by Jane Austen
“He has made me so happy,” said she, one evening, “by telling me, that he was totally ignorant of my being in town last spring! I had not believed it possible.”
“I suspected as much,” replied Elizabeth. “But how did he account for it?”
“It must have been his sisters'36 doing. They were certainly no friends to his acquaintance with me, which I cannot wonder at, since he might have chosen so much more advantageously in many respects. But when they see, as I trust they will, that their brother is happy with me, they will learn to be contented, and we shall be on good terms again; though we can never be what we once were to each other.”
“That is the most unforgiving speech,” said Elizabeth, “that I ever heard you utter. Good girl! It would vex me, indeed, to see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley's pretended regard.”
“Would you believe it, Lizzy, that when he went to town last November, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion of my being indifferent, would have prevented his coming down again!”
“He made a little mistake to be sure; but it is to the credit of his modesty.”
This naturally introduced a panegyric from Jane on his diffidence,37 and the little value he put on his own good qualities.38
Elizabeth was pleased to find, that he had not betrayed the interference of his friend,39 for, though Jane had the most generous and forgiving heart in the world, she knew it was a circumstance which must prejudice her against him.
“I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed!” cried Jane. “Oh! Lizzy, why am I thus singled from my family, and blessed above them all! If I could but see you as happy! If there were but such another man for you!”
“If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness. No, no, let me shift for myself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr. Collins in time.”
The situation of affairs in the Longbourn family could not be long a secret. Mrs. Bennet was privileged to whisper it to Mrs. Philips, and she ventured, without any permission, to do the same by all her neighbours in Meryton.40
The Bennets were speedily pronounced to be the luckiest family in the world, though only a few weeks before, when Lydia had first run away, they had been generally proved to be marked out for misfortune.
1. home: this, as is revealed later, means Bingley's home of Netherfield, rather than Darcy's own home of Pemberley. Of course, it is returning to the former that will allow him to resume seeing Elizabeth.
2. Oc. Oc: etc., etc. This is a way of indicating that Bingley is going on to express standard phrases of polite gratitude. In other places this abbreviation appears to be something used by a character in the novel in a letter or note; here it seems to be employed by the author herself to avoid relating unnecessary details of a conversation.
3. waiting on: calling upon.
4. Sarah: a maid; use of her first name indicates low status.
5. Sarah is helping the girls to dress and fix their hair. In contrast to Bingley's sisters, the Bennet daughters do not each have a separate maid, so Sarah has to turn from Elizabeth to Jane. It would also seem that Sarah was already attending Elizabeth in the same room where Jane was dressing, which implies that the two sisters share a bedroom (the phrase in the preceding paragraph “her daughter's room” was written as “her daughters' room” in one of the early editions of the novel; in any case, even in the singular form it does not indicate necessarily that the room was not Elizabeth's as well). Earlier (on p. 216) there is in fact a reference to “their [Elizabeth and Jane's] own room.” This sharing of a room would indicate Elizabeth and Jane's closeness.
6. forwarder: more prompt, or more advanced in her preparations.
7. This probably means that Kitty went to her room to start dressing half an hour ago, and thus is further along. This in turn suggests the existence of at least three floors in the Bennets' house: Jane's talk of coming down indicates that she is not on the ground floor, while the phrase “went up stairs” implies that Kitty's action involved ascending to one floor above Jane, rather than simply reaching the same floor. This higher floor could be a less significant one, where Kitty, and perhaps Mary, have their rooms (lower priority being given to younger daughters); the servants' rooms might also be on this floor.
8. Jane, in her disinclination to go down alone in order to be with Bingley, is exhibiting some of the female modesty that was highly praised at the time and that Mr. Collins mentioned in his proposal to Elizabeth. Of course, the modesty that keeps one from throwing oneself at a man is hardly the same as the extravagant modesty of directly refusing an offer of marriage that one actually desired, a modesty that Mr. Collins claimed was standard.
9. instrument: musical instrument, i.e., the piano.
10. spoke: indicated, revealed.
11. dressing room: often the dressing room of the mistress of the house was a sitting room as well. Jane Austen's letters refer to the dressing room being used for various family purposes; in one she says, “We live entirely in the dressing-room now” (Dec. 1, 1798). Her hyphenation of “dressing room” in the letter, but not in the novel, is an example of the inconsistency in spelling that can be frequently found in Jane Austen's writings, as well as in other writings of the time.
12. That is, to where Jane and Bingley still were.
13. stay: stay for.
14. The supper offered here, along with the one in the last chapter that Mrs. Bennet had hoped to serve Bingley and Darcy, sparked Jane Austen's only criticism on a specific point of her novel. In a letter she confided that, “There might as well have been no suppers at Longbourn, but I suppose it was the remains of Mrs. Bennet's old Meryton habits” (Feb. 4, 1813). The reason for this criticism is that the gradual latening of the dinner hour was causing supper to go out of fashion, especially among the wealthy (see p. 139, note 44). If supper was served it would only be a light meal or snack taken among those staying in the house—one such supper was mentioned at Netherfield. In contrast, suppers continued to be a standard, and often substantial, meal among those at a lower social level. Mrs. Bennet's suppers, being significant enough to intend for guests, are not what would usually be found in a wealthy landowning family of the time, which is why Jane Austen refers in her letter to Mrs. Bennet's old Meryton habits, i.e., her habits when she was growing up as the daughter of a simple attorney in Meryton. Earlier her sister Mrs. Philips, now the wife of an attorney in Meryton, was shown offering an ample hot supper.
It is possible that the Longbourn suppers are actually a legacy of the first version of the novel—written fifteen years earlier when supper was still more usual among the wealthy—that Jane Austen neglected to revise when she created the final version. In that case, having noticed the mistake when it was too late (for the above letter was written just after the novel had been published), she attempted to rationalize it with the suggestion regarding Mrs. Bennet's Meryton habits.
15. morning: most of the day.
16. invention: inventiveness, ingenuity.
17. In other words, Elizabeth believes it safe not to remain in the room with Jane and Bingley, for others will be in that room playing cards, and thus Jane and Bingley, as Jane wishes, will not be alone.
18. either: the word could refer just to Bingley and Jane, since they were the ones who would be expected to speak to explain what had happened, or it could refer as well to Elizabeth (and thus mean “either party”), since she thinks her situation even more awkward than theirs.
19. others: the second and third editions printed this as other, which would suggest that only Jane and Bingley, but not Elizabeth, had sat down. Either meaning seems possible.
20. reserves: secrets.
21. confidence: confiding private matters to another.
22. A man who proposed marriage, and was accepted by the woman, was then supposed to talk to her father in order to get his permission.
23
. In order to leave Jane and Bingley alone. This is how Mrs. Bennet was too ingenious for Elizabeth. One could argue that this is one case where Mrs. Bennet, in her aggressive efforts to promote a match between Jane and Bingley, is vindicated—though it is highly probable that the match would have happened anyway. The most that Mrs. Bennet did was to accelerate it slightly, while making the participants less comfortable during the process.
24. suspense: uncertainty, delay in knowing.
25. cordiality: warmth, affection. As with Wickham, Elizabeth can now offer her hand to Bingley since, through his engagement, he has effectively become one of the family (see p. 597, note 68). Bingley, not being the inveterate flatterer Wickham is, simply shakes Elizabeth's hand rather than kissing it.
26. That is, normally one might be skeptical of a lover's professed expectations of happiness since all lovers tend, in their enthusiasm, to profess that; here, however, the expectations have a rational basis. This passage indicates that Jane Austen does not condemn enthusiasm or strong feeling in love as such; what she condemns is love founded solely on such feelings, with no other factors, such as those she mentions for Jane and Bingley, to help sustain it.
27. mind: spirit, inner person. “Mind” had a less purely intellectual meaning then.
28. tempers: dispositions, characters.
29. In this statement Mr. Bennet shows himself as usual to be both astute, for Jane and Bingley's characters offer much support for his predictions, and callous, for normally one's first words to a daughter after her engagement would be more congratulatory than the harsh words Mr. Bennet offers.
Mr. Bennet's statement, and reminder of Jane and Bingley's limitations, also hints at the limitations of this marriage, compared to the marriage of the even more admirable principals that will close the book.
30. Jane does not explain why financial prudence should be so particularly incumbent on her. It is possible her feeling stems from the great disparity between her own fortune and Bingley's: she could think that any profligacy on her part would mean she was wasting his money, and that she, being unable to contribute much money to their marriage, should contribute thriftiness instead.
31. very likely more: no other indication exists in the book to support this supposition of Mrs. Bennet; it is undoubtedly the product of her own foolish enthusiasm. She will say the same thing about Darcy's ten thousand pounds after hearing of Elizabeth's engagement to him.
32. The idea of a woman's beauty as a precious commodity that should procure her some reward, especially a monetary one, is one that often appears in Jane Austen's novels; it reflects many of the prevailing ideas in this society. Jane Bennet herself, however, is clearly an example of someone who does not think this way.
33. youngest: the second and third editions changed this to “younger,” but that seems less logical since it would imply that Elizabeth was also among those asking Jane for things, which does not appear to be the case. In either case, the word could only apply to the youngest or younger present, since Lydia, the youngest of all, is not there.
34. make interest: make a special plea, exercise personal influence.
35. Detested and considered barbarous by Mrs. Bennet.
36. sisters': this was “sister's” in the original edition, but the subsequent use of “they” implies that the word should be plural. The third edition made that change.
37. diffidence: modesty.
38. It is characteristic of Jane that she should consider this to be high praise. Her attitude toward such humble modesty contrasts with Elizabeth's acceptance of certain aspects of Darcy's pride as proper and good.
39. his friend: Darcy. In all the early editions this was written as friends, but that would make no sense since Darcy is the only friend to have interfered with Bingley's love for Jane (“friends” could also include Bingley's sisters, but their interference has already been suspected by Jane).
40. One imagines that Mrs. Bennet, far from requiring her permission to spread the news through the neighborhood, was hoping that Mrs. Philips would do precisely that.
Chapter Fourteen
O ne morning, about a week after Bingley's engagement with Jane had been formed, as he and the females of the family were sitting together in the dining room, their attention was suddenly drawn to the window, by the sound of a carriage; and they perceived a chaise and four driving up the lawn. It was too early in the morning for visitors,1 and besides, the equipage2 did not answer3 to that of any of their neighbours. The horses were post;4 and neither the carriage, nor the livery5 of the servant who preceded it, were familiar to them. As it was certain, however, that somebody was coming, Bingley instantly prevailed on Miss Ben-net to avoid the confinement of such an intrusion, and walk away with him into the shrubbery. They both set off, and the conjectures of the remaining three continued, though with little satisfaction, till the door was thrown open, and their visitor entered. It was Lady Catherine de Bourgh.6
They were of course all intending to be surprised; but their astonishment was beyond their expectation; and on the part of Mrs. Bennet and Kitty, though she was perfectly unknown to them, even inferior to what Elizabeth felt.
She entered the room7 with an air more than usually ungracious, made no other reply to Elizabeth's salutation, than a slight inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word. Elizabeth had mentioned her name to her mother, on her ladyship's entrance, though no request of introduction had been made.
Mrs. Bennet all amazement, though flattered by having a guest of such high importance, received her with the utmost politeness. After sitting for a moment in silence, she said very stiffly to Elizabeth,
“I hope you are well, Miss Bennet. That lady I suppose is your mother.”8
Elizabeth replied very concisely that she was.
“And that I suppose is one of your sisters.”
“Yes, madam” said Mrs. Bennet, delighted to speak to a Lady Catherine.9 “She is my youngest girl but one. My youngest of all, is lately married, and my eldest is some-where about the grounds, walking with a young man, who I believe will soon become a part of the family.”
“You have a very small park10 here,” returned Lady Catherine after a short silence.11
“It is nothing in comparison of Rosings, my lady, I dare say; but I assure you it is much larger than Sir William Lucas's.”
“This must be a most inconvenient sitting room for the evening, in summer; the windows are full west.”
Mrs. Bennet assured her that they never sat there after dinner, and then added,
“May I take the liberty of asking your ladyship whether you left Mr. and Mrs. Collins well.”
“Yes, very well. I saw them the night before last.”12
Elizabeth now expected that she would produce a letter for her from Charlotte, as it seemed the only probable motive for her calling. But no letter appeared, and she was completely puzzled.
Mrs. Bennet, with great civility, begged her ladyship to take some refreshment; but Lady Catherine very resolutely, and not very politely, declined eating any thing; and then rising up, said to Elizabeth,
“Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness13 on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.”
“Go, my dear,” cried her mother, “and shew her ladyship about the different walks. I think she will be pleased with the hermitage.”14
Elizabeth obeyed, and running into her own room for her parasol,15 attended her noble guest down stairs. As they passed through the hall, Lady Catherine opened the doors into the dining-parlour and drawing-room, and pronouncing them, after a short survey, to be decent looking rooms, walked on.
Her carriage remained at the door, and Elizabeth saw that her waiting-woman was in it. They proceeded in silence along the gravel walk that led to the copse; Elizabeth was determined to make no effort for conversation with a woman, who was now more than usually insolent and disagreeable.
“Ho
w could I ever think her like her nephew?” said she, as she looked in her face.16
As soon as they entered the copse, Lady Catherine began in the following manner: —
“You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come.”
Elizabeth looked with unaffected astonishment.
“Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here.”
“Miss Bennet,” replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, “you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness,17 and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature, reached me two days ago.18 I was told, that not only your sister was on the point of being most advantageously married, but that you, that Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would, in all likelihood, be soon afterwards united to my nephew, my own nephew, Mr. Darcy. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood; though I would not injure him so much19 as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you.”20
“If you believed it impossible to be true,” said Elizabeth, colouring with astonishment and disdain, “I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by it?”
“At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted.”
“Your coming to Longbourn, to see me and my family,” said Elizabeth coolly, “will be rather a confirmation of it; if, indeed, such a report is in existence.”