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Pride and Prejudice
Mountaineers · 10th–12th
Jane believes what Caroline’s letter says, and Elizabeth finds a plot under its words. Whose reading of the letter is more convincing?
The tension Elizabeth listens to Caroline’s “high-flown expressions” “with all the insensibility of distrust”, yet that morning she “highly approved” Wickham’s “forbearance” when he admits his absence from the ball was “self-imposed”; one speaker gets her full suspicion, the other her full trust.
A walk with Wickham and a letter from Caroline Bingley on the same day: two accounts that Elizabeth weighs in very different ways.
The quarrel over Mr. Collins’s offer is nearly over. Mr. Collins shows his feelings by stiffness and “resentful silence”, and turns his attentions for the rest of the day to Charlotte Lucas, whose civility in listening is a relief to them all, especially to Elizabeth. The next day Mrs. Bennet is still out of humour and Mr. Collins still proud; he means to stay until Saturday, as planned. After breakfast the sisters walk to Meryton to ask after Wickham. He joins them, and at their aunt’s everyone regrets his absence from the Netherfield ball. To Elizabeth alone he admits that he stayed away by choice: he had better not meet Mr. Darcy, since it might be more than he could bear and scenes might arise unpleasant to others. She highly approves his forbearance. He and another officer walk the sisters back to Longbourn, he attends particularly to her, and she is glad of the chance to introduce him to her father and mother. Soon after, a letter comes for Jane from Netherfield, on elegant hot-pressed paper. Elizabeth sees Jane’s face change as she reads; Jane recovers and joins the talk, and when the visitors have gone she takes Elizabeth upstairs. The letter is from Caroline Bingley: the whole party has left Netherfield for London, without meaning to come back. Jane reads the first passages aloud, and Elizabeth hears them with distrust, sure that Bingley will return. Jane reads that none of the party will come back this winter, and says it is clear he will not; Elizabeth answers that it is only clear Miss Bingley does not mean him to. Jane reads the passage that hurts her most, Caroline’s hope that Georgiana Darcy will be her sister, and takes it as a kind warning that Caroline neither expects nor wishes Jane to be. Elizabeth gives her own reading: Caroline sees her brother is in love with Jane, wants him to marry Miss Darcy, follows him to keep him in town, and tries to persuade Jane he does not care. Jane will not believe Caroline capable of deceiving anyone and hopes only that she is deceived herself. Elizabeth teases her: if displeasing his sisters outweighs the happiness of being his wife, she should refuse him. Jane answers that she could not hesitate, but that if he does not return this winter her choice will never be required. Elizabeth dismisses the idea of his not returning and gradually leads Jane to hope. The sisters tell Mrs. Bennet only of the departure. She laments it, then consoles herself that Mr. Bingley will soon be dining at Longbourn, and resolves to have “two full courses”.
Start with the sentence the hinge rests on, read aloud: “It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean he should.” Ask what Elizabeth means by the stressed word, and leave it there; whose reading of the letter is more convincing is the last written question, and the earlier questions build toward it. Have students mark, as they read, every line of Caroline’s letter that Jane reads aloud, and every reply each sister makes to it. Keep to the chapter. It never says why Bingley stays in London or who, if anyone, keeps him there; it gives Caroline’s words and Elizabeth’s theory, and no answer may settle the cause. It does not say whether he will return; Jane herself says “A thousand things may arise in six months.” Darcy is named only as “impatient to see his sister”, so no answer may give him a hand in the departure. Wickham gives a reason for missing the ball and Elizabeth approves it; the chapter does not say whether the reason is honest, and no answer should. Do not hand the argument to Elizabeth because her reading is the cleverer: the chapter sets two readings side by side and proves neither. Do not skip the walk with Wickham, which comes just before the letter and shows Elizabeth’s trust at work beside her distrust. Do not make Jane merely gloomy: she reads the words with care and refuses to think a friend would deceive her. And keep the questions on how each sister handles words written to persuade, not only on whether Jane is sad.
Retell The student retells the chapter in order: Mr. Collins’s silence and his turn to Miss Lucas; the walk to Meryton and Wickham’s account of his absence; the walk home; the letter, Jane’s changed face and the talk upstairs, passage by passage; Elizabeth’s theory, Jane’s answer and the teasing advice; and Mrs. Bennet’s “two full courses”. Then the student picks the one sentence that matters most and says why. Look for a retelling that keeps the Wickham walk, keeps the two sisters’ readings distinct, and does not say why Bingley stays in London or whether he returns.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two short pieces. The first follows Jane: a sentence that opens with an “If” clause, is broken by an inverted dialogue tag such as “replied Jane”, and resumes in lower case; a short, flat sentence that rejects a ground of argument; then a sentence of two clauses joined by a semicolon that turns on one verb used two ways, active and then passive. The second follows the narrator: a sentence whose verb and object are parted by a phrase set off by commas, such as “as forcibly as possible”, and which ends on a result; then a sentence that opens on a short clause about someone’s nature, and after a semicolon holds back what a person hopes behind a “though” clause set off by commas.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. One side argues for Elizabeth’s reading, and gathers Caroline’s “certain” and “convinced”, her despair of Jane coming to town, the timing of the Georgiana passage, and Elizabeth’s “does not mean he _should_”. The other argues for Jane’s, and gathers the plain sense of the words, the parts of Elizabeth’s plan the letter never mentions, the joke about wedding clothes offered as proof, and Elizabeth’s ready approval of Wickham that morning. Each side must answer the other’s best line. Neither may say why Bingley stays in London or whether he returns.
Purpose Close on the chapter’s shape. Austen puts Wickham’s account and Caroline’s letter in the same day, one heard warmly on a walk and one coldly in a bedroom. She describes the letter’s paper and handwriting before a word of it is read. She ends not with either sister but with Mrs. Bennet, who hears only half the news, is as sure as Elizabeth that Bingley will soon be back, and orders “two full courses”. Ask what that last agreement does to Elizabeth’s confidence, and why the chapter lets the reader hear the letter only through the passages Jane chooses to read.
Easier Read aloud the walk with Wickham, from “After breakfast” to the introduction to her father and mother, then the talk upstairs from Jane’s first passage to “I could not hesitate.” Make two columns, one for what Jane thinks each passage means and one for what Elizabeth thinks. Talk through the questions on Jane’s “expressly” and on the teasing advice, then answer the last written question aloud before writing it.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions in order, then write all three written questions as a thesis, the strongest objection and a revised thesis, each with lines from the chapter.
Harder Ask for one argued essay on how Elizabeth judges what she is told in this chapter, weighing her approval of Wickham’s “forbearance”, her “insensibility of distrust” toward Caroline’s letter, and her certainty that Bingley is “so totally independent of everyone”. The essay should meet the objection that Jane, not Elizabeth, is the more careful reader of the letter’s words. It must not say why Bingley stays in London, whether he returns, or whether Wickham told the truth.
1. Wickham gives Elizabeth two reasons for staying away from the ball, and she “highly approved his forbearance”. What exactly is she praising him for?Character
What it asks It asks the student to look closely at the first account Elizabeth hears that day. In Meryton, Wickham “voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his absence _had_ been self-imposed.” “I found,” said he, “as the time drew near, that I had better not meet Mr. Darcy;--that to be in the same room, the same party with him for so many hours together, might be more than I could bear, and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself.” The narrator goes on: “She highly approved his forbearance; and they had leisure for a full discussion of it, and for all the commendations which they civilly bestowed on each other, as Wickham and another officer walked back with them to Longbourn, and during the walk he particularly attended to her.” His company is “a double advantage: she felt all the compliment it offered to herself; and it was most acceptable as an occasion of introducing him to her father and mother.” The student decides what Elizabeth is praising. The card must not say whether Wickham’s reason for missing the ball is honest or dishonest.
His restraint for others’ sake. Forbearance means holding back, and his speech ends on the company, not himself: by his own account he stayed away so that a scene would not spoil the ball for everyone. He also tells her unasked, when he could have let the regrets in Meryton stand. On this reading she praises a man who gave up a pleasure to keep the peace.
scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself.
To Elizabeth, however, he voluntarily acknowledged
More than his words hold. His first reason is his own feelings: the meeting “might be more than I could bear”. Staying away spared him as much as anyone. The praise comes on a walk where he “particularly attended to her” and she feels the compliment, and the narrator calls their praise of each other “commendations” given “civilly”. On this reading part of what she approves is the man and his attention to her.
might be more than I could bear,
she felt all the compliment it offered to herself;
A strong answer A strong response names what Elizabeth praises and tests it against his words. One reader finds restraint for others: his speech ends on scenes “unpleasant to more than myself”, and he admits the absence was his own choice when no one asked. Another finds that she praises more than he said: his first reason is what he could “bear”, and her approval comes wrapped in a walk where she “felt all the compliment it offered to herself”. The best answers notice how quickly the account is accepted, a “full discussion” in which no one asks a question, and keep that in mind for the letter that arrives next.
2. Elizabeth hears the start of Caroline’s letter “with all the insensibility of distrust”, before a word about Miss Darcy. Where does her distrust come from?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to look at the moment Elizabeth’s view of the letter is formed. Jane reads aloud: “‘I do not pretend to regret anything I shall leave in Hertfordshire except your society, my dearest friend; but we will hope, at some future period, to enjoy many returns of that delightful intercourse we have known, and in the meanwhile may lessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most unreserved correspondence. I depend on you for that.’” The narrator goes on: “To these high-flown expressions Elizabeth listened with all the insensibility of distrust; and though the suddenness of their removal surprised her, she saw nothing in it really to lament: it was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield would prevent Mr. Bingley’s being there”. Here “insensibility” means being unmoved, not feeling what the words are meant to make her feel. The passage about Georgiana Darcy is still to come. The student decides whether the distrust comes from the words or from what Elizabeth brings to them. The card must not say why Bingley stays in London.
From the words. The letter is warm in a way that does not match the act: a sudden departure, wrapped in “my dearest friend”, “delightful intercourse” and “most unreserved correspondence”. Caroline claims to regret nothing in Hertfordshire but Jane, and in the same breath offers letters in place of a return. The narrator’s “high-flown” is the right name for it, and a careful listener would be cool.
I do not pretend to regret anything I shall leave in Hertfordshire except your society, my dearest friend;
To these high-flown expressions Elizabeth listened with all the insensibility of distrust;
From herself. The distrust is there before the evidence: she hears two sentences and has already decided there is “nothing in it really to lament”, and that Bingley will be at Netherfield whatever his sisters do. Even “high-flown” may be her judgment in the narrator’s voice. On this reading her view of Caroline is settled before the letter is read, and the letter only meets it.
she saw nothing in it really to lament:
it was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield would prevent Mr. Bingley’s being there;
A strong answer A strong response decides where the distrust starts and shows it from the passage. One reader finds it in the words: a sudden removal dressed in “my dearest friend” and “most unreserved correspondence” earns a cool hearing. Another finds it in Elizabeth: after two sentences she sees “nothing in it really to lament” and is sure Bingley will come back, so the verdict is in place before the evidence. The best answers notice what follows either way: if the distrust came first, every later passage will be read through it.
3. Jane is sure the passage about Miss Darcy “expressly” says Caroline does not want her for a sister. How close do Caroline’s own words come to saying that?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to test Jane’s reading against the letter. Caroline writes of “the hope we dare to entertain of her being hereafter our sister”; “My brother admires her greatly already”; “her relations all wish the connection as much as his own”; and ends, “With all these circumstances to favour an attachment, and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many?” Jane asks: “Is it not clear enough? Does it not expressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister; that she is perfectly convinced of her brother’s indifference; and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings for him she means (most kindly!) to put me on my guard. Can there be any other opinion on the subject?” Jane draws three conclusions from the passage. The student decides how close the words come to the first of them. The card must not say why Bingley stays in London or whether he will return.
Very close. A woman who hopes Georgiana Darcy will be “hereafter our sister”, with “nothing to prevent it”, has said as plainly as manners allow that Jane will not be. Caroline writes it to the one person it concerns most, and asks Jane to agree that she is not wrong. Jane is reading the sense of the words, not inventing one.
her being hereafter our sister.
and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane,
Not close. The passage never names Jane as a sister, never says what Bingley feels for her, and never gives a warning. The word “expressly” is Jane’s, for what she has worked out. On this reading Jane also reads under the words; she simply finds a kindness there, “(most kindly!)”, where Elizabeth will find a plan.
Does it not expressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister;
she means (most kindly!) to put me on my guard.
A strong answer A strong response measures the distance between the letter and Jane’s three conclusions. One reader finds it short: hoping Georgiana will be “hereafter our sister”, with “nothing to prevent it”, leaves no room for Jane, and Caroline asks Jane herself to agree. Another finds it long: the passage never mentions Jane as a sister or Bingley’s feelings for her, so “expressly” is Jane’s own inference. The best answers notice that this changes the hinge: if Jane also reads beneath the words, the sisters differ less in method than in the motive each finds there.
4. Jane says Bingley “is his own master”, and Elizabeth thinks he is “so totally independent of everyone”. So what are they disagreeing about?Character
What it asks It asks the student to find the real ground of the quarrel. When Elizabeth says that Miss Bingley does not mean him to come back, Jane answers: “Why will you think so? It must be his own doing; he is his own master.” Elizabeth later argues: “No one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection”, and “you cannot seriously imagine that, because Miss Bingley tells you her brother greatly admires Miss Darcy, he is in the smallest degree less sensible of _your_ merit than when he took leave of you on Tuesday”. Near the end, the narrator says the idea of his returning no more “appeared to her merely the suggestion of Caroline’s interested wishes; and she could not for a moment suppose that those wishes, however openly or artfully spoken, could influence a young man so totally independent of everyone.” Both sisters rest on his freedom and reach opposite ends. The student decides what divides them. The card must not say why Bingley stays in London or whether anyone keeps him there.
They disagree about Caroline. Jane takes the letter’s news as fact, from a friend who is “incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone”. Elizabeth takes it as “Caroline’s interested wishes”. If Caroline is reporting, his freedom means he chose to stay away; if she is wishing, his freedom means he will come back. The quarrel is about the writer.
Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone;
It appeared to her merely the suggestion of Caroline’s interested wishes;
They disagree about his heart. A free man goes where he wants to be, so everything turns on whether he loves Jane. Elizabeth says no one who has seen them together “can doubt his affection”. Jane is not sure, and even at the end “the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope”. The quarrel is about Bingley after all, and about how much Jane dares to believe.
No one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection;
though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope,
A strong answer A strong response names the real ground of the quarrel and shows it from both sisters’ words. One reader finds it in Caroline: Jane hears a report from a friend who cannot deceive, Elizabeth hears “interested wishes”, and the same freedom points opposite ways. Another finds it in Bingley’s heart: Elizabeth is sure of “his affection”, while Jane’s hope keeps giving way to “the diffidence of affection”. The best answers notice what both sisters leave out: neither allows that a free man might still be talked into staying, and the chapter does not settle whether he was.
5. Elizabeth teases Jane: if displeasing his sisters matters more than marrying him, she should refuse him “by all means”. What does that joke get from Jane that Elizabeth’s long argument did not?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Elizabeth’s teasing as a way of helping. When Elizabeth gives her reading of Caroline’s plan “in a few words”, “Jane shook her head.” When she argues it at length, Jane answers, “I know the foundation is unjust.” A little later Jane asks: “But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere?” The answer comes: “You must decide for yourself,” said Elizabeth; “and if, upon mature deliberation, you find that the misery of disobliging his two sisters is more than equivalent to the happiness of being his wife, I advise you, by all means, to refuse him.” “How can you talk so?” said Jane, faintly smiling; “you must know, that, though I should be exceedingly grieved at their disapprobation, I could not hesitate.” Elizabeth: “I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot consider your situation with much compassion.” Jane: “But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be required. A thousand things may arise in six months.” The student decides what the joke wins from Jane, and what it does not. The card must not say whether Bingley will return.
An answer. The argument about Caroline got a shake of the head, then “I know the foundation is unjust.” The joke moves the question from Caroline’s motives, which Jane will not judge, to Jane’s own choice, which she can. Put as a sum, the choice is absurd, and Jane says at once, “I could not hesitate.” She smiles for the first time. On this reading the joke does what the argument could not: it lets Jane find her own mind.
“How can you talk so?” said Jane, faintly smiling;
I could not hesitate.”
A smile, and little more. Jane’s real fear is not the sisters’ dislike but his absence: “my choice will never be required.” The joke answers a question Jane did not need answered, and Elizabeth’s “I cannot consider your situation with much compassion” brushes past the hurt. Jane still has to be “gradually led to hope”. On this reading the teasing is quick and clever, and Jane’s fear is untouched.
But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be required.
I cannot consider your situation with much compassion.”
A strong answer A strong response names what the joke wins and what it leaves. One reader finds it wins an answer: Jane, who met the argument with a shake of the head and “the foundation is unjust”, says “I could not hesitate” and smiles, because the joke asks her about her own choice instead of Caroline’s heart. Another finds it wins only a smile: Jane’s real fear is that “my choice will never be required”, and “I cannot consider your situation with much compassion” passes over it. The best answers notice that the joke quietly sets Caroline aside, so it neither proves nor disproves Elizabeth’s reading of the letter.
1. Wickham’s reason for missing the ball and Caroline’s hopes for Miss Darcy both come unasked, yet Elizabeth trusts him and suspects her. What difference between them, if any, could justify that?
What it asks It asks the student to set the chapter’s two confidences side by side. In Meryton, Wickham “voluntarily acknowledged” to Elizabeth alone that his absence “_had_ been self-imposed”, because meeting Darcy “might be more than I could bear, and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself.” “She highly approved his forbearance”, and “during the walk he particularly attended to her.” In the letter, Caroline writes: “I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject, but I will not leave the country without confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them unreasonable.” Elizabeth hears Caroline’s first lines “with all the insensibility of distrust” and calls her hopes “Caroline’s interested wishes”. The student builds a thesis on whether a real difference between the two confidences could justify Elizabeth’s two responses, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whether Wickham’s reason is honest, or why Bingley stays in London.
There is a real difference. Wickham’s confidence costs him something: he admits a weakness, that the meeting might be “more than I could bear”, and he could have let the town’s regrets stand. Caroline’s confidence costs her nothing and serves her wishes: it is a hope pressed on the one person it ought to discourage, in words the narrator calls “high-flown”. On this reading Elizabeth tests both, and only one passes.
To Elizabeth, however, he voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his absence had been self-imposed.
I will not leave the country without confiding them,
The difference is in Elizabeth. Both speakers volunteer a confidence, and each one shapes how the hearer sees a third person, Darcy or Bingley. Wickham’s gets a “full discussion” of praise and not one question about what he gains. Caroline’s gets a verdict on her motives: Elizabeth is “sure” what Caroline sees, since “she is not such a simpleton.” On this reading one speaker meets her suspicion and the other her goodwill, before either is tested.
She highly approved his forbearance; and they had leisure for a full discussion of it,
Miss Bingley, I am sure, cannot: she is not such a simpleton.
A strong answer A strong thesis names a difference, or denies one, and tests it against both scenes. A student might argue that a confession against one’s own interest deserves more trust: Wickham admits what he could not “bear”, while Caroline’s hope serves only her. The strongest objection is that Wickham’s account also serves him, by placing the trouble at Darcy’s door, and that Elizabeth gives it a “full discussion” of praise while she is “sure” of Caroline’s motives. A good revision might hold that Elizabeth has a reasonable test but applies it in one direction only. The best revisions keep to what the chapter shows, Elizabeth’s two responses, and do not decide whether either speaker is honest.
2. Jane cannot believe Caroline would deceive anyone on purpose, so she hopes Caroline is “deceived herself”. If that is so, what is Jane free to believe about Bingley?
What it asks It asks the student to follow Jane’s hope to its end. After Elizabeth’s account of Caroline’s plan, Jane answers: “If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,” replied Jane, “your representation of all this might make me quite easy. But I know the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone; and all that I can hope in this case is, that she is deceived herself.” Elizabeth takes it up: “That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea, since you will not take comfort in mine: believe her to be deceived, by all means. You have now done your duty by her, and must fret no longer.” Jane’s next words are: “But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere?” At the end she is “gradually led to hope”, “though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope”. The student builds a thesis on what the hope that Caroline is mistaken leaves Jane free to believe about Bingley, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whether Caroline is in fact mistaken or deceiving, why Bingley stays in London, or whether he will return.
A good deal. If Caroline is only mistaken, then what the letter says of Bingley, that he admires Miss Darcy “greatly already” and will be “in no hurry” to leave town, is an honest error, not news. Jane may go on trusting what she saw of him herself. Elizabeth takes the idea up at once, and by the chapter’s end Jane is led to hope. On this reading the idea lets Jane keep her friend and her hope together.
believe her to be deceived, by all means.
and she was gradually led to hope,
Less than it seems. An honest mistake still comes from his own sister, and it leaves Caroline’s wish for Miss Darcy where it was. Jane’s very next question is whether she can be happy with a man whose “sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere”. Even at the end her hope gives way at times to “the diffidence of affection”. On this reading the idea saves Caroline’s honesty and frees Jane very little.
accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere?”
though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope,
A strong answer A strong thesis follows Jane’s hope to what it allows. A student might argue that it frees her a great deal: if Caroline is honestly mistaken, the letter’s picture of Bingley is error rather than news, and Elizabeth at once tells her to “believe her to be deceived, by all means”. The strongest objection is that an honest mistake by his own sister still weighs something, and that it leaves Caroline’s wish for Miss Darcy in place, which is why Jane asks at once about a man whose “sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere”. A good revision might hold that the idea saves Caroline’s honesty first and Jane’s hope only second. The best revisions keep to what Jane can know, and do not decide whether Caroline is right.
3. Jane believes what Caroline’s letter says, and Elizabeth finds a plot under its words. Whose reading of the letter is more convincing?
What it asks It asks the student to judge the two readings of the letter against its words and against each sister’s method. Caroline writes that “as we are certain it cannot be so”, the business will take more than three or four days, that “when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again”, and that she wishes Jane were coming to town, “but of that I despair.” She hopes Georgiana Darcy will be “hereafter our sister”. Jane hears that Caroline “neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister”, and holds that “Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone”. Elizabeth says: “It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean he _should_.” Her account is that “Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you and wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in the hope of keeping him there, and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you.” The same morning she “highly approved” Wickham’s account of his absence. The student builds a thesis on whose reading is more convincing, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say why Bingley stays in London, who if anyone keeps him there, whether he returns, that Darcy has any hand in it, or whether Wickham’s reason is honest.
Elizabeth’s. The letter speaks with odd certainty about other people’s plans: Caroline is “certain” the business will run long and “convinced” he will stay. She closes the door on Jane coming to town before Jane has asked, and she tells Jane, of all people, how much she hopes for Georgiana. A friend reporting news would not need to say so much. Elizabeth reads what the writer wants, and the letter shows a great deal of wanting.
but as we are certain it cannot be so, and at the same time convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again,
It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean he should.
Jane’s. She keeps close to what the letter says and admits what she cannot know. Elizabeth’s plan adds what the letter never mentions, that Bingley is in love and that the family is “not rich enough or grand enough”, and her best proof is a joke about wedding clothes. The same morning she took Wickham’s word without a question, so her suspicion is not a test she gives to everyone. On this reading Jane may be too trusting, but Elizabeth has not shown she is right.
we are not rich enough or grand enough for them;
Could she have seen half as much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes.
A strong answer A strong thesis chooses a reading and tests it against the letter’s phrases. A student might argue for Elizabeth: Caroline is “certain” and “convinced” about plans that are not hers, she shuts the door on Jane before Jane asks, and her hopes for Georgiana are written to the one person they should discourage. The strongest objection is that Elizabeth’s plan adds what the letter never says, rests its proof on a joke, and comes from a reader who took Wickham’s word that same morning without a question. A good revision might hold that Elizabeth reads the letter’s purpose better while Jane reads its words more fairly, and that the chapter sets the two readings side by side without proving either. The best revisions name what each sister could actually know.
Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone;On purpose, knowing what one is doing (from will, with -ful). Jane’s whole reading hangs on this word: Caroline cannot deceive wilfully, so if the letter is wrong, Caroline must be “deceived herself”. The word lets Jane keep her friend and still allow that the letter may not be true.
the misery of disobliging his two sistersDispleasing someone by not doing what they want (dis-, not, with oblige, to do someone a favour). Elizabeth’s mock sum sets the misery of disobliging his sisters against the happiness of being his wife, and the small, polite word makes the sisters’ wishes sound as slight as she thinks they are.
Jane’s temper was not desponding;Losing hope, sinking into low spirits (from Latin despondere, to give up). The narrator says Jane is not by nature desponding, so Elizabeth’s arguments can lead her back to hope; but “the diffidence of affection”, her doubt that she is loved, keeps pulling against it.
The morrow produced no abatement of Mrs. Bennet’s ill humourA lessening; a drop in force or amount (from Old French abatre, to beat down). The day after the proposal, nothing in the house has eased: Mrs. Bennet is as cross as before and Mr. Collins as proud. The calm word makes the sulking sound like weather that will not clear.
and occasionally from some peevish allusion of her mother.Cross and complaining in a small, fretful way (from Middle English pevish, of unknown origin). With the quarrel over the offer nearly at an end, Mrs. Bennet’s displeasure comes out in peevish remarks now and then. The word catches a temper that has sunk from open anger into small, sour asides.