Chapter 33 — Teaching Companion

This chapter's big question

Fitzwilliam calls his story “all conjecture,” yet Elizabeth draws a whole verdict on Darcy from it. Is her anger fair?

The tension Aloud she checks herself: “as we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to condemn him”; alone in her room she decides that “his pride and caprice were the cause” of all Jane had suffered, and supplies the objections herself.

Today's focus

How a passing report on a walk becomes, before evening, Elizabeth’s firm verdict on Darcy.

The shape at a glance

More than once on her walks in the park, Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy by chance. She tells him it is a favourite haunt of hers, to stop it happening again, yet it happens twice more, and he turns back to walk with her. He says little and she hardly listens, but she notices his odd, unconnected questions, and that he seems to expect her to stay at Rosings whenever she comes into Kent again. She wonders if he has Colonel Fitzwilliam in his thoughts, and is a little distressed. One day, as she rereads a letter that shows Jane is low, she meets the Colonel instead, puts the letter away, and forces a smile. On the walk she says Darcy seems to enjoy above all the power of doing what he likes. Fitzwilliam answers that Darcy is rich, and that younger sons cannot marry where they like, nor without some attention to money. Elizabeth wonders if this is meant for her, colours, and jokes about the price of an earl’s younger son. When she teases that Miss Darcy, whose guardianship he shares with Darcy, may like her own way, his earnest look tells her she has come near some truth, and she backs off. She says drily that Darcy takes great care of Bingley. Fitzwilliam agrees: Darcy congratulated himself lately on saving a friend from a most imprudent marriage. Darcy named no names, he stresses; he only suspects it was Bingley. Asked for reasons, he says there were very strong objections against the lady; asked what arts Darcy used, he says he was told nothing more. Elizabeth walks on, indignant, and asks why Darcy was to be the judge; then she checks herself, since they know none of the particulars. Fitzwilliam jokes that she lessens his cousin’s triumph, and the joke seems to her so true a picture of Darcy that she changes the subject. Alone in her room, she decides the couple can only be Bingley and Jane. She had never doubted Darcy’s part, but had thought Miss Bingley the planner; now, if his vanity did not mislead him, his pride and caprice were the cause of all Jane has suffered. The objections, she supposes, were probably her uncles, a country attorney and a man in business in London. Nothing could be objected to Jane or to her father. At the thought of her mother her confidence gives way a little, but she will not allow that this weighed with Darcy, whose pride would mind low connections more than foolish ones. She decides he acted from that worst kind of pride, and from a wish to keep Bingley for his sister. Her tears bring on a headache, and with her unwillingness to see Darcy it keeps her from tea at Rosings. Charlotte does not press her, but Mr. Collins fears that Lady Catherine will be displeased.

A way in

Start with one line read aloud, as Elizabeth remembers it alone in her room: “There were some very strong objections against the lady”. Ask what, if anything, that sentence tells a listener about the lady. Leave it there; the last written question asks whether Elizabeth’s anger at Darcy is fair, and the discussion builds toward it. As they read, have students keep two lists: what Fitzwilliam actually says, and what Elizabeth concludes. Beside each of her conclusions, note whether his words or hers supply it. Keep to the chapter. No answer may say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right; his own account comes later, and this chapter gives only her surmise. No answer may say that Darcy is courting her; she reads his questions in the park as hints about Colonel Fitzwilliam. No answer may say that Fitzwilliam’s remark about younger sons is a warning to her; only her own question raises it. And no answer may say what Miss Darcy’s uneasiness was; the chapter shows only Fitzwilliam’s look. Watch for two opposite mistakes: taking Elizabeth’s conclusion as true because she is the heroine, and calling her simply wrong, when she “had never doubted” that Darcy was concerned in parting Bingley and Jane, and the report only makes him the leader. Do not skip the sentence where “her confidence gave way a little” at the thought of her mother. And keep the talk on this report and this listener, not on gossip in general.

Lesson plan

Retell The student retells the chapter in order: the meetings in the park and Darcy’s odd questions; Jane’s letter put away; the talk of Darcy’s power of choice and of younger sons, the blush and the joke about fifty thousand pounds; the guardianship of Miss Darcy and Fitzwilliam’s earnest look; the dry remark about Bingley and the story of the friend saved from an imprudent marriage; Elizabeth’s question, “Why was he to be the judge?”, and her check on herself; the jest about the triumph; her verdict alone in her room, her list of objections and the pause at her mother; and the headache that keeps her from Rosings. Then the student picks the sentence that matters most and says why. Look for a retelling that keeps apart what Fitzwilliam said and what Elizabeth decided, and does not say whether her verdict is right.

Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two short pieces about one invented puzzle, such as a classmate who keeps turning up at the same bench at lunch. First, on the model of the park passage: a plan stated, its failure greeted with an exclamation, a short sentence that lands the joke, and two possible motives joined by “or”. Second, on the model of the room passage: a sentence that sets an old belief against a new one with a semicolon and “but”, then a sentence that opens with a doubt in an “If” clause, broken by “however”, and states its main claim twice, the second time between dashes and stronger. The student then says which of the two pieces is the fairer judgment.

Debate Take sides on the last written question. One side argues that Elizabeth’s anger is fair, and gathers “congratulated himself”, “a most imprudent marriage”, “she had never doubted” and “Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer”. The other side argues that it is not, and gathers “It was all conjecture”, “without mentioning names or any other particulars”, “it is not fair to condemn him”, “probably were” and “she would not allow”. Each side must answer the other’s best line, and each must account for “If his own vanity, however, did not mislead him”. Neither may say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right, and neither may use what happens later in the novel.

Purpose Close on one choice Austen makes. The chapter could end on Elizabeth’s verdict, or on her tears. It ends instead on Mr. Collins, who “could not conceal his apprehension of Lady Catherine’s being rather displeased by her staying at home.” Ask what that last sentence does to the scene before it, and why Austen ends there.

Three levels

Easier Read aloud Fitzwilliam’s story, from “Care of him!” to “He only told me what I have now told you”, then the paragraph in Elizabeth’s room. Make two columns: what Fitzwilliam says, and what Elizabeth decides. Talk through the questions on Miss Darcy and Bingley and on her mother, then answer the last written question aloud before writing it.

On level Talk through all four 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 how a judgment can be right about what someone did and still unsure about why, testing Elizabeth’s reasoning in this chapter step by step: the report, her spoken check, who the couple were, the objections, the pause at her mother, and the two motives. The essay should meet the objection that Fitzwilliam’s own hedges were warning enough, and must not say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right.

Discussion

1. On her walks in the park, Elizabeth hardly listens to Darcy. Yet she still finds a hint in his odd questions. How much attention is she really paying him?Inference

What it asks It asks the student to weigh what Elizabeth says she does against what she notices. The narrator says: “He never said a great deal, nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of listening much; but it struck her in the course of their third encounter that he was asking some odd unconnected questions--about her pleasure in being at Hunsford, her love of solitary walks, and her opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Collins’s happiness; and that in speaking of Rosings, and her not perfectly understanding the house, he seemed to expect that whenever she came into Kent again she would be staying _there_ too. His words seemed to imply it. Could he have Colonel Fitzwilliam in his thoughts? She supposed, if he meant anything, he must mean an allusion to what might arise in that quarter.” Here the double hyphens are the edition’s mark for a dash, the underscores its mark for italics, “an allusion” means a hint, and “in that quarter” means from that direction. The student decides how much attention she is really paying. The card does not say that Darcy is courting Elizabeth; she reads his questions as hints about Colonel Fitzwilliam, and the chapter confirms nothing.

A strong answer A strong response judges how closely she attends and rests it on the paragraph. One reader finds little: she gives herself no trouble of listening, and her guess about Colonel Fitzwilliam is built from remarks she half-heard and hedges with “if he meant anything”. Another finds more than she admits: she can name his questions, catches what his words about Rosings seemed to imply, and is distressed by it. The best answers notice that either way she reads a motive into a few remarks, and that the chapter soon shows her doing the same with Fitzwilliam’s report.

2. When Fitzwilliam’s look tells Elizabeth she is “pretty near the truth” about Miss Darcy, she drops the subject at once. When Bingley comes up, she keeps pressing. Why does she let one subject go and chase the other?Character

What it asks It asks the student to set two moments of the same walk side by side. Elizabeth teases that if Miss Darcy “has the true Darcy spirit, she may like to have her own way.” The narrator goes on: “As she spoke, she observed him looking at her earnestly; and the manner in which he immediately asked her why she supposed Miss Darcy likely to give them any uneasiness, convinced her that she had somehow or other got pretty near the truth.” She answers at once, “You need not be frightened,” and turns to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. A few minutes later, when Fitzwilliam says Bingley is “very much indebted” to Darcy and then begs pardon for a guess, she asks, “What is it you mean?”, then “Did Mr. Darcy give you his reasons for this interference?”, then “And what arts did he use to separate them?” Here “uneasiness” means worry or trouble, and “arts” means clever tricks or schemes. The student decides why she drops one subject and chases the other. The card does not say what Miss Darcy’s uneasiness was; the chapter shows only Fitzwilliam’s look.

A strong answer A strong response explains the difference from the two moments. One reader finds loyalty: Miss Darcy’s trouble is none of Elizabeth’s business, while the Bingley story may be Jane’s, and she cannot leave it at a hint. Another finds a quarrel: she stops when the trouble belongs to a girl and presses when it may belong to Darcy, and her question about “arts” assumes a scheme that Fitzwilliam never described. The best answers notice that both readings can hold at once, and that a listener both loyal and quarrelsome is the one this report happened to find.

3. Elizabeth tells Fitzwilliam she supposes there was not “much affection in the case”. Why would she say that, when the lady may be her own sister?Character

What it asks It asks the student to explain one strange line. Elizabeth has asked, “Why was he to be the judge?” She goes on: “I do not see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide on the propriety of his friend’s inclination; or why, upon his own judgment alone, he was to determine and direct in what manner that friend was to be happy. But,” she continued, recollecting herself, “as we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to condemn him. It is not to be supposed that there was much affection in the case.” Fitzwilliam answers: “That is not an unnatural surmise,” “but it is lessening the honour of my cousin’s triumph very sadly.” Here “propriety” means rightness, “inclination” means liking, “recollecting herself” means taking hold of herself, and “surmise” means a guess. A little earlier she promised, “You may depend upon my not mentioning it.” Nothing in the chapter shows that Fitzwilliam knows the lady may be her sister. The student decides why she says it. The card does not say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right, or what Jane felt; the chapter gives only Elizabeth’s view.

A strong answer A strong response explains the line from where it stands. One reader hears a mask: she has shown too much anger before a man who does not seem to know the lady may be her sister, so she recollects herself and talks like an outsider. Another hears a fair try: having said it is not fair to condemn him, she gives Darcy the kindest case, that little love was lost. Some may hear bitterness, a test of how Fitzwilliam will answer. The best answers set the line beside her thought, alone, of “the most affectionate, generous heart in the world”, and notice how far she has moved by the time she reaches her room.

4. When Elizabeth thinks of her mother, “her confidence gave way a little”. Why only a little?Moral reasoning

What it asks It asks the student to look at the one place where the narrator says Elizabeth’s confidence gives way. She has just said that nothing could be objected to Jane, and nothing to her father. The narrator goes on: “When she thought of her mother, indeed, her confidence gave way a little; but she would not allow that any objections _there_ had material weight with Mr. Darcy, whose pride, she was convinced, would receive a deeper wound from the want of importance in his friend’s connections than from their want of sense”. Here “material weight” means real importance, “connections” means family and relations, “want of importance” means low rank, and the underscores mark the edition’s italics, here a stress on “there”. The student decides why her confidence gives way only a little. The card does not say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right; his own account comes later.

A strong answer A strong response explains why the doubt stays small and rests it on the sentence. One reader finds a reason: her case is about what Darcy’s pride would mind, and she judges that low rank would wound him more than a want of sense. Another finds a refusal: “she would not allow” is a choice, and the one weak spot in her defence is the one she declines to weigh. The best answers notice that both readings lean on the same belief about Darcy’s pride, and that the sentence ends with her “quite decided”, as if the doubt had been answered.

Critical thinking

1. Fitzwilliam says more than once how little he knows. Then he tells the story anyway. How good a witness is he?

What it asks It asks the student to judge the report before judging what Elizabeth does with it. Fitzwilliam says Bingley seems “very much indebted” to Darcy, then: “But I ought to beg his pardon, for I have no right to suppose that Bingley was the person meant. It was all conjecture.” He warns that it is “a circumstance which Darcy of course could not wish to be generally known”. Then he gives it: “What he told me was merely this: that he congratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage, but without mentioning names or any other particulars; and I only suspected it to be Bingley from believing him the kind of young man to get into a scrape of that sort, and from knowing them to have been together the whole of last summer.” Asked for Darcy’s reasons, he says, “I understood that there were some very strong objections against the lady.” Asked about Darcy’s methods, he says, “He only told me what I have now told you.” Here “conjecture” means guesswork, “imprudent” means unwise, and “particulars” means details. The student builds a thesis on how good a witness Fitzwilliam is, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right, and must not turn the question into a lesson about gossip in general.

A strong answer A strong response might argue that Fitzwilliam is a careful witness, because he marks his guess as “all conjecture”, keeps Darcy’s words apart from his own suspicions, and refuses to supply the “arts”: “He only told me what I have now told you.” Key evidence includes his two stated reasons for naming Bingley. The strongest objection is that care in the wording does not stop the story: he tells, as soon as he is asked, a matter Darcy “could not wish to be generally known”, names Bingley on the strength of his character, and passes on “very strong objections” that name nothing. A revised thesis might hold that he is careful in what he claims and careless in what he hands over, so his listener gets a guess with every warning attached, and the warnings are hers to keep or drop.

2. Fitzwilliam calls his story “all conjecture,” yet Elizabeth draws a whole verdict on Darcy from it. Is her anger fair?

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Fitzwilliam’s report is that Darcy “congratulated himself” on saving a friend from “a most imprudent marriage”, with “some very strong objections against the lady”, and no names. Aloud, Elizabeth asks, “Why was he to be the judge?”, and then checks herself: “as we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to condemn him.” Alone in her room, she decides that no other couple could be meant, and that “his pride and caprice were the cause” of all that Jane had suffered. Fitzwilliam’s phrase becomes her own list: “these strong objections probably were, her having one uncle who was a country attorney, and another who was in business in London.” She ends “quite decided, at last”, that he acted “partly governed by this worst kind of pride, and partly by the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister.” Here “particulars” means details, “caprice” means whim, and “retaining” means keeping. The student builds a thesis on whether her anger is fair, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say whether Elizabeth has Darcy’s reasons right, since his own account comes later. It must not take her conclusion as true because she is the heroine, and must not call her simply wrong, since she “had never doubted” that Darcy was concerned in the parting.

A strong answer A strong response might argue that her anger is fair at its core and unfair in its detail, because Darcy’s boast, as Fitzwilliam reports it, and her strong reason for thinking the friend is Bingley put Darcy at the head of a parting she “had never doubted” he shared in, while the objections, the “pride and caprice” and the wish to keep Bingley for his sister are her own. Key evidence includes her spoken rule, “it is not fair to condemn him”, and the word “probably” in her list of objections. The strongest objection is that the line between core and detail is hers to draw: the report names no lady and no objection, and she is the one who took “very strong objections” and filled them in. A revised thesis might hold that her anger at what was done is earned, but her certainty about why is not, and that the chapter lets the reader watch the second grow out of the first between a walk and an evening.

Vocabulary definitions