Chapter 30 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to weigh Charlotte’s choice of room. “The room in which the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth at first had rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining parlour for common use; it was a better sized room, and had a pleasanter aspect: but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for what she did, for Mr. Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment had they sat in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for the arrangement.” Mr. Collins’s own room is his “book room, which fronted the road.” Here “backwards” means at the back of the house, “aspect” means outlook, “apartment” means room, and “lively” means cheerful. The student decides who gains more from the plan, the wife who made it or the husband it was made around. The card keeps to what the chapter shows: the rooms, the road and Elizabeth’s credit. Charlotte says nothing in it about her marriage.

One reading

Charlotte. She gives up the better room and its view, and she gets long, quiet days: he now spends most of the time “between breakfast and dinner” in the garden or the book room. Elizabeth, who knows her best, sees “an excellent reason” and gives her credit. On this reading the back room buys Charlotte peace and the “half hours of pleasant conversation” with her friend, and costs her only a view of the lane.

• for Mr. Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment had they sat in one equally lively;
• there were half hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte,

Another reading

Her husband. He gets the room that fronts the road, and with it the whole lane. The ladies “could distinguish nothing”, so every carriage reaches them through him, and he “never failed” to bring the news in. On the one morning that matters, Charlotte sees the gentlemen coming only because she is in his room. On this reading the plan keeps him out of her way, and keeps her out of the world.

• were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge of what carriages went along,
• Charlotte had seen them from her husband’s room,

Listen for

• Notices that the back room has no view of the lane, so the ladies learn of every carriage from Mr. Collins.
• Notices where Charlotte is when she sees the gentlemen coming: in her husband’s room.
• Weighs Elizabeth’s credit beside her own relief: she is “thankful” that Sir William’s going has not brought them more of her cousin.
• Keeps to what the chapter shows, and does not put words about her marriage into Charlotte’s mouth.

If stuck

• Which room do the ladies sit in, and which room does Mr. Collins use?
• What can each room see?
• Where is Charlotte when she sees the gentlemen crossing the road?

A strong answer A strong response chooses and rests the choice on the paragraph about the rooms. One reader finds Charlotte the winner: a view traded for long, quiet days, and Elizabeth’s credit to show the plan works. Another finds that the trade also hands her husband the road and all its news, so that on the morning that matters she sees the gentlemen coming only from his room. The best answers notice how exactly Charlotte has read her husband, and keep that skill in mind when she reads Darcy’s call at the end of the chapter.

What it asks It asks the student to read Charlotte’s visits to Rosings through Elizabeth’s eyes, and then without them. “Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours.” Here a “living” is a church post with a house and an income, given by a patron such as Lady Catherine; “disposed of” means given away; and “likewise” means as well. Elizabeth’s guess is that the visits keep the Collinses in favour with a woman who may have more such posts to give. The word “sacrifice” is Elizabeth’s, in the narrator’s telling; Charlotte says nothing about the visits in this chapter. The student decides whether Charlotte would count the hours as a cost. The card does not settle what Charlotte wants; the chapter gives only Elizabeth’s guess.

One reading

Yes, and a sacrifice made on purpose. She does not go for pleasure: she goes because she thinks it “necessary”. Elizabeth’s guess gives the visits a purpose, favour with the woman who has church posts to give. The friend who placed the ladies’ room so as to keep her husband busy elsewhere can spend her own hours to keep her household in favour. On this reading Elizabeth reads Charlotte rightly: the hours are a price, and Charlotte pays it with her eyes open.

• not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise;
• that there might be other family livings to be disposed of,

Another reading

No. “Sacrifice” is the word of the woman who spends those same hours in the grove, out of Lady Catherine’s reach. Charlotte shows no wish to be out of it. When the gentlemen come from Rosings, she runs to tell the girls “what an honour” they may expect. On this reading Rosings is part of the settled life Charlotte has made, and the word tells more about Elizabeth’s taste than about her friend.

• where she felt beyond the reach of Lady Catherine’s curiosity.
• told the girls what an honour they might expect,

Listen for

• Notices that “sacrifice” is Elizabeth’s word, and that Charlotte never speaks of the visits.
• Weighs “think it necessary”: Charlotte goes from duty, or from what she counts as duty.
• Sets the walks to Rosings beside Elizabeth’s grove, where she goes “while the others were calling on Lady Catherine”.
• Notices how Charlotte speaks of notice from Rosings at the end of the chapter: “what an honour they might expect”.

If stuck

• How often does Charlotte go to Rosings?
• What reason for the visits does Elizabeth finally think of?
• Where does Elizabeth go while the others call on Lady Catherine?

A strong answer A strong response takes a side and rests it on the sentence about the walks to Rosings. One reader finds a real sacrifice, made with care: Charlotte goes because she thinks it “necessary”, and the woman who arranged the rooms around her husband can arrange her days around Lady Catherine. Another hears Elizabeth’s word, not Charlotte’s: Elizabeth spends those hours in the grove, out of Lady Catherine’s reach, while Charlotte greets notice from Rosings as an honour. The best answers notice that Elizabeth is reading a friend’s visits for a hidden reason, which is what both women do with Darcy’s call at the end of the chapter.

What it asks It asks the student to read Lady Catherine’s mood before her nephew arrives. “Elizabeth had heard, soon after her arrival, that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a few weeks; and though there were not many of her acquaintance whom she did not prefer, his coming would furnish one comparatively new to look at in their Rosings parties, and she might be amused in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley’s designs on him were, by his behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined by Lady Catherine, who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction, spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration, and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.” Here “Miss Lucas” is Charlotte before her marriage and “herself” is Elizabeth; “designs” means hopes or plans, and “destined” means intended. The student decides why their earlier meetings with Darcy should vex her. The card must not say that Darcy means to marry Miss De Bourgh; the chapter says only that he “was evidently destined” for her “by Lady Catherine”.

One reading

Darcy is her news, and she wants to be the one to give it. She talks of his coming “with the greatest satisfaction” and praises him “in terms of the highest admiration”. In her parish every concern is carried to her, and she is the one who knows. Two guests who have met him often already take the telling out of her hands. On this reading she is vexed the way a hostess is vexed when her surprise is spoiled.

• who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction,
• spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration,

Another reading

She has plans for him. He is “evidently destined” for her daughter, plainly enough that a guest can see it within a fortnight. Young women who already know him well stand outside that plan, and she cannot arrange what has already happened. On this reading her anger is a fence put up around her nephew.

• for whom he was evidently destined by Lady Catherine,
• he had already been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.

Listen for

• Notices that “evidently destined” is Lady Catherine’s plan as Elizabeth reads it, not Darcy’s.
• Notices “almost”: the narrator stops just short of calling it anger.
• Connects her mood to what follows: the morning after he arrives, Darcy is sitting in the Parsonage parlour.
• Does not say that Darcy means to marry his cousin.

If stuck

• How does Lady Catherine speak of Darcy before he comes?
• Who are “Miss Lucas and herself”?
• What does Lady Catherine plan for Darcy, as Elizabeth sees it?

A strong answer A strong response names a cause for the anger and rests it on the long sentence about his coming. One reader finds a hostess whose great news has been spoiled, in a parish where she is used to being the one who knows. Another finds a plan for her daughter, and a guard against young women outside it. The best answers notice that both readings make Darcy part of Lady Catherine’s settled world, and that within a day of his arrival he is calling on the very women she was almost angry about.

What it asks It asks the student to read Elizabeth’s first greeting. Charlotte has just said, “I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.” Then: “Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment before their approach was announced by the door-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room.” Darcy “paid his compliments, with his usual reserve, to Mrs. Collins”, and “Elizabeth merely courtesied to him, without saying a word.” Here “wait upon” means call on, “disclaim” means deny, and “courtesied” is the old spelling of curtsied. The student decides whom her silence is aimed at: Darcy, Charlotte and the room, or no one at all. The card must not say that Darcy had a part in keeping Bingley from Jane; Elizabeth suspects it, and the chapter confirms nothing.

One reading

Darcy. Jane is on her mind: when she says more to him than the usual reply, it is about her sister, and only to see how he takes it. A curtsey with no word is the least a guest can give and still be civil. On this reading her silence is a cold greeting, held back on purpose from a man she suspects.

• after a moment’s pause, added,--
• My eldest sister has been in town these three months.

Another reading

Charlotte, and the room. Charlotte has just credited her with the call, and the bell rang almost before Elizabeth could deny it. Any warm word to Darcy now, in front of Charlotte, would seem to accept the compliment after all. On this reading the silence completes the denial she barely had time to make.

• Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.
• before their approach was announced by the door-bell,

Listen for

• Notices what comes just before: Charlotte’s compliment, and no time to answer it.
• Weighs “merely”: the narrator marks the curtsey as less than a greeting might be.
• Sets her silence beside Darcy’s greeting to Mrs. Collins, which is reserved but still spoken.
• Does not say that Darcy had a part in parting Bingley and Jane.

If stuck

• What has Charlotte just said when the gentlemen come in?
• What does Elizabeth do when Darcy greets her?
• When Elizabeth finally speaks to him, what does she talk about?

A strong answer A strong response names whom the silence is for and rests the choice on what comes just before it. One reader finds it aimed at Darcy, a cool greeting from a woman whose one real remark to him is a test about her sister. Another finds it aimed at the room: Charlotte has just credited Elizabeth with the call, and silence is the surest way to refuse the credit. The best answers notice that either way the silence is a choice, and that two women in the same room are already reading the call differently.

What it asks It asks the student to judge Darcy’s manners by the measure the narrator gives his cousin. “Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was about thirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman.” And later: “Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly, with the readiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked very pleasantly; but his cousin, after having addressed a slight observation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins, sat for some time without speaking to anybody. At length, however, his civility was so far awakened as to inquire of Elizabeth after the health of her family.” Here “person” means bearing and figure, “address” means manner with people, and “well-bred” means brought up to good manners. The student decides how Darcy measures up. The card does not say why Darcy called; the narrator gives no motive.

One reading

Badly. The measure is “address”, and the Colonel shows what it looks like: he talks “directly”, with ease, and “very pleasantly”. Darcy offers one “slight observation” and then sits silent. His civility has to be “awakened”, and only after a long silence. On this reading, beside his cousin, Darcy fails the very test that makes a plain man a gentleman.

• with the readiness and ease of a well-bred man,
• At length, however, his civility was so far awakened

Another reading

Better than he looks. Nothing he does is wrong. He greets his hostess first, speaks to her of her house and garden, meets Elizabeth “with every appearance of composure”, and asks after her family. On this reading he does all that a gentleman must, and the Colonel’s ease only makes correct manners look cold.

• met her with every appearance of composure.
• to inquire of Elizabeth after the health of her family.

Listen for

• Notices that the measure sets looks aside: “not handsome, but”.
• Separates what Darcy does from how he does it: each duty done, but slowly.
• Notices that of everyone in the room, the one Darcy finally asks a question of is Elizabeth.
• Does not say why Darcy called.

If stuck

• What does Colonel Fitzwilliam do as soon as he sits down?
• What does Darcy say, and to whom?
• What does “address” mean in the Colonel’s description?

A strong answer A strong response judges Darcy by the Colonel’s measure and keeps to the parlour. One reader finds him failing it: one slight remark, a long silence, and civility that has to be “awakened”. Another finds every duty done, from the compliments to Mrs. Collins to the question about Elizabeth’s family, and blames the comparison for making him look cold. The best answers notice that Austen puts the two cousins in one small room, so that Darcy’s silence is heard against the Colonel’s talk.

What it asks It asks the student to judge Elizabeth’s test. “My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Have you never happened to see her there?” Then: “She was perfectly sensible that he never had: but she wished to see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had passed between the Bingleys and Jane; and she thought he looked a little confused as he answered that he had never been so fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet. The subject was pursued no further, and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away.” Here “in town” means in London, “perfectly sensible” means fully aware, and “betray any consciousness” means let slip that he knew something. The prompt’s “gives something away” is a plain way of saying “betray”; it does not say he has anything to give away. “Fair” can mean fair to Darcy, or fair as a way of finding out, a test whose result was not settled before it began; the student may take up either sense or both. The student builds a thesis on whether the test is a fair way to the truth, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Darcy knows Jane is in London or had any part in keeping Bingley from her; Elizabeth reads confusion in his face, and the chapter confirms nothing.

One reading

Fair. She says nothing false: Jane has been in town three months, and asking a guest whether he has seen her there is plain small talk. Because she knows the answer, a man with nothing on his mind can simply say no, and Darcy does. The question accuses him of nothing, and after his answer the subject is “pursued no further”. On this reading it is the only test a guest can make in someone else’s parlour, and a gentle one: it gives him every chance to pass.

• Have you never happened to see her there?
• The subject was pursued no further,

Another reading

Not fair. It is a trap: she asks in order to watch his face, not to hear his answer. She knows what she is looking for before she asks, and the only judge of the result is the woman who set the test. What she finds is what “she thought” she saw, and only “a little”. Darcy cannot answer a charge that is never spoken. On this reading the test could only confirm what she suspected going in, and nothing he did could have cleared him.

• she wished to see whether he would betray any consciousness
• she thought he looked a little confused as he answered

Listen for

• Separates the two senses of fair: fair to Darcy, and fair as a way of finding out.
• Notices that the test only works because she knows the answer already: “perfectly sensible that he never had”.
• Notices who reads the result, “she thought”, and how much she sees, “a little”; asks what look would have cleared him.
• Does not say that Darcy knew Jane was in London or helped keep Bingley from her.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth ask Darcy about Jane?
• Does she already know the answer?
• What is she watching for while he answers, and who tells us what she saw?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that the test is fair, because Elizabeth says nothing false, asks a question any guest could answer plainly, and takes the subject no further once he has answered. Key evidence includes “perfectly sensible that he never had” and “The subject was pursued no further”. The strongest objection is that the question is a trap whose only judge is the woman who set it: she wants his face, not his answer, and what she finds is what “she thought” she saw, and only “a little”. A revised thesis might hold that the test is fair to Darcy in its words but weak as a way to the truth, since it is hard to say what look would have cleared him in her eyes, and that this bears on how far her reading of the whole call can be trusted.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. “Charlotte had seen them from her husband’s room, crossing the road, and immediately running into the other, told the girls what an honour they might expect, adding,-- ‘I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.’” Elizabeth disclaims the compliment. Then the narrator: “Mr. Darcy looked just as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire, paid his compliments, with his usual reserve, to Mrs. Collins; and whatever might be his feelings towards her friend, met her with every appearance of composure.” Here a “civility” is a polite attention, “wait upon” means call on, and “reserve” means distance, a holding back. The student builds a thesis on which reading of the call the chapter better supports, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say why Darcy called: the narrator says only “whatever might be his feelings towards her friend”, and gives no motive. It must not say that Darcy knows Jane is in London or had a part in keeping Bingley from her. And it must not use what happens later in the novel to settle the question.

One reading

Charlotte’s. The call comes the morning after he arrives, and Charlotte knows he would never come “so soon” for her. The narrator could have said nothing about Elizabeth, yet raises “his feelings towards her friend” and then declines to name them. A man needs “every appearance of composure” only if there is something to compose. And the one question he asks in the parlour is put to Elizabeth. On this reading Charlotte, who has read her husband exactly, reads Darcy rightly too, and Elizabeth is too busy with Jane to see it.

• I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility.
• whatever might be his feelings towards her friend,

Another reading

Elizabeth’s, or at least not Charlotte’s. Elizabeth disclaims the compliment at once. Darcy looks just as he did in Hertfordshire, greets his hostess “with his usual reserve”, and sits “for some time without speaking to anybody” while his cousin does the talking. The gentlemen come back with Mr. Collins from Rosings, the Colonel leading the way. Nothing in the call is aimed at Elizabeth that a polite guest would not give anyone. On this reading the one real event in the parlour is the question about Jane, and Elizabeth is right to treat the call as a chance to test him, not as a compliment.

• Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment
• sat for some time without speaking to anybody.

Listen for

• Weighs Charlotte’s “so soon”: the timing is her best evidence.
• Notices that the narrator raises “his feelings towards her friend” and then will not name them.
• Sets Darcy’s silence beside the Colonel’s ease and asks what a call made for Elizabeth’s sake would look like.
• Does not settle why Darcy called, and does not reach for what happens later in the novel.

If stuck

• What does Charlotte say when she sees the gentlemen coming?
• What is Elizabeth thinking about while Darcy is in the room?
• What does the narrator tell us about Darcy’s feelings, and what does the narrator hold back?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that the chapter leans toward Charlotte, because the call comes “so soon”, the narrator raises Darcy’s “feelings towards her friend”, and his one question in the parlour is put to Elizabeth. The strongest objection is that he behaves just as he did in Hertfordshire, sits silent while his cousin talks, and comes only in Mr. Collins’s company as he returns from Rosings, so that nothing he does is plainly aimed at her. A revised thesis might hold that the chapter leaves both readings standing on purpose: “whatever might be his feelings” keeps the reader where Charlotte and Elizabeth are, guessing, and each woman’s guess may show more about what she is looking for than about him.