Lydia (and possibly her sisters) “un-marryable” , at least to any respectable men. Mr. Collins, though extremely rude and unhelpful, makes the reasonable point that,

  “this false step in one daughter, will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others, for who…will connect themselves with such a family.” (vol 3, ch 4)

  Essentially, the only way to avoid the utter scandal that could ruin the family is for Wickham and Lydia to marry after all, which seems unlikely given his want of fortune and her lack thereof.

  • Also note, here, that Elizabeth takes Mr. Darcy’s silence and meditative manner to mean that she has lost his high esteem. But maybe this will be yet another example of the appearance vs. reality theme? We shall see.

• I won’t say much about the latter part of this section, I’ll just point out that Austen is showing off yet again her brilliance with the subtle humor.

  • Mrs. Bennet’s languishing in bed for weeks on end, only to exuberantly jump up and rejoice at the news of Lydia’s marriage is hilarious, and, I might add, quite on brand for the lady.

  • Mary’s pontifications about “loss of virtue in a female” (vol 3, ch 5)

  • And of course, Mr. Collins' infamous letter is both infuriating and hilarious.

• Last thing, I promise (so much for my brevity…)! I loved the irony that Mr. Bennet is so upset that he finds himself indebted to his brother-in-law for bringing about the marriage. This ironically hearkens back to his comment in volume 2, chapter eighteen, when he says,

  “Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances.”

  The expense for Lydia’s “exposure” did not lie with Mr. Bennet, and he feels it deeply.

  ---

In Case You Missed It:

• Reading Revisited ep. 8: East of Eden -

  Kelsie Hartley
  ,
  Jessica Risma
  ,
  Genna Moellering

• Persuasion Movie Review -

  Kelsie Hartley

• Pride and Prejudice Part 2

• Reading Revisited ep. 7 - Next Year’s Book List

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