Chapter 36 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to hear whose voice is speaking in the first paragraph. The narrator says Elizabeth began Darcy’s account “With a strong prejudice against everything he might say”, read so fast she “was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes”, and then: “He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. It was all pride and insolence.” Near the end of the chapter, clearing him of being “unprincipled or unjust”, she still says “proud and repulsive as were his manners”. Here “penitent” means sorry for a wrong, “haughty” means proud and looking down on others, and “insolence” means rude disrespect. The student decides whether the line is Elizabeth’s verdict in the narrator’s words, or one the narrator shares. The card does not say that Elizabeth now loves Darcy or wishes she had accepted him; the chapter shows shame and self-knowledge, not new feeling for him.

One reading

Elizabeth’s, in the narrator’s voice. The whole paragraph reports her feelings, and it has just told us she began “With a strong prejudice” and could not follow what she read. The line sounds like her own anger heard from inside. On this reading Austen lets us hear the verdict at full heat so that we can watch it come apart over the next two hours.

• With a strong prejudice against everything he might say
• was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes

Another reading

Partly Austen’s too. The chapter never takes “haughty” back. By the end Elizabeth clears Darcy of being unjust, but she still calls his manners proud. What changes is her view of his honesty, not her view of his tone. On this reading the line is wrong about his motives and right about his style, and the narrator lets both stand.

• proud and repulsive as were his manners
• seen anything that betrayed him to be unprincipled or unjust

Listen for

• Notices that the line comes a few sentences after “With a strong prejudice”.
• Finds “proud and repulsive as were his manners” near the end and sets it beside the opening.
• Separates two judgments: of Darcy’s honesty and of his manner.
• Does not say that Elizabeth now loves Darcy or wishes she had accepted him.

If stuck

• How does the narrator say she began reading Darcy’s account?
• What does she still say about his manners near the end of the chapter?
• Which of her opinions of Darcy changes in the chapter, and which stays?

A strong answer A strong response hears the line as Elizabeth’s first verdict, told in the narrator’s voice, and tests it against the end of the chapter. One reader finds it her anger alone: the paragraph has named her “strong prejudice” and her reading too fast to follow. Another finds that the chapter never withdraws “haughty”: she clears Darcy of injustice but still calls his manners “proud and repulsive”. The best answers see that the chapter corrects one judgment and not the other, which matters for the last written question: she was wrong about his honesty, and not about his manners.

What it asks It asks the student to read one quick gesture. After the first reading she cries, “This must be false! This cannot be! This must be the grossest falsehood!”, and “put it hastily away, protesting that she would not regard it, that she would never look in it again.” Then: “In this perturbed state of mind, with thoughts that could rest on nothing, she walked on; but it would not do: in half a minute the letter was unfolded again”. The Wickham account had “so alarming an affinity to his own history of himself”, and on the first reading she was “scarcely knowing anything of the last page or two”. The second time she goes straight to “all that related to Wickham”. Here “regard” means pay attention to, “perturbed” means deeply troubled, and “affinity” means likeness. The student decides what pulls her back.

One reading

The wish to beat it. She has called the letter false three times, and a charge she cannot answer will not let her rest. She comes back to find the flaw, and she “commanded herself” to examine every sentence the way a person checks an argument they mean to defeat. On this reading she returns in the same spirit she left in, and the change comes later.

• This must be false!
• commanded herself so far as to examine the meaning of every sentence

Another reading

Fear that it is true. What frightened her was not that the Wickham story was strange but that it was “alarming” in how closely it matched his own. She barely took in the last page or two. The second time she goes straight to Wickham, not to Jane. On this reading part of her already suspects the letter, and she cannot leave the suspicion alone.

• bore so alarming an affinity to his own history of himself
• she again began the mortifying perusal of all that related to Wickham

Listen for

• Notices “in half a minute”: her promise lasts no time at all.
• Weighs “alarming an affinity”: the story frightens her because it fits.
• Notices that the second reading goes to the Wickham part first.
• Does not collapse the two hours into one moment of change; this is the first step, not the turn.

If stuck

• What does she cry out after the first reading?
• Which part of the letter does she go back to first?
• What was “alarming” about the Wickham story when she first read it?

A strong answer A strong response reads the gesture both ways and chooses. One reader sees a woman returning to prove the letter wrong: she has called it false three times and now “commanded herself” to examine each sentence. Another sees a woman returning because the Wickham story already fits too well: it “bore so alarming an affinity to his own history of himself”, and she goes straight back to it. The best answers notice that either way she does not simply believe the letter; she starts to test it, which is the method that leads, two hours later, to her verdict on herself.

What it asks It asks the student to measure one stage of the walk. When she reaches the will, she recalls Wickham’s “very words” and feels “there was gross duplicity on one side or the other, and, for a few moments, she flattered herself that her wishes did not err.” Then she reads that Wickham gave up the living for three thousand pounds, and “again was she forced to hesitate.” She “weighed every circumstance with what she meant to be impartiality”, “but with little success. On both sides it was only assertion. Again she read on.” The next sentence looks back to what she had believed before: that no telling of the affair could make Darcy’s conduct “less than infamous”. Here “duplicity” means deliberate deceit, “impartiality” means not taking sides, “assertion” means a claim stated without proof, and “infamous” means shamefully wicked. A “living” is a post as a parish clergyman, with its income. The student decides how far the tie has already moved her.

One reading

A big change. Before the letter she thought it impossible that Darcy’s part could look anything but infamous. Now she gives his story the same weight as Wickham’s. To get there she has to let go of what she wished: for a few moments she hoped her wishes were right, and then she was “forced to hesitate.” On this reading the tie is the first real crack, and it costs her the side she wanted.

• she had believed it impossible that any contrivance could so represent as to render Mr. Darcy’s conduct in it less than infamous
• again was she forced to hesitate

Another reading

No change yet. A tie decides nothing. The weighing ends “with little success”, nothing so far tells against Wickham, and her feeling for him is still there long after. What moves her comes later, when she reads on and then searches her own memory. On this reading the tie is a pause, and the change has not begun.

• but with little success
• Every lingering struggle in his favour grew fainter and fainter

Listen for

• Sets “only assertion” beside what she had believed impossible before the letter.
• Notices “what she meant to be impartiality”: the narrator does not say she was impartial.
• Notices that she wanted Wickham’s version: “she flattered herself that her wishes did not err.”
• Keeps the tie as one stage of the two hours, not the turn.

If stuck

• Before the letter, what did she believe about how Darcy treated Wickham?
• What does she hope, for a few moments, when she reaches the will?
• Does anything in the part about the will tell against Wickham yet?

A strong answer A strong response measures the tie against where she started. One reader finds it a large change: she had believed it impossible that Darcy could look less than infamous, and to call it “only assertion” she gives up the side her wishes chose. Another finds no change yet: the weighing ends “with little success”, and her struggle in Wickham’s favour only grows “fainter and fainter” much later. The best answers see that the tie takes her from being sure to being unsure without telling her who is right; what breaks it comes after, and the next question asks where it comes from. That bears on the last written question: the first thing she gives up is her certainty, before she knows she was wrong.

What it asks It asks the student what changed: the facts, or the way she looks at them. The narrator says, “She perfectly remembered everything that had passed in conversation between Wickham and herself”. “She was _now_ struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger, and wondered it had escaped her before.” And: “She remembered that he had boasted of having no fear of seeing Mr. Darcy”, and that Darcy might leave the country but he would stand his ground, “yet he had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week.” Earlier the narrator says that “His countenance, voice, and manner, had established him at once in the possession of every virtue.” Here “impropriety” means behaviour that is not fitting, “communications” are things told, and “countenance” means face and expression. The student decides why facts she always had only clash now. The card does not say what Elizabeth will do with what she now knows about Wickham.

One reading

The letter. Before it she had no reason to set his words beside his acts. Darcy’s account gives her a story that, “if true”, overthrows her whole opinion of Wickham, and once she has a pattern to test, the old memories line up against it. On this reading the letter does not tell her about the ball, but it tells her where to look.

• a relation of events which, if true, must overthrow every cherished opinion of his worth
• She was now struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger

Another reading

Her own memory, once his manner stops speaking for him. The facts were hers all along. What kept them apart was his face and voice, which settled his virtue “at once”. On the lane she can still picture his charm, but now she sets his words beside what he did, and they do not agree. On this reading the turn comes from inside her, not from Darcy’s page.

• His countenance, voice, and manner, had established him at once in the possession of every virtue.
• yet he had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week

Listen for

• Notices that the ball comes from her own memory, not from the letter.
• Sets his “countenance, voice, and manner” against his remembered words.
• Does not say what Elizabeth will do about Wickham.

If stuck

• What did Wickham say about meeting Darcy, and what did he do the next week?
• Who supplies the memory of the ball, Darcy’s letter or Elizabeth?
• What had made her trust Wickham from the start?

A strong answer A strong response decides how much the letter does and how much her own memory does. One reader gives the letter the credit: it hands her a story that, if true, must overthrow her opinion, and so tells her where to look. Another gives it to her memory: the ball, the boast and the stranger’s confidences were all hers, kept apart only by his face and voice. The best answers notice that neither works alone, and that the ball is a fact from her own memory, not from Darcy’s page. That bears on the last written question: what blinded her was not a lack of facts.

What it asks It asks the student to rank two pains the chapter sets a few paragraphs apart. After her memories of Wickham, “She grew absolutely ashamed of herself,” and she cries, “How humiliating is this discovery! Yet, how just a humiliation!” Later, at the part of the letter in which “her family were mentioned, in tones of such mortifying, yet merited, reproach, her sense of shame was severe.” What Darcy recalls of her family at the Netherfield ball “could not have made a stronger impression on his mind than on hers.” The praise of her and Jane “soothed, but it could not console her”, and as she considered that “Jane’s disappointment had, in fact, been the work of her nearest relations”, “she felt depressed beyond anything she had ever known before.” Here “humiliating” means making her feel small and foolish, “mortifying” means deeply shaming, “merited” means deserved, “reproach” means blame, and “console” means comfort. The student decides which discovery cuts deeper, and why. The card does not say that Jane did not care for Bingley; Elizabeth grants only that Jane’s feelings “were little displayed.”

One reading

Her family. The narrator gives this pain the strongest words in the chapter. Her mistake about Wickham was her own, and on the lane she has already faced it. Her family’s conduct is not hers, and it has already cost Jane. On this reading the deeper hurt is the one her own good sense cannot reach.

• she felt depressed beyond anything she had ever known before
• Jane’s disappointment had, in fact, been the work of her nearest relations

Another reading

Wickham. That discovery is about herself. It overturns the judgment she was proud of and leaves her “absolutely ashamed”. Her family’s faults were not news to her: what Darcy recalls of the ball struck her as hard as it struck him. On this reading the family pain is an old shame made sharper, and the Wickham pain is new.

• She grew absolutely ashamed of herself.
• could not have made a stronger impression on his mind than on hers.

Listen for

• Sets “absolutely ashamed” and “How humiliating” beside “severe” and “depressed beyond anything she had ever known before”.
• Notices that her family’s conduct at the ball struck her as hard as it struck Darcy: the charge is not news to her.
• Notices the difference between “soothed” and “console”.
• Does not say that Jane did not care for Bingley.

If stuck

• What words does the narrator use for how she feels about Wickham, and about her family?
• Which of the two was her own mistake?
• Had she seen her family’s behaviour at the Netherfield ball for herself?

A strong answer A strong response ranks the two and defends the ranking from the page. One reader chooses the family: the narrator gives it the chapter’s strongest words, “depressed beyond anything she had ever known before”, and the harm to Jane is the work of others, out of her reach. Another chooses Wickham: that discovery overturns the judgment she was proud of, while her family’s conduct at the ball had struck her as hard as it struck Darcy. The best answers notice that one pain is about her own mind and the other falls on Jane, and on her, through her family. They ask whether “vanity” can explain the pain that runs deepest, which is the last written question.

What it asks It asks the student to judge one step in her reasoning. After her cry, her thoughts go “From herself to Jane, from Jane to Bingley”, and she reads Darcy’s account of Jane again. “Widely different was the effect of a second perusal. How could she deny that credit to his assertions, in one instance, which she had been obliged to give in the other? He declared himself to have been totally unsuspicious of her sister’s attachment; and she could not help remembering what Charlotte’s opinion had always been.” She grants that “Jane’s feelings, though fervent, were little displayed, and that there was a constant complacency in her air and manner, not often united with great sensibility.” Here “perusal” means a careful reading, “credit” means belief, “fervent” means strong and warm, “complacency” in Austen’s sense means a calm, contented pleasantness (not smugness), and “sensibility” means depth of feeling. The student builds a thesis on whether believing Darcy about Wickham is a good reason to believe him about Jane, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Jane did not care for Bingley; Elizabeth grants only that Jane’s feelings “were little displayed.”

One reading

Fair. The same man wrote both parts with the same care, and he has just proved honest where she could check him. To believe one half and not the other would be to judge the letter by which part she likes, which is the very fault she has just named in herself. And she does not take his word alone: she checks it against Charlotte’s opinion and her own knowledge of Jane.

• How could she deny that credit to his assertions, in one instance, which she had been obliged to give in the other?
• she could not help remembering what Charlotte’s opinion had always been

Another reading

Not fully. Honesty is not the same as being right. On Wickham, Darcy gave facts that could be checked: a will, a sum, a witness. On Jane he reports what he saw, and an honest man can misread a quiet face. What she grants is about display, not about Jane’s heart: Jane’s feelings were “fervent” and “little displayed”. On this reading she is right to trust his honesty and still free to doubt his judgment.

• He declared himself to have been totally unsuspicious of her sister’s attachment
• She felt that Jane’s feelings, though fervent, were little displayed

Listen for

• Separates two things Darcy could be: honest, and right.
• Notices that she checks him against Charlotte and against her own memory of Jane.
• Keeps “fervent” in view beside “little displayed”.
• Does not say that Jane did not care for Bingley.

If stuck

• What does she now believe about Darcy’s account of Wickham?
• What does Darcy say he did not suspect about Jane, and whose opinion does Elizabeth remember?
• Is a man who tells the truth always right about what he saw?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that her step is fair as far as it goes: Darcy has proved honest where she could check him, and refusing him now would be choosing by preference, the fault she has just found in herself. Key evidence includes “How could she deny that credit to his assertions, in one instance, which she had been obliged to give in the other?” and her own check against Charlotte’s opinion. The strongest objection is that honesty is not accuracy: the Wickham half rests on facts, the Jane half on Darcy’s reading of a calm face, and Elizabeth grants only that Jane’s fervent feelings were “little displayed”. A revised thesis might hold that she is right to believe his account of what he saw and still has room to doubt what he made of it, which is a finer judgment than the chapter has her make in the moment.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. In the middle of her walk she cries, “How despicably have I acted!”, and goes on: “I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity in useless or blameless distrust.” And: “Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away where either were concerned. Till this moment, I never knew myself.” Earlier the narrator gives other causes: “His countenance, voice, and manner, had established him at once in the possession of every virtue”; “As to his real character, had information been in her power, she had never felt a wish of inquiring”; and the most she can remember of his goodness is “the general approbation of the neighbourhood”. Of Wickham himself she suspects he was “gratifying his vanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had most incautiously shown.” Here “discernment” means the ability to judge people well, “candour” in Austen’s sense means a habit of seeing the best in others, “folly” means foolishness, “prepossession” means a judgment formed beforehand, and “approbation” means approval. The student builds a thesis on whether vanity is the right name for what blinded her, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Elizabeth now loves Darcy or wishes she had accepted him, that Jane did not care for Bingley, that Elizabeth writes to Colonel Fitzwilliam, or what she will do with what she now knows about Wickham.

One reading

She is right. Her own words name the mechanism: pleased by one man’s preference, offended by the other’s neglect, both “on the very beginning of our acquaintance”. The chapter bears it out. At first Wickham told his story to her alone; she believes she showed him a preference; she prided herself on her discernment. Each step on the lane shows a fact she could have seen and did not want to. On this reading “vanity” is the exact word, because what blinded her was how each man made her feel about herself.

• Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other
• he had told his story to no one but herself
• I, who have prided myself on my discernment!

Another reading

Only in part. The chapter gives other causes she leaves out of the verdict. Wickham’s face and voice settled his virtue “at once”, and the whole neighbourhood approved of him. Darcy’s manners were, even now, “proud and repulsive”. She never wished to inquire. On this reading vanity is one cause among several, and “I never knew myself” is shame speaking: the woman on the lane who rereads, weighs and remembers is using the very discernment she says she lacks.

• the general approbation of the neighbourhood
• proud and repulsive as were his manners
• Till this moment, I never knew myself.

Listen for

• Traces the evidence she uses to reach the verdict, not just the verdict: the will, “only assertion”, the missing “instance of goodness”, the ball.
• Notices that the chapter gives Wickham “vanity” too, shortly before she names her own.
• Asks whether her shame over her family, “severe” and the reproach “merited”, comes from vanity at all.
• Does not say that Elizabeth now loves Darcy or wishes she had accepted him.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth say has been her folly, and what does she say it was not?
• How did Wickham’s preference and Darcy’s neglect make her feel at their first meetings, by her own account?
• Is there anything in the chapter, besides her vanity, that made Wickham easy to believe?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that she is right about the main cause and harsh about the rest. Key evidence includes her own account, “Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other”, and the chapter’s support for it: Wickham’s story told at first “to no one but herself”, the preference she believes she showed, her pride in her “discernment”. The strongest objection is that vanity is not the whole of it: his face and voice settled his virtue “at once”, the neighbourhood approved him, Darcy’s manners were and remain “proud and repulsive”, and the patient reasoning she does on the lane is itself the discernment she says she never had. A revised thesis might hold that vanity is the right name for why she did not look, while charm and manners explain why looking seemed needless, and that “Till this moment, I never knew myself” is the truest line of the cry and also its largest overstatement.