Chapter 18 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to judge how Elizabeth moves from one explanation to the next. Finding Mr. Wickham absent, she suspects at once that he was left out of the invitation “for Mr. Darcy’s pleasure”, and the narrator says that “this was not exactly the case”. Mr. Denny, a fellow officer, says Mr. Wickham went to town on business, and adds, “with a significant smile”: “I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now, if he had not wished to avoid a certain gentleman here.” The hint “assured her that Darcy was not less answerable for Wickham’s absence than if her first surmise had been just”. Surmise means guess. Her own thought grants that the first guess was wrong, and the blame stays where it was. The student decides whether a guess that has just failed should make her more careful with the next one. The card must not say why Mr. Wickham stayed away: Denny himself only imagines it, and the chapter never gives Mr. Wickham’s own reason.

One reading

Yes. Her first guess blamed Darcy and was wrong, and she reaches at once for a second that blames him just as much, before he has said a word to her. The second rests on less than it seems: Denny says only that he does not “imagine” the business was the real reason, and adds a smile. The reasons change and the blame does not move, which suggests the blame came first. A guess that has just failed is the best warning she could have, and she does not take it.

• and though this was not exactly the case,
• as it assured her that Darcy was not less answerable for Wickham’s absence than if her first surmise had been just,

Another reading

No. Her first guess was wrong in its details, not in its direction. Left off the list or staying away to avoid him, Mr. Wickham is absent because of Darcy either way, and the second account is no guess of hers: it comes from Mr. Wickham’s own friend, who seems to speak of something the officers already know. On this reading she has corrected her facts and kept a conclusion the new facts still support.

• I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now, if he had not wished to avoid a certain gentleman here.
• adding, with a significant smile,

Listen for

• Separates the two explanations: that Mr. Wickham was left out of the invitation, which the narrator says was “not exactly the case”, and that he stayed away to avoid Darcy.
• Finds that Elizabeth’s own thought grants the first guess was wrong (“than if her first surmise had been just”), and that her blame of Darcy stays the same.
• Hears that Denny is guessing too: “I do not imagine”, and a smile.
• Keeps to the chapter: Mr. Wickham’s own reason is never given.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth first suspect when she cannot find Mr. Wickham?
• What does Denny say, and how sure does he sound?
• When a guess of yours turns out wrong, how do you treat the next one?

A strong answer A strong response says whether the failed guess should have slowed her, and why. One reader says yes: she has just been wrong about Darcy, the second explanation rests on what Denny does “not imagine” and a smile, and her blame does not move at all, as if it came before either reason. Another says no: the new account comes from Mr. Wickham’s own friend, and on her understanding of the quarrel it points the same way the first did. The best answers notice that the narrator gives the reader the correction plainly, while Elizabeth passes over it in a single clause on her way back to the same verdict.

What it asks It asks the student to set Elizabeth’s reply beside the remark it answers. In the dance Elizabeth, “unable to resist the temptation”, mentions the “new acquaintance” the sisters made at Meryton, and “A deeper shade of _hauteur_ overspread his features”. Hauteur is haughtiness. After a silence Darcy speaks “in a constrained manner”: “Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may insure his _making_ friends; whether he may be equally capable of _retaining_ them, is less certain.” Elizabeth replies, “with emphasis”: “He has been so unlucky as to lose your friendship, and in a manner which he is likely to suffer from all his life.” Darcy makes no answer. It is the only thing Darcy says about Mr. Wickham all evening. The student decides whether her reply meets his claim or goes around it. The card must not say whether Darcy’s claim about Mr. Wickham is true, or whether Darcy wronged him: the chapter shows neither.

One reading

Yes, and sharply. Darcy’s sentence turns on “_retaining_”, and she answers with the one lost friendship in front of them: Darcy’s own. If Mr. Wickham has failed to keep a friend, she says, look at the friend. Her word “unlucky” puts the fault on the other side, and Darcy has no reply; he only seems “desirous of changing the subject”. On this reading she meets his claim head-on and turns it against him.

• He has been so unlucky as to lose your friendship,
• Darcy made no answer, and seemed desirous of changing the subject.

Another reading

No. Darcy offers a claim about Mr. Wickham’s character: people who like him at first do not stay his friends. She does not ask what he means, or whom else Mr. Wickham has lost. She hears the remark only as a charge against Darcy, and her “unlucky” assumes the very point in dispute, whose fault the loss was. It is the nearest she comes all evening to hearing Darcy’s side from Darcy, and she answers it with her verdict.

• whether he may be equally capable of retaining them, is less certain.
• replied Elizabeth, with emphasis,

Listen for

• Puts the two halves side by side: Darcy on “_making_” and “_retaining_” friends, Elizabeth on the friendship Mr. Wickham lost.
• Notices the word “unlucky”, and whose fault it makes the loss.
• Asks what Darcy’s silence afterwards shows, and whether it settles anything.
• Keeps to the chapter: whether Darcy’s claim is true is not shown.

If stuck

• What does Darcy say is “less certain” about Mr. Wickham?
• Whose friendship does Elizabeth say Mr. Wickham has lost?
• If the loss was “unlucky” for Mr. Wickham, whose fault was it?

A strong answer A strong response sets her reply against his remark and decides whether it meets it. One reader finds a direct hit: Darcy speaks of friends Mr. Wickham fails to keep, and she names the friend who failed him, with a word, “unlucky”, that puts the fault on Darcy and leaves him silent. Another finds a reply that goes around the claim: Darcy offers something about Mr. Wickham she could have asked about, and she answers with her verdict on Darcy instead. The best answers notice that Darcy’s silence can be read either way, and that Elizabeth never asks him what he meant.

What it asks It asks the student to compare two answers Darcy gives in the same breath. Elizabeth: “I remember hearing you once say, Mr. Darcy, that you hardly ever forgave”, “that your resentment, once created, was unappeasable. You are very cautious, I suppose, as to its _being created_?” “I am,” said he, with a firm voice. “And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?” “I hope not.” Unappeasable means impossible to calm. The student decides why one answer is firm and the other a hope. The card must not say whether Darcy is in fact prejudiced, and must not use the narrator’s glimpse of his feelings at the end of the dance to settle what he means here.

One reading

Because he knows the difference. Whether to resent someone is a step a man can watch himself take, so he can promise care. Prejudice is the fault its owner cannot see; to answer “never” would be the surest sign of it. On this reading “I hope not” is the more honest of the two answers, and the more modest.

• “I am,” said he, with a firm voice.
• “I hope not.”

Another reading

Because he is on guard. Elizabeth’s questions are an accusation dressed as questions, and he cannot yet see where they lead; his next words are “May I ask to what these questions tend?” He answers firmly where he is sure of himself and hedges where he feels the charge coming. On this reading the hedge is caution with her, not humility about himself.

• “May I ask to what these questions tend?”

Listen for

• Compares the two answers: “a firm voice” against a hope.
• Notices that Elizabeth’s question says “never”, and Darcy will not repeat it.
• Weighs whether anyone could honestly say they are never prejudiced.
• Hears that his next question asks where hers are going.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth ask him first, and what next?
• Which answer sounds more certain?
• Could anyone say for sure that they are never blinded by prejudice?

A strong answer A strong response explains the gap between the two answers. One reader finds self-knowledge: resentment is something a man decides to begin, while prejudice is the one fault its owner cannot see, so “I hope not” is the honest reply. Another finds caution: the questions are an accusation, and Darcy hedges where he senses it coming. The best answers notice that the second question is one nobody could answer with a firm voice, whoever was asked it.

What it asks It asks the student to follow Darcy’s picture-making words to their end. Elizabeth says her questions tend “Merely to the illustration of _your_ character”: “I am trying to make it out.” She hears “such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.” Darcy answers, gravely, that “reports may vary greatly with respect to me; and I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either.” She replies: “But if I do not take your likeness now, I may never have another opportunity.” Earlier in the dance she drew a joking likeness of them both, and he answered that she must think it “a faithful portrait, undoubtedly.” The student decides how a sketch could shame the one who draws it. The card must not say that Darcy loves Elizabeth: the narrator grants only “a tolerably powerful feeling towards her”.

One reading

A likeness shows the artist’s eye as well as the sitter’s face. Drawn now, from “such different accounts” and in the middle of a quarrel, the picture will be unfair to him and will show her as a hasty judge. The word “either” takes in both of them. Her reply, that she “may never have another opportunity”, shows the very haste he warns against.

• the performance would reflect no credit on either.
• But if I do not take your likeness now, I may never have another opportunity.

Another reading

It is less a fear than a way of closing the subject. Darcy grants that “reports may vary” and offers none of his own. A proud man who will not explain himself warns her off the picture instead, and the narrator’s next word for him is “coldly”. On this reading the sketch would shame her only because he keeps back what she would need to draw it fairly.

• I can readily believe,” answered he, gravely, “that reports may vary greatly with respect to me;
• he coldly replied.

Listen for

• Collects the picture words in the dance: “portrait”, “performance”, “sketch”, “likeness”.
• Asks whom “either” takes in: Darcy, Elizabeth, or both.
• Notices her hurry: she “may never have another opportunity”.
• Notices that Darcy grants the reports differ but gives none of his own.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth say she is trying to do?
• What does Darcy ask her not to do?
• What can a bad portrait tell you about the painter?

A strong answer A strong response explains how the sketch could shame the person drawing it. One reader takes Darcy at his word: a likeness drawn in haste from conflicting reports will be unfair to him and will show her as a careless judge, and her reply only proves the haste. Another hears pride: he admits the reports differ, offers nothing to set them right, and then tells her the picture will be wrong. The best answers notice that the warning cuts both ways: it is a fair point about hasty judgment, from a man doing nothing to make a fair one possible.

What it asks It asks the student to account for Elizabeth’s shame in the second half of the evening. Mr. Collins introduces himself to Darcy against her advice: “It vexed her to see him expose himself to such a man.” At supper her mother talks of Jane’s match within Darcy’s hearing, “to her inexpressible vexation”, and Elizabeth begs her: “What advantage can it be to you to offend Mr. Darcy? You will never recommend yourself to his friend by so doing.” While Mary sings, she watches him again. Earlier she had told Charlotte it would be a misfortune “To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate!” The student decides why Darcy’s opinion of her family matters to a woman who says she is determined to hate him. The card must not say that Elizabeth loves Darcy, or that her family has spoiled Jane’s chances: she hopes some of it escaped Bingley’s notice, and the chapter shows no consequence.

One reading

For Jane’s sake. She says so to her mother: offending Darcy will not “recommend” the family to “his friend”. Darcy is Bingley’s closest friend, and what he thinks of the Bennets may reach Bingley. On this reading her shame is a sister’s fear, and it fits her dislike of Darcy perfectly well: an enemy who can do harm is worth watching.

• You will never recommend yourself to his friend by so doing.
• happy did she think it for Bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his notice,

Another reading

For her own sake. She cannot bear to be looked down on by the man she means to despise. The narrator keeps her eyes on Darcy, not on Bingley: “such a man”, glances that each “convinced her of what she dreaded”, and at the end “the silent contempt of the gentleman”. A woman “determined to hate” a man still minds what he thinks of her. On this reading his opinion matters more to her than she admits.

• It vexed her to see him expose himself to such a man.
• To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate!

Listen for

• Finds each moment she watches Darcy: Mr. Collins’s bow, her mother at supper, Mary’s songs.
• Weighs her stated reason, Jane and “his friend”, against how often her eyes go to Darcy rather than to Bingley.
• Notices that she hopes the exhibition escaped Bingley’s notice, and has no such hope about Darcy.
• Keeps to the chapter: no harm to Jane is shown, and nothing says Elizabeth loves Darcy.

If stuck

• Whom does Elizabeth watch while Mr. Collins speaks, and while her mother talks?
• What reason does she give her mother?
• Can you care what someone thinks of you and still dislike him?

A strong answer A strong response gives Elizabeth a reason and shows it on the page. One reader finds a sister’s fear: she tells her mother that offending Darcy cannot help with Bingley, and Darcy’s opinion bears on Jane’s chances. Another finds her own pride: the narrator keeps her eyes on Darcy, not Bingley, and a woman determined to hate a man still cannot bear his scorn. The best answers notice that for most of the chapter Elizabeth is the one judging Darcy, and here she sits across the table from him being judged.

What it asks It asks the student to set mother and daughter side by side. Scolded for talking too loudly, Mrs. Bennet answers: “What is Mr. Darcy to me, pray, that I should be afraid of him? I am sure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged to say nothing _he_ may not like to hear.” At the start of the evening Elizabeth “could hardly reply with tolerable civility” to Darcy, and thought: “Attention, forbearance, patience with Darcy, was injury to Wickham.” In the dance she raises Mr. Wickham, “unable to resist the temptation”. Before it, Charlotte warned her not to let her fancy for Mr. Wickham “make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man” of far greater consequence; consequence here means social standing. The student decides how near mother and daughter are. The card must not say that Mrs. Bennet’s talk has cost Jane anything: the chapter does not show it.

One reading

Close. Both decide that Darcy is owed no special civility and say what he may not like to hear. Elizabeth could hardly be civil to him when the evening began, and she raised Mr. Wickham in the dance on purpose; her mother will not lower her voice for him. At supper Elizabeth hears her own attitude played back loudly, by someone she cannot control.

• she could hardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite inquiries which he directly afterwards approached to make.
• I am sure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged to say nothing he may not like to hear.

Another reading

Far. Elizabeth’s coldness is aimed, private and rests on a cause she believes in, the wrong she thinks was done to Mr. Wickham; she says what she says to Darcy’s face, in a dance, with wit. Her mother’s is careless and public, boasting to a table about money and a match. And at supper it is Elizabeth who pleads, “For heaven’s sake, madam, speak lower.” Whatever she thinks of Darcy, she knows his opinion carries weight, and her mother does not.

• Attention, forbearance, patience with Darcy, was injury to Wickham.
• For heaven’s sake, madam, speak lower.

Listen for

• Puts Mrs. Bennet’s words beside Elizabeth’s conduct at the start of the evening and in the dance.
• Weighs differences of kind: wit and a reason against noise and boasting; to his face against within his hearing.
• Notices that at supper Elizabeth asks of her mother the caution Charlotte asked of her.
• Keeps to the chapter: no harm to Jane is shown.

If stuck

• What does Mrs. Bennet say she owes Darcy?
• How did Elizabeth speak to Darcy when the evening began?
• Is being rude to someone the same as being rude where he can hear?

A strong answer A strong response measures the distance and shows where it lies. One reader finds them close: each decides Darcy is owed no special civility, and Elizabeth winces to hear her own attitude spoken loudly by someone she cannot stop. Another finds them far apart: Elizabeth’s coldness is pointed, private and grounded in a cause, while her mother’s is careless boasting, and it is Elizabeth who begs her to speak lower. The best answers notice that at supper Elizabeth asks of her mother what Charlotte asked of her before the dance.

What it asks It asks the student to find out what kind of report Elizabeth could accept. Jane says that Bingley “does not know the whole of his history, and is quite ignorant of the circumstances which have principally offended Mr. Darcy”, but “will vouch for the good conduct, the probity and honour, of his friend”; probity is honesty. Elizabeth asks two things: whether Bingley knows Mr. Wickham himself, and “But what does he say of the living?” A living is a church post with its income. Bingley “does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has heard them from Mr. Darcy more than once”, and believes it was left to Mr. Wickham “_conditionally_ only.” Elizabeth answers: “I have not a doubt of Mr. Bingley’s sincerity”, “but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances only. Mr. Bingley’s defence of his friend was a very able one, I dare say; but since he is unacquainted with several parts of the story, and has learnt the rest from that friend himself, I shall venture still to think of both gentlemen as I did before.” The student builds a thesis on what Bingley would have had to say to move her, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whose account is true, or that Miss Bingley’s warning is either accurate or spiteful: she admits, “I do not know the particulars”. Later chapters may not be used as evidence.

One reading

Nothing he could say. Her test rules him out before he speaks: whatever Bingley knows of the quarrel he has “learnt ... from that friend himself”, so any defence he makes is Darcy’s word passed on. She grants his sincerity and calls his defence “a very able one”, and it still counts for nothing. On this reading the test, as she uses it, can only keep her where she is, and she never asks whether the account she began with, which also came from one of the two men, would pass it.

• and has learnt the rest from that friend himself,
• but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances only.

Another reading

The facts about the living. She asks for exactly that, and gets a man who “does not exactly recollect the circumstances” and a single word, “_conditionally_”. What she refuses is loyalty offered in place of facts. Had Bingley known the terms and what was done, she would have something to weigh. On this reading her mind is open to evidence, and Bingley simply has none to give.

• But what does he say of the living?
• He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has heard them from Mr. Darcy more than once,

Listen for

• States Elizabeth’s reason in her own words: Bingley knows only part of the story, and learnt the rest from Darcy.
• Notices that this reason would shut out anything Bingley said, however much he knew, so long as he learnt it from Darcy.
• Notices her one request for a fact, the living, and how little Bingley can give.
• Notices that Jane, who heard Bingley herself, is “sorry to say” she now thinks less of Mr. Wickham, while Elizabeth keeps her view.

If stuck

• Why will Elizabeth not accept Bingley’s defence?
• What does she ask Jane about, besides Bingley’s opinion of his friend?
• Where could Bingley have learnt the story, if not from Darcy?

A strong answer A strong thesis names the report that would have moved her, or argues that none could. A student might argue that nothing would: everything Bingley knows of the quarrel comes from Darcy, so her test discounts it before it is spoken, however sincere or able. The strongest objection is that she asks for a fact, the terms of the living, and refuses only loyalty in its place; Bingley cannot remember the circumstances, so she has nothing to weigh. A good revision might grant that she wants particulars, and still ask whether particulars from Darcy’s side could ever pass a test that the account she already holds, from the other side, has never been put to.

What it asks It asks the student to judge Elizabeth’s reading of Darcy’s face. As her mother talks, Elizabeth glances at him, “for though he was not always looking at her mother, she was convinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her. The expression of his face changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and steady gravity.” While Mary sings, Bingley’s sisters make “signs of derision at each other, and at Darcy, who continued, however, impenetrably grave.” Derision is mocking scorn. Looking back on the evening, Elizabeth “could not determine whether the silent contempt of the gentleman, or the insolent smiles of the ladies, were more intolerable.” Earlier, when Sir William hinted at a match between Jane and Bingley, Darcy’s eyes went “with a very serious expression, towards Bingley and Jane”. The student builds a thesis on whether contempt is the right word for what Elizabeth saw, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Darcy decides anything here about Bingley and Jane, or that he loves Elizabeth, and must not let the narrator’s one look into his feelings during the dance settle what his gravity at supper means.

One reading

Yes. The narrator uses the word contempt first: his face began in “indignant contempt”, and with Mr. Collins his “contempt seemed abundantly increasing”. A man too well bred to join the sisters’ open mockery may simply keep his scorn behind a composed face. Her word “silent” covers the composure: gravity is contempt that has stopped showing, and she names what was there before the face settled.

• The expression of his face changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and steady gravity.
• Mr. Darcy’s contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech;

Another reading

No. The narrator moves his face away from contempt, to “a composed and steady gravity”, and then calls him “impenetrably” grave: a face that cannot be read. He does not join the sisters’ signs of derision. Elizabeth was “convinced” his attention was fixed on her mother even when he was not looking, and the reader has seen him look seriously at Jane and Bingley, so a grave man may have more than one thing on his mind. On this reading contempt is the word Elizabeth brings to his face, not the one she finds there.

• and at Darcy, who continued, however, impenetrably grave.
• for though he was not always looking at her mother, she was convinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her.

Listen for

• Tracks the narrator’s words for Darcy’s face in order: “indignant contempt”, “a composed and steady gravity”, “impenetrably grave”.
• Notices that Darcy does not share the sisters’ signs of derision.
• Separates what Elizabeth sees from what she is “convinced” of.
• Keeps to the chapter: gravity is not a decision, and the narrator’s look into his feelings comes earlier and does not explain the supper.

If stuck

• What does Darcy’s face look like when Mrs. Bennet begins, and when she ends?
• What are Bingley’s sisters doing while Mary sings, and what is Darcy doing?
• What else, besides scorn, might make a man look grave?

A strong answer A strong thesis weighs Elizabeth’s word against the narrator’s. A student might argue that she is right: the narrator names his contempt when Mrs. Bennet begins and again with Mr. Collins, and a composed face may only be scorn held in. The strongest objection is that the narrator moves his face on from contempt, calls it “impenetrably” grave, keeps him apart from the sisters’ mockery, and has shown him looking seriously at Jane and Bingley, so Elizabeth supplies a meaning the face does not show. A good revision might grant that contempt is a fair reading of how the supper began, and still ask why she settles on it for a face the narrator says could not be read.

What it asks It asks the student to turn Elizabeth’s standard back on Elizabeth. In the dance she tells Darcy: “It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.” Incumbent on means binding as a duty. She says she is “trying to make it out” and that she hears “such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.” Within the hour she hears Miss Bingley, who says Darcy “has been always remarkably kind” to Mr. Wickham but admits, “I do not know the particulars”, and then Jane’s report from Bingley, and she resolves “still to think of both gentlemen as I did before.” The evening began with her deciding that Darcy was answerable for Mr. Wickham’s absence. The student builds a thesis on whether her conduct at the ball meets her own standard, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whose account of Mr. Wickham is true, that Miss Bingley’s warning is either accurate or spiteful, that Darcy loves Elizabeth, or that her family has spoiled Jane’s chances. Later chapters may not be used as evidence.

One reading

No. She holds her opinion against every new report, as one who will not change: Darcy is answerable for Mr. Wickham’s absence on the strength of a hint, his remark about keeping friends is an insult, Miss Bingley’s warning is “the malice of Mr. Darcy”, and Bingley’s defence changes nothing. Her first judgment rested on one interested man’s story, so by her own rule she was the person who most needed to judge carefully, and she hurries: “I may never have another opportunity.”

• I shall venture still to think of both gentlemen as I did before.
• I see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and the malice of Mr. Darcy.

Another reading

Yes, or more nearly than it looks. Nothing she hears at the ball is a fact she could weigh: Miss Bingley admits she does not know the particulars and offers only Mr. Wickham’s birth, which, Elizabeth says, he had told her himself; Bingley offers loyalty and a half-remembered condition. Refusing to change her mind on such grounds is not refusing to judge. She admits she is puzzled, and where she can see for herself, as when Mr. Collins approaches Darcy, she reads the scene exactly. The standard asks her to judge properly, not to give way to every report.

• I do not know the particulars,
• I hear such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.

Listen for

• States the standard in Elizabeth’s words, notices that she meant it for Darcy, and notices that it asks for a first judgment that is “secure”.
• Lists what she hears about Darcy and Mr. Wickham at the ball, and from whom: Denny, Darcy himself, Miss Bingley, Bingley through Jane.
• Separates keeping an opinion because the new reports are weak from keeping it because it is hers.
• Weighs the moments she judges what she can see, Mr. Collins with Darcy and her family at supper, against the moments she judges from what she has been told.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth say a person who never changes an opinion must do?
• What new things does she hear at the ball, and from whom?
• Does she change her mind about anyone before the evening ends?

A strong answer A strong thesis holds Elizabeth to her own words. A student might argue that she fails her standard: she blames Darcy for Mr. Wickham’s absence on the strength of a hint, hears his remark as an insult, calls Miss Bingley’s warning malice, and resolves to think as she did before, though her first judgment rested on one interested man’s story. The strongest objection is that nothing she hears is evidence worth changing for: Miss Bingley admits she lacks the particulars, Bingley has only his friend’s word, and holding firm against assurances is not the same as refusing to judge. A good revision might grant that every report she hears is weak, and still notice that her rule asks something else: not whether tonight’s reports are strong enough to move her, but whether her first judgment was secure. She tells Darcy that the accounts of him “puzzle me exceedingly”. A judge who is puzzled has not judged securely, and she keeps the verdict anyway.