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Pride and Prejudice
Mountaineers · 10th–12th
Elizabeth could not forgive Charlotte for marrying for security, but she wishes Wickham happy as he courts Miss King’s fortune. Why does she judge the two so differently?
The tension Elizabeth had thought Charlotte’s marriage a surrender to worldly advantage; now Wickham courts Miss King for “The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds”, and Elizabeth, “less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s”, finds that “Nothing, on the contrary, could be more natural”.
Mrs. Gardiner’s caution, Charlotte’s wedding and letters from Kent, Jane’s painful visit from Caroline, and Wickham’s turn toward Miss King.
Mrs. Gardiner keeps her resolve and speaks to Elizabeth alone. She has nothing to say against Wickham, but warns her not to encourage an affection that the lack of money would make imprudent, and not to disappoint her father. Elizabeth jokes at first, then tries again: she is not in love with Wickham, though he is the most agreeable man she ever saw; she sees the imprudence; but since young people marry without money every day, she cannot promise to be wiser, only not to be in a hurry. Her aunt suggests she stop reminding her mother to invite him, and they part on good terms, a rare case of such advice taken without resentment. Mr. Collins returns and stays with the Lucases, and Mrs. Bennet grudgingly wishes the couple happy. On the eve of the wedding Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother and moved herself, walks Charlotte downstairs. Charlotte asks her to write often and to visit Hunsford in March with Sir William and Maria, and Elizabeth cannot refuse, though she expects little pleasure in it. After the wedding the friends write as often as before, but no longer openly, and Elizabeth keeps writing for the sake of the old friendship. Charlotte’s letters praise her house, the neighbourhood and Lady Catherine, and Elizabeth decides she must wait for her own visit to know the rest. In London, Jane hears nothing from Caroline Bingley for a week and supposes a letter was lost. She calls in Grosvenor Street and finds Caroline out of spirits but glad to see her; Bingley, Caroline says, is much with Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth is now sure that only an accident will let Bingley know Jane is in town. Four weeks pass without Bingley, and Jane waits a fortnight for Caroline’s return visit, which is short and cold. Jane writes that she was entirely deceived in Caroline, that her trust was as natural as Elizabeth’s suspicion, and that she would be deceived again. She pities Caroline, guesses that anxiety for her brother is the cause, is certain he knows she is in town, and is almost tempted to call it duplicity. Elizabeth is pained, then cheered that Jane will no longer be fooled by the sister. She gives up hope of Bingley and hopes he will marry Miss Darcy, who by Wickham’s account would make him regret it. Wickham, meanwhile, has turned his attentions to Miss King, who has just come into ten thousand pounds. Elizabeth sees it without much pain, believes she would have been his choice had money allowed, and, less clear-sighted perhaps than with Charlotte, thinks his wish natural and wishes him happy. She writes to her aunt that she can never have been much in love, since she does not hate Miss King at all, and that Kitty and Lydia mind more: they have yet to learn that handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain.
Start with one sentence read aloud: “Nothing, on the contrary, could be more natural”. Ask whose thought it is, the narrator’s or Elizabeth’s. Leave it there; why Elizabeth judges Wickham and Charlotte so differently is the written question at the end, and the discussion questions build toward it. As they read, have students mark every place where someone judges another person, and note what the judgment rests on: a letter, a visit, someone else’s account, or a wish. Keep to the chapter. Elizabeth supposes it “cost him a few struggles to relinquish her”; the chapter does not test it, so no answer may say that Wickham never cared for her. Jane is certain that Bingley knows she is in town “from something she said herself”; no answer may say that he knows, or that he chooses not to see her. Charlotte’s letters praise everything, and Elizabeth decides to wait and see; no answer may say that Charlotte is unhappy. Jane’s “anxiety for her brother” is her guess about Caroline, not a fact the narrator confirms. Do not let the class call Elizabeth a hypocrite and stop: the narrator also says her heart was “but slightly touched” and her vanity “satisfied”, and both need weighing. Do not pass over Jane’s letter as sad news; it is her own reasoning about how she was deceived and whether she would be again. Do not skip Mrs. Gardiner’s warning, where money and affection are weighed together and the advice is taken without resentment. And keep the last question on Charlotte and Wickham side by side, as the narrator sets them, rather than on money and marriage in general.
Retell The student retells the chapter in order: Mrs. Gardiner’s warning and Elizabeth’s promise; Mr. Collins’s return and Mrs. Bennet’s grudging good wishes; the farewell on the stairs; the wedding and the changed letters from Kent; Jane’s letters from London, Caroline’s visit, and Jane’s long letter; Elizabeth’s hope about Miss Darcy; Wickham’s turn to Miss King and Elizabeth’s letter to her aunt. Look for a retelling that keeps Jane’s guesses as guesses, and Elizabeth’s belief that she would have been Wickham’s choice as her belief.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two sentences about an invented friendship or plan that has changed. First, one sentence on the model of the first passage’s opening: a plain statement that something goes on as before, a colon, and then a clause beginning with “that” which is itself the subject of a short verdict, as “that it should be equally unreserved” is the subject of “was impossible”. Second, one sentence on the model of the second passage’s opening: a fact, a semicolon and “but”, then a person’s name followed by a comparison set off by commas, as in “Elizabeth, less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s,”, and last the thing the person did not do.
Debate Take sides on the written question. One side argues that partiality explains Elizabeth’s gentleness, and gathers “the most agreeable man I ever saw”, “her vanity was satisfied”, “less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s” and the joke about handsome young men. The other argues that the two cases cost her differently, and gathers “all the comfort of intimacy was over”, “a wise and desirable measure for both”, and her aunt’s warning about “the want of fortune”. Each side must answer the other’s best line. Neither may say that Wickham never cared for her, that Charlotte is unhappy, or that Bingley knows Jane is in town.
Purpose Close on the chapter’s shape. It opens with advice about money and love that is given and taken without resentment, carries three kinds of letter (Charlotte’s, Jane’s, and Elizabeth’s own), and ends on Elizabeth’s joke about what handsome young men must live on. Ask why Austen sets Jane’s long letter about being deceived just before Elizabeth’s cheerful one, and what the first letter prepares the reader to notice in the second.
Easier Read aloud the farewell on the stairs, Jane’s long letter, and the chapter’s last two paragraphs. Make two columns, one for Charlotte’s marriage and one for Wickham’s courtship, and list what each gains and what Elizabeth feels about it. Talk through the questions on Charlotte’s letters and on the reason for Elizabeth’s calm, then answer the last written question aloud before writing it.
On level Talk through all six discussion questions in order, then write both 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 what this chapter shows about the limits of Elizabeth’s judgment, weighing her gentleness to Wickham, what the chapter shows of her feeling about Charlotte’s marriage, and Jane’s letter about being “deceived again”. The essay should meet the objection that Elizabeth judges each case by what it costs her, which is human rather than unfair, and must not say that Wickham never cared for her or that Charlotte is unhappy.
1. Elizabeth asks her aunt, “how am I even to know that it would be wiser to resist?” Does she want an answer?Character
What it asks It asks the student to weigh the question at the centre of Elizabeth’s reply to her aunt’s warning. Mrs. Gardiner has said, “Do not involve yourself, or endeavour to involve him, in an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent.” Elizabeth jokes first, then tries again: “since we see, every day, that where there is affection young people are seldom withheld, by immediate want of fortune, from entering into engagements with each other, how can I promise to be wiser than so many of my fellow-creatures, if I am tempted, or how am I even to know that it would be wiser to resist? All that I can promise you, therefore, is not to be in a hurry.” Here “want of fortune” means lack of money, and “engagements” are promises to marry. Her aunt does not answer the question; she suggests that Elizabeth not “remind” her mother to invite him. The student decides whether Elizabeth is asking a real question. The card does not say that Elizabeth is in love with Wickham; she says, “At present I am not in love with Mr. Wickham”.
No. It is a graceful way out. Her aunt asked her to be on her guard, and the question lets Elizabeth promise less than that: not to resist, only “not to be in a hurry”. She has been joking since her aunt began, and she ends with “I will do my best.” On this reading the question is a dodge, and her aunt treats it as one by turning to something practical.
Seriously, I would have you be on your guard.
In short, I will do my best.
Yes. It is an honest question, and the chapter takes it up. Elizabeth sees young people marry without money “every day”, and she is not sure that holding back is wiser. Money against affection is just what her aunt is weighing, and by the chapter’s end money is Miss King’s “most remarkable charm”. On this reading Elizabeth will not promise to know an answer she does not have.
where there is affection young people are seldom withheld, by immediate want of fortune,
how can I promise to be wiser than so many of my fellow-creatures,
A strong answer A strong response decides whether Elizabeth means her question and rests on her own words. One reader hears a dodge: she has been joking, she promises only “not to be in a hurry”, and her aunt answers with practical advice instead. Another hears an honest doubt: she has seen affection win over money “every day”, and she cannot say which is wiser. The best answers notice that this is the chapter’s question about money and affection, asked out loud near its start, and that by its end Elizabeth will answer it for Wickham.
2. Charlotte asks, “Will you come and see me?” Elizabeth answers, “We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.” What does Charlotte hear in that answer?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to read the farewell on the stairs from Charlotte’s side. The day before the wedding, Elizabeth, “ashamed of her mother’s ungracious and reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affected herself”, walks her friend out. Charlotte says, “I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.” “_That_ you certainly shall.” “And I have another favour to ask. Will you come and see me?” “We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.” “I am not likely to leave Kent for some time. Promise me, therefore, to come to Hunsford.” The narrator adds that Elizabeth “could not refuse, though she foresaw little pleasure in the visit.” Charlotte then names March and the party, and ends, “Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome to me as either of them.” The student decides what Charlotte hears in Elizabeth’s answer. The card does not say that Charlotte is unhappy, or what she knows of Elizabeth’s opinion of her marriage; this chapter does not say.
A polite refusal. Charlotte does not let it pass. She explains that she will not leave Kent, asks for a promise, names a month, and then answers a doubt she has heard: Elizabeth will be as welcome as her own father and sister. On this reading Charlotte reads her friend well, and the narrator confirms what she heard: Elizabeth expects “little pleasure in the visit.”
Promise me, therefore, to come to Hunsford.
Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome to me as either of them.
Only a slip about plans. Elizabeth speaks as if Charlotte will often be home, and Charlotte corrects the fact plainly. She has just been promised letters, warmly, and nothing in her words sounds hurt. On this reading Charlotte is practical, as she always is, and the reluctance lives in Elizabeth alone, where only the narrator can see it.
I am not likely to leave Kent for some time.
“That you certainly shall.”
A strong answer A strong response says what Charlotte hears and rests on what she says next. One reader hears her catch a polite refusal: she presses, asks for a promise, and reassures her friend that she will be welcome. Another hears a practical woman correcting a slip about plans, with the reluctance known only to the narrator. The best answers notice that Elizabeth’s affection and her reluctance sit side by side on these stairs, and that the narrator lets the reader see both.
3. Charlotte’s letters from Kent praise the house, the roads and Lady Catherine. Still, Elizabeth must wait for her own visit “to know the rest.” What could Charlotte have written that Elizabeth would believe?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to test Elizabeth as a reader of her friend’s letters. “Charlotte’s first letters were received with a good deal of eagerness: there could not but be curiosity to know how she would speak of her new home, how she would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would dare pronounce herself to be; though, when the letters were read, Elizabeth felt that Charlotte expressed herself on every point exactly as she might have foreseen. She wrote cheerfully, seemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing which she could not praise.” The letters are “Mr. Collins’s picture of Hunsford and Rosings rationally softened; and Elizabeth perceived that she must wait for her own visit there, to know the rest.” Here “pronounce herself” means call herself, and “rationally softened” means toned down into good sense. The student decides whether any letter could have settled the matter for Elizabeth. The card does not say whether Charlotte is happy or unhappy; the chapter leaves it for the visit.
Nothing she could put in a letter. Before the first one comes, Elizabeth wonders how happy Charlotte will “dare” call herself, so praise reads as courage and cheerfulness as what she “might have foreseen”. On this reading Elizabeth’s view of the marriage was fixed before the letters came, and no letter could reach it.
how happy she would dare pronounce herself to be;
exactly as she might have foreseen.
A letter that was open with her again. What has gone is not happiness but frankness: Charlotte mentions “nothing which she could not praise”, and a letter with no complaint in it tells very little. One honest complaint, about anything at all, might have been easier to believe than all that praise. On this reading Elizabeth is not refusing to believe Charlotte; she is missing the friend who used to tell her everything.
mentioned nothing which she could not praise.
It was Mr. Collins’s picture of Hunsford and Rosings rationally softened;
A strong answer A strong response names a letter Elizabeth could believe, or argues that there is none, and rests on the paragraph’s words. One reader finds her mind made up in advance: the word “dare” comes before the letters, and praise only confirms what she “might have foreseen”. Another finds that what she misses is openness, and that a letter with one honest complaint would have told her more. The best answers notice that she decides to wait and see, and ask whether that waiting is fair to Charlotte or a way of not changing her mind.
4. Jane writes, “If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say, that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this.” She is afraid of judging too harshly, yet she still writes the word “duplicity”. Why does she write it at all?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Jane’s hardest sentence about Caroline Bingley. After a cold, short return visit, Jane writes: “He knows of my being in town, I am certain, from something she said herself; and yet it would seem, by her manner of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herself that he is really partial to Miss Darcy. I cannot understand it. If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say, that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this. I will endeavour to banish every painful thought, and think only of what will make me happy”. Here “duplicity” means double-dealing, saying one thing while meaning another. The letter goes to Elizabeth, the sister Jane has just told “the event has proved you right”. The student decides why Jane puts the word on the page at all. The card does not say why Caroline turned cold, or that Bingley knows Jane is in town; Jane is “certain”, and the chapter gives no more.
To let Elizabeth hear what Jane cannot quite say. She is writing to the sister who suspected Caroline, and she has already granted that Elizabeth was right. The hedges keep Jane’s manners; the word still reaches its reader. Jane has also decided to drop the acquaintance. On this reading she has judged Caroline, and this letter is the one place she can say so.
though the event has proved you right,
there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this.
To set the thought down and leave it there. Each clause steps back from the charge: she is afraid of judging, only “almost tempted”, and sees only an “appearance”. In the next breath she turns to “banish every painful thought”. On this reading Jane names the suspicion so that she need not hold it, and she will not let it harden into a verdict.
I will endeavour to banish every painful thought,
I cannot understand it.
A strong answer A strong response explains why Jane writes the word at all, and rests on the sentence and the letter around it. One reader hears a message to Elizabeth: Jane has granted that “the event has proved you right”, and the hedges let her say what she now thinks while keeping her manners. Another hears a thought written down so it can be put away: every clause steps back, and she turns at once to “banish every painful thought”. The best answers notice that Jane, even now, will not let a suspicion harden into a verdict, and set that care beside the quicker judgments the chapter makes elsewhere.
5. After Jane’s letter, Elizabeth “seriously hoped” Bingley would marry Miss Darcy. From what Wickham has said of her, Miss Darcy would make Bingley regret what he threw away. How serious is that hope?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to read the narrator’s report of Elizabeth’s answer to Jane’s letter. “This letter gave Elizabeth some pain; but her spirits returned, as she considered that Jane would no longer be duped, by the sister at least. All expectation from the brother was now absolutely over. She would not even wish for any renewal of his attentions. His character sunk on every review of it; and, as a punishment for him, as well as a possible advantage to Jane, she seriously hoped he might really soon marry Mr. Darcy’s sister, as, by Wickham’s account, she would make him abundantly regret what he had thrown away.” Here “duped” means fooled, and “renewal of his attentions” means his courting Jane again. The student decides how serious the hope is. The card does not say whether Wickham’s account of Miss Darcy is true, or that Bingley knows Jane is in town and chooses not to see her.
Not very. The wish is anger dressed up as a plan. The phrase “as a punishment for him” comes first, and Jane’s advantage is added after it. The narrator’s “seriously” and “really soon” sound amused. On this reading Elizabeth is letting off steam, and the narrator lets us smile at it.
as a punishment for him, as well as a possible advantage to Jane,
she seriously hoped he might really soon marry
Serious enough to show whom she trusts. Her reasons rest on one man’s word: Miss Darcy will punish Bingley “by Wickham’s account”. In the same sentence Bingley’s character sinks each time she thinks of it, while Wickham’s story is taken whole. On this reading the joke shows where Elizabeth’s trust lies, and that matters for the page that follows.
by Wickham’s account,
His character sunk on every review of it;
A strong answer A strong response judges how serious the hope is and rests on the narrator’s words. One reader hears anger dressed as a plan, with the narrator smiling at “seriously” and “really soon”. Another hears a real wish that rests on Wickham’s word, while Bingley sinks “on every review”. The best answers notice that, half joke or not, the wish shows whose account Elizabeth trusts, just before Wickham himself turns to Miss King.
6. Elizabeth tells her aunt she was never much in love, since she cannot hate Miss King at all. The narrator gives a reason her letter leaves out: her “vanity was satisfied”. Which reason better explains her calm?Character
What it asks It asks the student to weigh two accounts of Elizabeth’s calm when Wickham turns to Miss King. The narrator: “Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it and write of it without material pain. Her heart had been but slightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing that _she_ would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it.” Her letter: “I am now convinced, my dear aunt, that I have never been much in love; for had I really experienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present detest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But my feelings are not only cordial towards _him_, they are even impartial towards Miss King. I cannot find out that I hate her at all”. Here “material” means real or serious, and “impartial” means taking no side. Gutenberg’s underscores mark italics, so the voice leans on “_she_”. The student decides which reason explains her calm. The card does not say that Wickham never cared for her; she supposes it “cost him a few struggles to relinquish her”, and the chapter does not test it.
Her own. The narrator agrees that her heart was only lightly touched, and her letter is cheerful and even generous to Miss King. On this reading she simply was not in love, and her comic test, that she does not hate her rival, comes out right.
Her heart had been but slightly touched,
I cannot find out that I hate her at all,
The narrator’s. Her calm rests on a belief no one has tested: that she would have been his only choice if money had allowed it. Take that belief away and the letter might read differently. Her own test sets love so high that she is sure to pass it. On this reading vanity, not good sense, keeps her calm.
her vanity was satisfied with believing that she would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it.
had I really experienced that pure and elevating passion,
A strong answer A strong response weighs the two reasons and rests on both passages. One reader trusts Elizabeth: the narrator confirms her heart was lightly touched, and her goodwill to Miss King bears it out. Another finds the narrator’s word doing the work: her calm depends on believing “_she_ would have been his only choice”, and her test of love is set where she cannot fail it. The best answers notice that the letter is honest about her heart and silent about her vanity, and ask what that silence means for the judgment she passes on Wickham.
1. Jane admits she was wrong about Caroline, but she writes, “I am sure I should be deceived again.” Is that a failure to learn, or a fair way to judge people?
What it asks It asks the student to judge Jane’s own account of how she was deceived. “My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure, be incapable of triumphing in her better judgment, at my expense, when I confess myself to have been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley’s regard for me. But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do not think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what her behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion. I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate with me; but, if the same circumstances were to happen again, I am sure I should be deceived again.” Later: “She was very wrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say, that every advance to intimacy began on her side.” The narrator tells it differently: for a fortnight Jane was “inventing every evening a fresh excuse” for Caroline, until the cold visit would “allow Jane to deceive herself no longer.” Here “obstinate” means stubborn, and “the event” means the outcome. The student builds a thesis on whether Jane’s “deceived again” is a failure to learn or a fair way to judge people, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say why Caroline turned cold, that Bingley knows Jane is in town, or what Elizabeth’s suspicion rested on; this chapter does not show it.
A failure to learn. The outcome has shown Jane that warm behaviour can hide coldness, and she says she would be fooled the same way again. The narrator does not call her trust natural: Jane spent a fortnight making excuses for Caroline, and the cold visit only stopped her deceiving herself. Even now she finds a kind motive for Caroline. On this reading Jane’s goodness keeps her from seeing people as they are.
inventing every evening a fresh excuse for her,
allow Jane to deceive herself no longer.
A fair way to judge. Jane judged by what Caroline did, and Caroline sought her out. Trusting that was reasonable, and to learn the other lesson she would have to suspect anyone who is kind to her. She has learned about Caroline, and ended the friendship. On this reading she refuses only to learn suspicion, and she knows what that refusal may cost her.
considering what her behaviour was,
every advance to intimacy began on her side.
A strong answer A strong thesis decides whether Jane’s “deceived again” is a failure or a fair way of judging, and argues from her letter. A student might argue it is a failure: the narrator has her “inventing every evening a fresh excuse”, and says the visit would let her “deceive herself no longer”, so the mistake was partly her own. The strongest objection is Jane’s: she judged by Caroline’s behaviour, and “every advance to intimacy began on her side”, so trust was the natural reading of what she saw. A good revision might hold that Jane learned about Caroline but would not learn suspicion, and that the chapter lets the reader weigh what that choice costs her. The best revisions carry the question forward: Elizabeth, who “shook her head” over Jane’s account of her first call on Caroline, is about to judge Wickham.
2. Elizabeth could not forgive Charlotte for marrying for security, but she wishes Wickham happy as he courts Miss King’s fortune. Why does she judge the two so differently?
What it asks It asks the student to set Elizabeth’s two judgments side by side, as the narrator does. Of Wickham and Miss King: “The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering himself agreeable; but Elizabeth, less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s, did not quarrel with him for his wish of independence. Nothing, on the contrary, could be more natural; and, while able to suppose that it cost him a few struggles to relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise and desirable measure for both, and could very sincerely wish him happy.” Here “his wish of independence” means his wish for money enough to live on. Of Charlotte, this chapter gives the farewell, where Elizabeth “foresaw little pleasure in the visit”, and the letters after the wedding, where “all the comfort of intimacy was over”. Elizabeth’s letter to her aunt ends: “handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain.” At the chapter’s start her aunt warned her against “an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent.” The student builds a thesis on why Elizabeth judges the two so differently, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Wickham never cared for her, that Charlotte is unhappy, that Bingley knows Jane is in town, or why Caroline turned cold.
Partiality. Wickham is, in her own words to her aunt, “the most agreeable man I ever saw”, and she has turned his motive into a joke about handsome young men. The narrator marks the gap she cannot see: “less clear-sighted perhaps”. On this reading the same motive is forgiven in the man she likes, and the narrator lets the reader see what Elizabeth does not.
less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s,
handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain.
What each choice costs her. Charlotte’s marriage cost Elizabeth an intimate friend: their letters go on, but the old openness is gone. Wickham’s choice costs her little. It even settles the very imprudence her aunt warned her against, so she can call it wise “for both”. On this reading Elizabeth judges by the effect on her own life, not by the motive, which is a different fault from simple bias, if it is a fault at all.
all the comfort of intimacy was over;
a wise and desirable measure for both,
A strong answer A strong thesis explains the difference and argues from the narrator’s comparison. A student might argue that partiality explains it: Elizabeth forgives in the agreeable Wickham the motive she could not forgive in Charlotte, and the narrator says she is “less clear-sighted perhaps in this case”. The strongest objection is that the cases differ in what they cost her: Charlotte’s marriage ended an intimacy, while Wickham’s choice is, as she says, wise “for both”, and agrees with her aunt’s own advice. A good revision might hold that Elizabeth judges by what each choice does to her, and mistakes that for a judgment of the choice itself. The best revisions keep the narrator’s “perhaps” in view and do not settle for calling her a hypocrite.
that it should be equally unreserved was impossible.Open and frank, holding nothing back (un-, not, and reserved, kept back, from Latin reservare, to keep back). The letters between Elizabeth and Charlotte come as often as ever, but the narrator says it was “impossible” that they should be “equally unreserved”. The word names exactly what the marriage has cost the friendship: not the letters, but the openness in them.
less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s,Able to see a situation as it really is, without being misled by wishes or feelings (clear, and sighted, having sight). The narrator calls Elizabeth “less clear-sighted perhaps” about Wickham than about Charlotte. The word sets her two judgments side by side and says she saw one more clearly than the other; the “perhaps” leaves the reader to decide how much less.
She endeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it;To try hard; to make an earnest effort (from the old French phrase se mettre en devoir, to make it one’s duty). The word comes three times in this chapter, and each time someone is working against a feeling: Mrs. Gardiner warns Elizabeth not to “endeavour to involve him”, Jane “endeavoured to persuade herself” that she did not mind, and her letter promises to “endeavour to banish every painful thought”. Where it appears, ease is being worked at.
where there is affection young people are seldom withheld, by immediate want of fortune, from entering into engagements with each other,Held back from doing something (with-, back or against, and held). Elizabeth tells her aunt that young people in love are “seldom withheld” by lack of money from promising to marry. The word makes poverty a hand that tries to hold people back, and her point is that it rarely manages to. She is describing what usually happens, not what is wise, and that is the gap her aunt is asking her to mind.
Lady Catherine’s behaviour was most friendly and obliging.Ready to do favours and kindnesses; helpful and accommodating (from oblige, to bind someone by a favour, from Latin obligare, to bind). Charlotte’s letters call Lady Catherine “most friendly and obliging”. It is a word of praise from letters that mention “nothing which she could not praise”, and it tells how Lady Catherine treats Charlotte, not what Charlotte feels.