Chapter 22 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to weigh the chapter’s first account of Charlotte’s plan. Elizabeth thanks her: “It keeps him in good humour,” said she, “and I am more obliged to you than I can express.” The narrator goes on: “This was very amiable; but Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of:--its object was nothing less than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them towards herself. Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme;” The student decides whom the kindness serves. The card must not say that Charlotte feels love or contempt for Mr. Collins.

One reading

For Charlotte. The narrator lets “kindness” stand for one sentence, and the next sentence calls the same thing a “scheme”. The plan works “by engaging them towards herself”: his attentions, and in the end a husband, come to her. On this reading sparing Elizabeth is a by-product, and “kindness” names only the part Elizabeth can see.

• Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme;
• by engaging them towards herself.

Another reading

For Elizabeth too. The narrator names the object as “to secure her”, Elizabeth, from his “addresses”. Charlotte tells her friend she is glad to be “useful”, and the narrator calls that “very amiable” before saying what it leaves out. A return of his addresses would trouble Elizabeth, and Charlotte takes that trouble away. On this reading one act serves both women, and “kindness” is half true.

• its object was nothing less than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses,
• Charlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful,

Listen for

• Notices that Elizabeth thanks Charlotte before the reader learns what the listening is for.
• Weighs “kindness” against “scheme”: whether the narrator means both, or uses one to smile at the other.
• Notices that the narrator calls Charlotte’s answer “very amiable” before saying what it leaves out.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say Charlotte loves or despises Mr. Collins.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth thank Charlotte for?
• What does the narrator say the listening was for?
• Who gains if the plan works?

A strong answer A strong response decides whom the kindness serves and tests the word against the sentence that follows it. One reader finds it serves Charlotte: in one breath the narrator turns “kindness” into a “scheme”, and the plan draws his attentions “towards herself”. Another finds it serves both: its stated object is “to secure her”, meaning Elizabeth, and the narrator calls Charlotte’s answer to Elizabeth’s thanks “very amiable”. The best answers notice what the opening does to the rest of the chapter: before Elizabeth calls the match a disgrace, the reader has watched her thank Charlotte for its first step.

What it asks It asks the student to place Charlotte in the comedy of the courtship. The narrator says Charlotte “did injustice to the fire and independence of his character; for it led him to escape out of Longbourn House the next morning with admirable slyness, and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw himself at her feet.” Then: “Miss Lucas perceived him from an upper window as he walked towards the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane. But little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there.” The engagement is settled “In as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow”, and “the lady felt no inclination to trifle with his happiness. The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained.” The student decides whether the joke falls on Charlotte as well as on Mr. Collins, or whether she sees what the narrator sees. The card must not say that the narrator condemns or approves Charlotte, or that she loves or despises Mr. Collins.

One reading

On her too. The narrator gives Charlotte a heroine’s lines: she had hardly “dared to hope” for “so much love and eloquence”, and she will not “trifle with his happiness”. Her motive gets the grand words “pure and disinterested” for a plain wish for “an establishment”. On this reading the comedy does not stop at him: she is cast as the heroine of a romance whose only aim is a home.

• But little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there.
• the lady felt no inclination to trifle with his happiness.

Another reading

In on it. The sharpest jokes all land on him: his “fire and independence”, his “admirable slyness”, his “long speeches”, his “stupidity”. Charlotte wants the engagement short for the very reason the narrator gives, that nothing in his courtship could make a woman wish it longer. On this reading she sees Mr. Collins as plainly as the narrator does, and the only one in the lane who misses the joke is Mr. Collins.

• The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance;
• cared not how soon that establishment were gained.

Listen for

• Hears the romance words in the narrator’s voice: “throw himself at her feet”, “so much love and eloquence”, “the happiest of men”.
• Sorts the jokes by whom they fall on: “fire and independence” on him, “dared to hope” on her, or on both.
• Weighs “pure and disinterested”: grand words for a plain wish, or an exact account of a motive with no pretence in it.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say Charlotte loves or despises Mr. Collins, or that the narrator condemns or approves her.

If stuck

• How does the narrator describe Mr. Collins slipping out of Longbourn?
• Why does Charlotte not care how soon the wedding comes?
• Who in this scene sees Mr. Collins most clearly?

A strong answer A strong response decides where Charlotte stands in the comedy of the courtship and tests it line by line. One reader finds the joke reaching her: the narrator gives her a heroine’s part, hardly having “dared to hope” for “so much love and eloquence” and unwilling to “trifle with his happiness”, and calls a wish for “an establishment” “pure and disinterested”. Another finds her in on it: the sharpest jokes, from “fire and independence” to the “stupidity with which he was favoured by nature”, fall on him, and she wants the engagement short for the reason the narrator gives. The best answers notice how close the narrator’s view of Mr. Collins comes to Charlotte’s own, and carry it forward: if she sees him as the reader does, then whatever Elizabeth decides at the end, she is judging a choice made with open eyes.

What it asks It asks the student to set the family’s joy beside Charlotte’s private thoughts. The narrator says: “Mr. Collins’s present circumstances made it a most eligible match for their daughter, to whom they could give little fortune; and his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair.” Then “Lady Lucas began directly to calculate”, with more interest than ever before, “how many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live”, and Sir William thinks that when Mr. Collins has the Longbourn estate, “it would be highly expedient that both he and his wife should make their appearance at St. James’s.” The younger girls hope to come out sooner, and “the boys were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid.” Charlotte’s reflections follow: marriage “was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and, however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained;” The student decides how close the two sums are. The card must not say whether Charlotte will be happy.

One reading

Close. Both sums start from money: Sir William and Lady Lucas “could give little fortune”, and Charlotte’s own words for marriage are a “provision” and a “preservative from want”. Her mother counts Mr. Bennet’s years; Charlotte counts her own, twenty-seven, and her looks. On this reading the match answers the same need in the daughter’s head as in the mother’s, in quieter words.

• to whom they could give little fortune;
• This preservative she had now obtained;

Another reading

Far apart. Sir William and Lady Lucas count gains: an estate to come and a court appearance. Charlotte’s reflections never mention the Longbourn estate or St. James’s. She counts what the match saves her from, “want”, and she names what it lacks: a husband “neither sensible nor agreeable” and a state “uncertain of giving happiness”. On this reading her mother’s sum is about rising, and Charlotte’s is about not falling.

• it would be highly expedient that both he and his wife should make their appearance at St. James’s.
• however uncertain of giving happiness,

Listen for

• Notices that Charlotte’s reflections never name the Longbourn estate or St. James’s.
• Weighs “provision” and “preservative from want” against Lady Lucas’s calculating and Sir William’s plans.
• Notices that Charlotte counts the costs to herself, and her family counts none.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say whether the marriage will make her happy.

If stuck

• What is Lady Lucas counting?
• What does Charlotte say marriage keeps a woman from?
• Does Charlotte think about the Longbourn estate at all?

A strong answer A strong response sets the two sums side by side. One reader finds them close: both begin from a daughter with “little fortune”, and Charlotte’s own words, “provision” and “preservative”, are the language of accounts. Another finds them far apart: her mother and father count what the match will win, an estate and a court appearance, while Charlotte counts what it saves her from and names its costs as she goes. The best answers notice that the family’s joy is loud and comic, while Charlotte’s satisfaction is “in general”, which leaves room for what is not satisfactory.

What it asks It asks the student to hear the chapter’s anchor line in its paragraph. “Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She had gained her point, and had time to consider of it. Her reflections were in general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable: his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband.” The next sentence begins: “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object”. Here “tolerably” means fairly, to a limited degree. The student decides the tone of the line. The card must not say that Charlotte loves or despises Mr. Collins, or whether she will be happy.

One reading

With satisfaction. The sentence is short and firm after the list, and “still” sets the faults aside as not counting. The paragraph frames it: she has “gained her point”, and marriage “had always been her object”. On this reading the line is a woman checking her sum and finding it right.

• She had gained her point, and had time to consider of it.
• marriage had always been her object:

Another reading

With a sigh. The word “still” holds on in spite of something, and the something is heavy: a man whose society is “irksome” and whose attachment “must be imaginary”. Her reflections satisfy only “in general”, and she is only “tolerably” composed. On this reading the line admits the cost even as it accepts it.

• Charlotte herself was tolerably composed.
• Her reflections were in general satisfactory.

Listen for

• Reads the line aloud more than one way and lets the paragraph decide between them.
• Notices the small qualifiers around it: “tolerably composed”, “in general satisfactory”, “to be sure”.
• Hears “husband” as a place she has gained, apart from the man she has just described.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say she loves or despises him.

If stuck

• What faults does Charlotte find in Mr. Collins?
• Which word turns the sentence after the list?
• Is she pleased, sad, or something in between when she thinks it?

A strong answer A strong response chooses a way of hearing the line and defends it from the paragraph around it. One reader hears satisfaction: the sentence is short and final, she has “gained her point”, and marriage “had always been her object”. Another hears a sigh: the faults are real and named, and her composure and satisfaction come with “tolerably” and “in general” attached. The best answers notice that the line separates the man from the place of husband, and ask whether Elizabeth, at the end, can see that separation at all.

What it asks It asks the student to test Charlotte’s answer against Elizabeth’s mind. The narrator says: “The possibility of Mr. Collins’s fancying himself in love with her friend had once occurred to Elizabeth within the last day or two: but that Charlotte could encourage him seemed almost as far from possibility as that she could encourage him herself”. Elizabeth cries, “Engaged to Mr. Collins! my dear Charlotte, impossible!” Charlotte’s “steady countenance” gives way to “a momentary confusion”, and then she answers: “Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza? Do you think it incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s good opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with you?” Later she adds, “you must be surprised, very much surprised, so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you.” Alone, Elizabeth finds that “The strangeness of Mr. Collins’s making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted.” The student decides whether Charlotte has found the root of the shock. The card must not say that the friendship is broken.

One reading

Partly right. Elizabeth’s own refusal is the measure she uses: Charlotte encouraging him seems as unlikely “as that she could encourage him herself”. A woman who turned a man down within the week is not a neutral judge of the woman who took him. Charlotte names this twice, the second time gently. On this reading she sees her friend clearly, even while she is hurt.

• seemed almost as far from possibility as that she could encourage him herself;
• so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you.

Another reading

Wrong. Elizabeth is not shocked that any woman could like him; she is shocked that Charlotte could. Her thoughts afterwards are all about her friend, “a friend disgracing herself”, and she puts his two offers aside as “nothing in comparison”. On this reading Charlotte’s question turns a judgment of her choice into a matter of Elizabeth’s pride, which is easier to answer.

• The strangeness of Mr. Collins’s making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted.
• And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself,

Listen for

• Notices that Elizabeth measures Charlotte by herself: “as that she could encourage him herself”.
• Hears Charlotte’s question as a defence, a reproach in return, or a fair point, and says which.
• Notices the “momentary confusion” before she answers, and that the reproach was “no more than she expected”.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say the friendship is over.

If stuck

• What does Charlotte remind Elizabeth of?
• Whom does Elizabeth compare Charlotte with in her own mind?
• What is Elizabeth most upset about once she is alone?

A strong answer A strong response decides whether Charlotte has found the root of the shock. One reader finds she has, in part: Elizabeth measures Charlotte’s choice against her own refusal, and Charlotte names that twice. Another finds she has not: once alone, Elizabeth grieves for a friend, not for her own pride, and calls his two offers “nothing in comparison”. The best answers notice that Elizabeth’s refusal is the ground of everything she feels here, whether or not it is the cause, and keep it in mind when they weigh her final verdict.

What it asks It asks the student to test the claim at the centre of Charlotte’s reasoning. “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object: it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and, however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.” Around it the chapter sets her mother and father, “to whom they could give little fortune”; her brothers, “relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid”; her age, “twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome”; and her friend, who has just refused the same man: since “the adventure of Wednesday” Mr. Collins has been “comparatively diffident”. The sentence sits inside Charlotte’s reflections, and the student may ask whose judgment it is. The student builds a thesis on how far the chapter bears out the “only”, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that the narrator condemns or approves Charlotte, or whether she will be happy.

One reading

Very much. The chapter shows no other road for her. Her mother and father can give “little fortune”; her brothers have feared she would die “an old maid”, and the family treats her marriage as a weight lifted; at twenty-seven and never handsome, she has no other offer the chapter mentions. On this reading the “only” describes the world around her as the Lucases live in it.

• the boys were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid.
• at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome,

Another reading

Less than it claims. The word “only” is Charlotte’s, and the same sentence calls marriage the “pleasantest” guard against want, which grants that other, harder roads exist. The chapter also glances at one: Mr. Collins is “comparatively diffident” after “the adventure of Wednesday”, which is Elizabeth’s refusal of him. On this reading the chapter shows that a woman could refuse him; what it cannot show is what refusing would have cost Charlotte.

• must be their pleasantest preservative from want.
• he was comparatively diffident since the adventure of Wednesday.

Listen for

• Separates what the chapter shows of the Lucases’ means from what Charlotte concludes from them.
• Notices “honourable”: the claim is not that marriage is the only way to live, but the only respectable one.
• Weighs “pleasantest” as a word that admits worse roads.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say whether she will be happy.

If stuck

• What does Charlotte say marriage protects a woman from?
• What did her brothers fear would happen to her?
• Who has just said no to the same man?

A strong answer A strong thesis takes a view of the “only” and tests it against the chapter’s picture of the Lucases. A student might argue that the chapter bears it out: “little fortune”, an age of twenty-seven and brothers relieved she will not die “an old maid” leave no other respectable road in sight. The strongest objection is that “only” is Charlotte’s own word for a choice already made, that “pleasantest” admits other roads, and that Elizabeth has just refused the same man. A good revision might hold that the chapter makes the “only” believable for Charlotte without proving it for every woman. The best revisions keep to what the chapter shows rather than to what the student knows of history.

What it asks It asks the student to test Elizabeth’s charge against the scene where the two friends meet. Charlotte had resolved “to give her the information herself”, and comes the next morning to do it. After Elizabeth’s cry she “soon regained her composure”. Later she says, “I see what you are feeling,” and hopes that in time Elizabeth “will be satisfied with what I have done.” Elizabeth, “making a strong effort for it,” assures her “with tolerable firmness” that she wishes her “all imaginable happiness”, and at the end answers only “undoubtedly;” before “an awkward pause”. Alone afterwards, she decides that Charlotte has “sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage.” The student builds a thesis on which friend shows more good feeling in the talk, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that the friendship is broken, that Charlotte loves or despises Mr. Collins, or that the narrator condemns or approves either woman.

One reading

Charlotte. She brings the news herself, regains her calm after “impossible!”, and puts her friend’s feelings into words for her. She hopes only that Elizabeth will one day be “satisfied”. Elizabeth manages a wish by “strong effort”, then a single “undoubtedly”. On this reading the friend who keeps her better feelings in the talk is the one Elizabeth will accuse of giving them up.

• I see what you are feeling,
• I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done.

Another reading

Elizabeth. Her cry is astonishment, not unkindness, and she mends it at once with a wish for her friend’s happiness. That wish is hard won, while Charlotte’s calm is prepared: the reproach was “no more than she expected”. On this reading good feeling shows most where it is hardest to hold, and Elizabeth holds it until she is alone.

• making a strong effort for it, was able to assure her, with tolerable firmness,
• and that she wished her all imaginable happiness.

Listen for

• Judges each friend by what she does in the talk, not by Elizabeth’s thoughts afterwards.
• Notices that Charlotte comes to tell Elizabeth herself, as she had resolved to.
• Weighs Elizabeth’s “strong effort” against Charlotte’s calm, and asks which is harder won.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say the friendship is over.

If stuck

• What does Charlotte say she can see in Elizabeth?
• What does Elizabeth have to work hard to say?
• Which of them has had time to get ready for this talk?

A strong answer A strong thesis names a friend and argues from the talk, not from the verdict that follows it. A student might argue for Charlotte: she brings the news herself, regains her composure after “impossible!”, names her friend’s feelings and hopes only that Elizabeth will in time be “satisfied”. The strongest objection is that calm comes easily to someone who “expected” the reproach, while Elizabeth, taken by surprise, mends her outburst by “strong effort” and wishes her friend “all imaginable happiness”. A good revision might hold that both friends act well in the room, and that the harsh judgment comes later, when Elizabeth is alone; that leaves the student asking how much weight a verdict made alone should carry. The best revisions do not say the friendship is broken.

What it asks It asks the student to judge Charlotte’s choice against both accounts the chapter gives of it. In her own mind, the match is “in general satisfactory”: Mr. Collins is “neither sensible nor agreeable”, “But still he would be her husband.” Marriage is “the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune” and “their pleasantest preservative from want”, and at twenty-seven “she felt all the good luck of it.” She tells Elizabeth: “I am not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and, considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.” In Elizabeth’s mind, Charlotte has “sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage”, and “Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Collins, was a most humiliating picture!” Between them stand her plan, carried out from the window to the lane, and her family’s joy and calculations. The student builds a thesis on whether the choice is a defeat or a fair bargain, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whether Charlotte will be happy or miserable, that the narrator condemns or approves her, that the friendship is broken, or that she loves or despises Mr. Collins.

One reading

A fair bargain. Charlotte knows exactly what she gets and what she gives: a man “neither sensible nor agreeable”, for “a comfortable home” and safety from “want”. She planned the match, carried it out herself, and asks of it only what it can give. Her measure of happiness is honest and modest, “as fair as most people can boast”. On this reading a bargain made with open eyes, on terms she sets out for herself, is not a defeat.

• I ask only a comfortable home;
• I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.

Another reading

A defeat. The terms were set by her world, not by Charlotte: if marriage is “the only honourable provision” for a woman of “small fortune”, she had no real choice to make. She takes a man she thinks “neither sensible nor agreeable” because she is twenty-seven and her family can give her little. Elizabeth’s “humiliating” names what the bargain asks. On this reading a defeat can be calm and well managed and still be a defeat.

• neither sensible nor agreeable: his society was irksome,
• Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Collins, was a most humiliating picture!

Listen for

• Separates the narrator’s account of Charlotte’s reasons from Elizabeth’s verdict, and takes neither as the chapter’s last word.
• Argues from what Charlotte weighs (her age, her looks, her fortune, “want”), not from a general rule about love and money.
• Asks whether a choice can be fair in its terms and a defeat in what forced those terms.
• Keeps to the chapter: it does not say whether Charlotte will be happy.

If stuck

• What does Charlotte get, and what does she give?
• Who set the terms of the bargain: Charlotte, or her circumstances?
• Why might Elizabeth see it so differently from Charlotte?

A strong answer A strong thesis takes a side and argues from Charlotte’s own reckoning, not from a general rule about love and money. A student might argue for a fair bargain: she weighs his faults openly, plans the match herself, and claims for it only “a comfortable home” and a chance of happiness “as fair as most people can boast”. The strongest objection is that her circumstances set the terms, “small fortune”, her age and “the only honourable provision”, so her calm may be the calm of someone with no other road, and Elizabeth’s “most humiliating picture” names that. A good revision might hold that the bargain is fair as bargains go and still a loss when measured by the “better feeling” Elizabeth thinks it costs. The best revisions notice that the chapter ends on Elizabeth’s conviction, coloured by her shock and her own refusal, and not on any married life.