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Pride and Prejudice
Mountaineers · 10th–12th
Elizabeth and Jane agree to say nothing about what Wickham really is. Is that a wise kindness or a risky mistake?
The tension Elizabeth asks “whether I ought, or ought not, to make our acquaintance in general understand Wickham’s character,” and settles, with Jane's agreement, “At present I will say nothing about it,” because “Wickham will soon be gone.”
What Elizabeth tells Jane, what she keeps back, and why the sisters decide Meryton should not hear the truth about Wickham.
The morning after she reaches home, Elizabeth can wait no longer to tell Jane what happened in Kent. Leaving out everything that concerns Jane herself, she tells her of Mr. Darcy’s proposal and her refusal. Jane does not blame her, but grieves for the pain the refusal must have given him. Then Elizabeth tells her what Darcy’s letter said of Wickham. It is a hard blow for Jane, and she tries hard to find some mistake that would clear one man without blaming the other. Elizabeth tells her she must choose: there is only enough merit between them for one good man, and lately it has been shifting about. Jane pities Darcy, and Elizabeth jokes that Jane’s pity leaves her none to feel. Jane says Wickham has such a look of goodness, and Elizabeth says one man got all the goodness and the other all the look of it. When Jane says she never thought Darcy so lacking in that look as Elizabeth did, Elizabeth admits that she disliked him without reason because a dislike gave her wit so much to work on. She tells Jane how unhappy she was after the letter, with no one to talk to. Then she asks Jane’s advice: should she let their neighbours know what Wickham really is? Jane sees no need to expose him so harshly and asks her opinion. Elizabeth thinks it should not be tried. Darcy did not give her leave to make his letter public, and nobody in Meryton would believe her, so strong is the feeling against him. She is not equal to it, Wickham will soon be gone, and in time the truth will come out. For now she will say nothing. Jane agrees: exposing him might ruin him for ever, he may be sorry, and they must not make him desperate. Elizabeth feels lighter, having shared two secrets, but she keeps a third: how sincerely Bingley valued Jane. She could tell that only if Jane and Bingley came to an understanding, and then the telling would be worth nothing. Now settled at home, Elizabeth sees that Jane is not happy. Jane still loves Bingley with the strength of a first attachment, and it takes all her good sense and her care for her family to keep her regret in check. Mrs. Bennet declares she will never speak of Jane’s sad business again, and goes on speaking of it, comforting herself that Jane will die of a broken heart and then Bingley will be sorry. Elizabeth makes no answer. Her mother turns to the Collinses and their prospect of having Longbourn when Mr. Bennet dies. Elizabeth says they could not mention it before her. Mrs. Bennet is sure they talk of it in private, and says she would be ashamed of an estate that was only entailed on her.
Start with what Elizabeth tells and what she keeps. She tells Jane of the proposal but leaves out everything about Jane. She tells the truth about Wickham but keeps back how much Bingley valued Jane. With Jane she decides that Meryton will hear nothing at all. Before reading, ask students to keep a short list as they go: each secret in the chapter, who knows it, and who is kept from it. Afterward, ask which silence on the list they would defend most readily, and leave it there; the last written question asks whether the silence about Wickham is a wise kindness or a risky mistake, and the discussion builds toward it. Read aloud the exchange from “There is one point on which I want your advice” to “At present I will say nothing about it”, and Jane’s answer after it. Keep to the chapter. No answer may say that any later harm comes from the silence; the chapter knows only that Wickham’s regiment is leaving. No answer may say that Bingley still loves Jane or will return; Elizabeth calls it a “very improbable event”. No answer may say that Jane blames Darcy; she grieves for what he “must have suffered.” And no answer may say that Elizabeth’s feelings for Darcy have warmed; she says her regret is being “done away”. Watch for four traps: judging the sisters’ silence by what happens later in the book instead of by the reasons they give here; treating Jane as merely soft, when her wish to clear both men is a real position Elizabeth has to answer; skipping Elizabeth’s confession about wit and dislike, her most honest account of how her prejudice worked; and leaving out Mrs. Bennet’s closing talk, which shows the Longbourn world Elizabeth thinks would never believe her.
Retell The student retells the chapter in order: what Elizabeth decides to tell Jane of the proposal and what she leaves out; Jane’s pity for Darcy; the truth about Wickham and Jane’s search for an error; the joke about goodness and its appearance; Elizabeth’s confession about wit and dislike; her question about telling Meryton, her reasons, and Jane’s; the secret she still keeps; Jane’s hidden grief; and Mrs. Bennet on Bingley, the Collinses and Longbourn. Then the student picks the sentence that matters most and says why. Look for a retelling that keeps the decision about Wickham at the centre and does not drop Mrs. Bennet’s talk at the end.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two short pieces about an invented moment, such as admitting to a friend why they once disliked a classmate. First, on the model of the confession: three sentences, the second doubling a phrase as “such a spur to one’s genius, such an opening for wit” does, and the third balanced on a semicolon and a “but”. Second, on the model of the narrated paragraph: a short calm sentence, then a count of what has been told, then a turn on “But” to the one thing still kept, ending on a weighty phrase. The student then says which piece sounds more honest, and why.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. One side argues that the silence is a wise kindness, and gathers “Mr. Darcy has not authorized me to make his communication public”, “who will believe me?”, “Wickham will soon be gone” and Jane’s “We must not make him desperate.” The other side argues that it is a risky mistake, and gathers “it will not signify to anybody here what he really is”, “Some time hence it will be all found out”, “I am not equal to it”, and Jane’s “perhaps”. Each side must answer the other’s best line. Neither may judge the decision by anything that happens later in the book.
Purpose Close on where the chapter stops. It does not end on the sisters’ decision or on Jane’s grief, but on Mrs. Bennet, sure that the Collinses “often talk of it between themselves” though they never mention Longbourn before Elizabeth. Ask why Austen ends a chapter about what is kept quiet on a mother who suspects what others say in private, and whether that ending makes the sisters’ silence look wiser or more fragile.
Easier Read aloud the talk from “There is one point on which I want your advice” to Jane’s “We must not make him desperate.” Make two lists together: Elizabeth’s reasons for keeping quiet, and Jane’s. Talk about what “authorized”, “undeceive” and “signify” mean. Talk through the questions on Jane’s search for an error and on her reason, then answer the last written question aloud before writing it.
On level Talk through all five 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 when keeping what one knows private is a duty and when it becomes a failure of duty, testing the sisters’ reasoning against Elizabeth’s line that “The liberty of communication cannot be mine till it has lost all its value!” The essay should set the silence about Wickham beside the secret kept from Jane, meet the objection that a secret held for good reasons can still leave others unguarded, and must not judge by anything that happens later in the book.
1. Jane looks for an error that would clear one man without blaming the other, but Elizabeth says the two men have “just enough to make one good sort of man” between them. Whose way of judging do you trust more?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh two ways of judging the same facts. Hearing what Darcy wrote of Wickham, Jane “would willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual!” So she labours “to prove the probability of error, and seek to clear one, without involving the other.” Elizabeth answers, “This will not do,” and goes on: “you never will be able to make both of them good for anything. Take your choice, but you must be satisfied with only one. There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much.” Here “the probability of error” means the likelihood of some mistake, “involving” means drawing in or blaming, and “merit” means worth or goodness. The student decides which sister’s way of judging deserves more trust: Jane’s search for an error before she condemns anyone, or Elizabeth’s picture of goodness as a fixed amount that one man must have and the other must lack. The card does not say that Jane blames Darcy; she grieves for what he “must have suffered.”
Elizabeth’s. The letter is not a matter of taste: either Wickham’s story was true or Darcy’s account is. Jane cannot hold both for long, and a few lines later she says it herself: “Wickham so very bad!” On this reading Jane’s search for an error is kindness standing in the way of the facts, and Elizabeth only says sooner what Jane will have to say.
you never will be able to make both of them good for anything
Wickham so very bad! It is almost past belief.
Jane’s. Her habit of looking for an error before condemning anyone is the care Elizabeth lacked when she took “so decided a dislike” to Darcy. Elizabeth’s way is all or nothing: she says the merit has been “shifting about”, and now she gives it “all” to Darcy, as she once spoke “so warmly” of Wickham. On this reading Jane’s question is a real one, and Elizabeth’s quick choice is the old swing in the other direction.
of late it has been shifting about pretty much. For my part, I am inclined to believe it all Mr. Darcy’s
But you blame me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?
A strong answer A strong response weighs both sisters’ ways of judging. One reader trusts Elizabeth’s: the letter leaves no room for both men to be good, and Jane herself soon cries “Wickham so very bad!” Another reader trusts Jane’s: Elizabeth moves the merit “all” to Darcy as she once spoke “so warmly” of Wickham, while Jane’s wish to find an error first is the care Elizabeth did not take. The best answers notice that Jane still says “Poor Wickham!” after she accepts the facts, and ask whether her mercy is a weakness or a discipline, which matters for the last written question.
2. Jane pauses when Elizabeth asks for advice, and soon turns the question back to her: “What is your own opinion?” Was Elizabeth asking for advice, or hoping for agreement?Character
What it asks It asks the student to look at how the decision is made. Elizabeth says: “There is one point on which I want your advice. I want to be told whether I ought, or ought not, to make our acquaintance in general understand Wickham’s character.” Jane “paused a little”, then replied, “Surely there can be no occasion for exposing him so dreadfully. What is your own opinion?” Elizabeth’s reply runs to eight sentences and several reasons, and ends: “At present I will say nothing about it.” Jane answers, “You are quite right.” Here “our acquaintance in general” means the people they know, and “occasion” means need. Earlier Elizabeth has told Jane how alone she was after the letter: “with no one to speak to of what I felt, no Jane to comfort me”. The student decides what Elizabeth wanted from Jane at this point.
Advice, honestly asked. Elizabeth has just learned how badly her own judgment can fail; she calls herself “so very weak, and vain, and nonsensical”. She has had no one to talk to, and she wants a second mind before she acts. She asks Jane first, and Jane thinks before she answers. On this reading Elizabeth’s ready answer only shows she has thought hard, not that her mind was closed.
And with no one to speak to of what I felt, no Jane to comfort me
I want to be told whether I ought, or ought not
Agreement. Jane gives one sentence and a question; Elizabeth gives a case already built, reason after reason, to a firm end. What eases her afterward is not new advice but company: the narrator says the talk “allayed” her mind because she “had got rid of two of the secrets”. On this reading she wanted to hear “You are quite right”, and Jane’s pause is the only moment the outcome was open.
What is your own opinion?
The tumult of Elizabeth’s mind was allayed by this conversation.
A strong answer A strong response looks at the shape of the exchange. One reader hears a real request: Elizabeth has just found her judgment “weak, and vain”, and she wants another mind before she acts. Another hears a mind made up: Jane offers one sentence and a question, and Elizabeth answers with a full case that ends “At present I will say nothing about it.” The best answers notice that Jane’s pause is the one open moment, and ask whether a decision checked only by the person most likely to agree has been checked at all. That bears on the last written question.
3. Jane’s last reason for keeping quiet is “We must not make him desperate.” What is she afraid of?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to hear Jane’s reason apart from Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth’s reasons are Darcy’s trust, the town’s prejudice, her own want of strength and Wickham’s leaving. Jane’s are her own: “You are quite right. To have his errors made public might ruin him for ever. He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done, and anxious to re-establish a character. We must not make him desperate.” Here “re-establish a character” means win back a good name, and “desperate” means without hope, and so ready to do anything. The student decides what Jane fears, and so whom her silence is meant to protect. The question names no answer; a student may find fear for Wickham, fear of him, or both. The card does not run ahead to anything Wickham does later; the chapter knows only that his regiment is leaving.
She is afraid for Wickham. Every phrase is about him: his ruin “for ever”, his being “perhaps, sorry”, his wish to win back a name. This is the same mercy that first made her hunt for an error that would clear him. On this reading she guards a wrongdoer’s chance to mend, which is a real moral position and not only softness.
To have his errors made public might ruin him for ever.
He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done, and anxious to re-establish a character.
She is also afraid of him. A man with nothing left to lose has no reason to behave. Jane now has to believe in “so much wickedness” in one man, and a Wickham with a name still to win back is safer than one with none. On this reading her mercy is also prudence: the word “desperate” looks at what he might do, not only at what he might suffer.
We must not make him desperate.
so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual
A strong answer A strong response takes Jane’s reason on its own terms. One reader finds pure mercy, a fear for Wickham: every phrase is about Wickham’s ruin and his hope of mending, the same mercy that made her want to clear him at first. Another finds a fear of him as well: “desperate” names what a man might do once he has nothing to lose, so the silence may guard others as well as him. The best answers notice the “perhaps” on which Jane’s hope rests, and keep to what the chapter knows, which is only that his regiment is leaving.
4. Elizabeth decides she cannot share how much Bingley valued Jane until the news “has lost all its value”. What might the news do to Jane if she heard it now?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to stand in Jane’s place. After the talk, Elizabeth keeps one thing back: “She dared not relate the other half of Mr. Darcy’s letter, nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been valued by his friend. Here was knowledge in which no one could partake; and she was sensible that nothing less than a perfect understanding between the parties could justify her in throwing off this last encumbrance of mystery.” She tells herself that if “that very improbable event should ever take place”, she could only tell what Bingley could tell better himself: “The liberty of communication cannot be mine till it has lost all its value!” The next paragraph shows Jane: “Jane was not happy. She still cherished a very tender affection for Bingley.” Here “relate” means tell, “partake” means share, “a perfect understanding between the parties” means Jane and Bingley coming to an understanding of their own, and the phrase “The liberty of communication” means the freedom to tell. The student decides what the news would do to Jane now. The card does not say that Bingley still loves Jane or will return; Elizabeth calls it a “very improbable event”.
It would hurt her more. To learn she was “sincerely” valued, when Elizabeth herself calls a happy ending a “very improbable event”, would wake a hope with nothing to feed it. Jane is already using “all her good sense” to keep her regrets in check. On this reading the news would undo that hard work, and Elizabeth’s prudence is kindness.
if that very improbable event should ever take place
all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets
It could comfort her. At home the talk is her mother’s: Bingley is “a very undeserving young man” who “used my daughter extremely ill”. To know she was truly valued would let her think well of him and of her own heart, and thinking well of people is what Jane most wants. On this reading Elizabeth keeps a comfort from the one person it belongs to, and the secret is about Jane but kept from her.
he used my daughter extremely ill
She still cherished a very tender affection for Bingley.
A strong answer A strong response stands in Jane’s place before judging. One reader finds the news would hurt: it would raise a hope that Elizabeth herself calls “very improbable”, against the good sense Jane is already straining to use. Another finds it would comfort: the talk at home is her mother’s, that Bingley “used my daughter extremely ill”, and Jane would be glad to know she was valued. The best answers notice that the narrator places Jane’s hidden grief right after the secret, and that this is a second silence in the chapter, kept from the one person it is about.
5. Jane hopes Wickham is now “sorry for what he has done”, and her mother hopes Bingley will be, once Jane dies of a broken heart. Why does Austen give mother and daughter the same words?Author's choice
What it asks It asks the student to hear an echo across the chapter. Jane says of Wickham: “He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done, and anxious to re-establish a character. We must not make him desperate.” Later Mrs. Bennet, who is “determined never to speak of it again to anybody”, speaks of Bingley: “Well, my comfort is, I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart, and then he will be sorry for what he has done.” The narrator adds: “But as Elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such expectation she made no answer.” The student decides what the repeated words do. The card does not say that Bingley still loves Jane or will return.
They set mercy against revenge. Jane wants the wrongdoer sorry so that he can mend; her mother wants him sorry so that he suffers, and takes her comfort from imagining her own daughter’s death. Making the words the same makes the difference plain. On this reading the echo shows how good Jane’s mercy is, and Elizabeth’s silence before her mother is a refusal of the other kind of sorrow.
Jane will die of a broken heart, and then he will be sorry for what he has done.
But as Elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such expectation she made no answer.
They show a likeness. Both women picture a man’s sorrow that neither can see. Jane’s “perhaps” is a hope, as her mother’s “I am sure” is a fancy. On this reading the echo is a quiet warning that Jane’s mercy, which is one of the reasons for keeping Wickham’s secret, rests on a wish.
He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done
Well, my comfort is, I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart
A strong answer A strong response finds the echo and asks what it does. One reader hears a contrast: Jane wants a wrongdoer sorry so he can mend, her mother wants a man sorry so he suffers, even if it takes Jane’s death. Another reader hears a likeness: both picture a sorrow they cannot see, and Jane’s “perhaps” is no better grounded than her mother’s “I am sure”. The best answers notice that this matters for the decision about Wickham, since one of its reasons is Jane’s hope that he is sorry, and carry that into the last written question.
1. Elizabeth admits that her dislike of Darcy was “such an opening for wit”, but she still looks forward to laughing at Meryton’s “stupidity” one day. How far has she learned to distrust her own wit?
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Elizabeth’s confession against what she says after it. Jane remarks, “I never thought Mr. Darcy so deficient in the _appearance_ of it as you used to do.” Elizabeth answers: “And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him, without any reason. It is such a spur to one’s genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind. One may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but one cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.” Soon after, giving her reasons for silence, she says Meryton’s prejudice against Darcy is so strong “that it would be the death of half the good people in Meryton” to defend him, and that once the truth is “all found out”, “then we may laugh at their stupidity in not knowing it before.” Here “a spur to one’s genius” means a prod to one’s talent, “abusive” means insulting, and “just” means fair and true. The student builds a thesis on how much Elizabeth has learned about her wit, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card does not say that her feelings for Darcy have warmed; she says her regret is being “done away”.
She has learned a good deal. The confession names exactly how wit misled her: a dislike gives jokes to make, and some jokes will land whether or not they are “just”. She also turns the blame on herself, “so very weak, and vain, and nonsensical”. Her jokes with Jane now serve a kind purpose: they work to coax a smile from her grieving sister. On this reading the laugh she looks forward to is a joke between sisters, and “we” takes in Elizabeth’s own past mistake.
One may be continually abusive without saying anything just
no Jane to comfort me, and say that I had not been so very weak, and vain, and nonsensical, as I knew I had!
Not yet. The confession itself is built as a witty saying. She still sorts the two men all or nothing, “all the goodness” and “all the appearance of it”. And she looks forward to laughing at Meryton’s “stupidity” for believing what she herself believed until a fortnight ago. On this reading the wit has changed its target, from Darcy to the town, but not its habit.
and then we may laugh at their stupidity in not knowing it before
One has got all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it.
A strong answer A strong response might argue that Elizabeth has learned a great deal, because her confession names the mechanism exactly: a dislike gives wit an “opening”, and one can be “continually abusive without saying anything just”. Key evidence also includes her harsh words for herself, “so very weak, and vain, and nonsensical”. The strongest objection is that the confession is itself an epigram, that she still splits the men into “all the goodness” and “all the appearance of it”, and that she looks forward to the day when “we may laugh at their stupidity” for a mistake she shared. A revised thesis might hold that she now distrusts her wit about Darcy but not her wit in general, and that her plan for silence still leans on a joke about the town.
2. Elizabeth and Jane agree to say nothing about what Wickham really is. Is that a wise kindness or a risky mistake?
What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Elizabeth asks “whether I ought, or ought not, to make our acquaintance in general understand Wickham’s character.” Her reasons: Darcy “has not authorized me to make his communication public”; what concerns his sister was meant for her alone; “who will believe me?”; “I am not equal to it”; and “Wickham will soon be gone; and, therefore, it will not signify to anybody here what he really is.” She ends, “At present I will say nothing about it.” Jane adds that exposure “might ruin him for ever”, that he is “perhaps, sorry”, and “We must not make him desperate.” Here “authorized” means given permission, “equal to” means strong enough for, and “signify” means matter. The student builds a thesis on whether the silence is wise and kind or risky, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that any later harm comes from the silence (the chapter knows only that Wickham’s regiment is leaving), that Bingley still loves Jane or will return, that Jane blames Darcy, or that Elizabeth’s feelings for Darcy have warmed.
A wise kindness. The secret is not wholly Elizabeth’s: Darcy has not given leave to tell it, and part of it concerns his sister. The town would not believe her, and Mrs. Bennet, who has “inquired of everybody” about Bingley, and has already told her sister Philips her mind, shows how talk travels from Longbourn to Meryton. Wickham is leaving, and Jane’s mercy gives a man the chance to mend. On this reading, speaking would break a trust, fail to persuade, and ruin a man to no purpose.
Mr. Darcy has not authorized me to make his communication public.
if I endeavour to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me?
A risky mistake. Every reason leans on one hope, that his leaving ends the matter. Her words “it will not signify to anybody here” say nothing of the people he goes on to meet. “Some time hence it will be all found out” is a guess, and Jane’s “perhaps, sorry” is a wish. “I am not equal to it” admits that the silence also spares Elizabeth. And she has just learned how easily a decent person believes him. On this reading the sisters leave others as unguarded as Elizabeth herself was.
Wickham will soon be gone; and, therefore, it will not signify to anybody here what he really is.
I am not equal to it.
A strong answer A strong response might argue that the silence is a wise kindness, because the knowledge is Darcy’s confidence and touches his sister, because Meryton’s prejudice is too strong for the truth to be believed, and because Jane’s mercy gives Wickham a chance to “re-establish a character.” The strongest objection is that every reason assumes his leaving ends the matter: “it will not signify to anybody here” ignores everyone elsewhere, “Some time hence it will be all found out” is a guess, “I am not equal to it” shows the silence spares Elizabeth too, and she herself has just been deceived by him. A revised thesis might hold that the sisters are right to protect Darcy’s confidence but wrong to treat Wickham’s departure as an answer, so the decision is defensible today and uncertain beyond it. Key evidence to consider includes “At present I will say nothing about it”, Jane’s “perhaps”, and Mrs. Bennet’s talk, which shows the world Elizabeth thinks would never believe her.
The tumult of Elizabeth’s mind was allayed by this conversation.To calm or quiet a strong feeling, the way rain settles dust. After the talk with Jane, the narrator says, “The tumult of Elizabeth’s mind was allayed”: the uproar is eased, not ended. The word measures what sharing two secrets did for her, and leaves room for the third she still keeps.
Here was knowledge in which no one could partake; and she was sensible that nothing less than a perfect understanding between the parties could justify her in throwing off this last encumbrance of mystery.A burden or load that hampers movement (from encumber, to weigh down or block). Elizabeth’s last secret is “this last encumbrance of mystery”, a weight she would be glad to throw off. The word makes keeping a secret something carried, not just something known.
There certainly was some great mismanagement in the education of those two young men.Bad handling of something one is in charge of (mis-, badly, plus management). Elizabeth jokes that there was “some great mismanagement in the education” of Darcy and Wickham, as if goodness and its look had been handed out wrongly. The word turns a moral puzzle into a joke about poor housekeeping.
Having never even fancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of first attachment, and from her age and disposition, greater steadiness than first attachments often boast; and so fervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health and their tranquillity.Needed; required for a purpose (related to require). All Jane’s good sense and care for others “were requisite” to hold back her regrets. The word shows how much effort her quiet takes: it is not calm she has, but calm she must keep making.
Having never even fancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of first attachment, and from her age and disposition, greater steadiness than first attachments often boast; and so fervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health and their tranquillity.Calm and peace, especially the peace of a household (the British spelling of tranquility). Jane holds back her regrets because they would harm “her own health and their tranquillity”, the calm of the people around her. The word shows that Jane’s quiet is kept partly for the sake of others.
On the contrary, every particular relative to his sister was meant to be kept as much as possible to myself; and if I endeavour to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me?To try hard, especially at something difficult (the British spelling of endeavor). Elizabeth asks what would happen “if I endeavour to undeceive people”. The word makes telling the truth sound like hard labour, a task she then says she is “not equal to”.