Chapter 57 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to weigh the one admission in Elizabeth’s long reckoning after the visit. She works out where the report came from: “_his_ being the intimate friend of Bingley, and _her_ being the sister of Jane, was enough, at a time when the expectation of one wedding made everybody eager for another, to supply the idea.” Then: “She had not herself forgotten to feel that the marriage of her sister must bring them more frequently together. And her neighbours at Lucas Lodge, therefore, (for through their communication with the Collinses, the report, she concluded, had reached Lady Catherine,) had only set _that_ down as almost certain and immediate which _she_ had looked forward to as possible at some future time.” The italics set the neighbours’ haste against her own slower expectation. In the next paragraph she turns to fear what Lady Catherine may say to Darcy. The card does not say what Darcy feels or whether Lady Catherine has spoken to him.

One reading

A real hope. “Looked forward to” is the language of wanting, not of guessing. Elizabeth corrects the neighbours only on timing: they made “almost certain and immediate” what she saw “at some future time.” On this reading she has quietly agreed with the report in everything but its date, and that is why the rest of the chapter can hurt her.

• She had not herself forgotten to feel that the marriage of her sister must bring them more frequently together.
• which she had looked forward to as possible at some future time.

Another reading

A guarded possibility, not a wish. Every phrase hedges: “possible,” “at some future time,” and “not herself forgotten to feel” in place of anything like “hoped.” She grants that Jane’s marriage will bring them together and that something might come of it, and then turns at once to fear. On this reading she admits only that the idea is not absurd, which is still more than her father will allow the next morning.

• had only set that down as almost certain and immediate
• how he might take a similar representation of the evils attached to a connection with her she dared not pronounce.

Listen for

• Notices that Elizabeth corrects the neighbours on timing, not on substance.
• Hears the hedges in “possible” and “at some future time.”
• Weighs “looked forward to” as a hope or as a forecast.
• Does not say what Darcy feels or whether Lady Catherine has spoken to him.

If stuck

• How does Elizabeth think the report began?
• How is what the neighbours expect different from what she expected?
• Can you look forward to something without quite hoping for it?

A strong answer A strong response decides how much the sentence gives away and grounds the decision in its wording. One reader hears a hope: Elizabeth disagrees with the neighbours only about when, not about whether. Another hears a careful forecast, hedged by “possible” and “some future time,” which she drops at once to brace for Lady Catherine. The best answers notice that either way Elizabeth does not find the match absurd, the very word her father will reach for.

What it asks It asks the student to notice what Elizabeth leaves out of her own plan. She fears that Lady Catherine “would address him on his weakest side,” and that “with his notions of dignity, he would probably feel that the arguments, which to Elizabeth had appeared weak and ridiculous, contained much good sense and solid reasoning.” If so, “he would return no more,” and “his engagement to Bingley of coming again to Netherfield must give way.” Then she sets her terms: “If, therefore, an excuse for not keeping his promise should come to his friend within a few days,” she added, “I shall know how to understand it. I shall then give over every expectation, every wish of his constancy. If he is satisfied with only regretting me, when he might have obtained my affections and hand, I shall soon cease to regret him at all.” The other case never appears. The card does not say whether an excuse comes, whether Darcy stays away, or what he feels.

One reading

Because the hope is what she dares not put into words. To plan for his coming would be to admit she expects it, and she has just argued herself into fearing the opposite. Planning for the excuse keeps her dignity whichever way it goes: if he fails her, she has already decided to stop caring. On this reading the missing half of the plan is the hope itself, too exposed to say even in private.

• I shall then give over every expectation, every wish of his constancy.
• If he is satisfied with only regretting me

Another reading

Because if he comes, the next move is his. She can decide how to read an excuse; she cannot decide what he will say or do if he returns. So she plans for the one outcome that leaves something in her own hands, the power to stop regretting him. On this reading the plan is practical, not fearful: she governs what she can.

• I shall know how to understand it.
• I shall soon cease to regret him at all.

Listen for

• Notices that the plan has only one branch.
• Connects the plan to her fear of Darcy’s “notions of dignity.”
• Weighs “give over every expectation, every wish” as self-protection or as self-command.
• Does not say whether an excuse comes or whether Darcy returns.

If stuck

• What does Elizabeth fear Lady Catherine will say to Darcy?
• What will Elizabeth do if an excuse comes to Bingley?
• Why might someone plan for the worst and not for the best?

A strong answer A strong response names the missing half of the plan and offers a reason for its absence. One reader finds a hope too exposed to say: planning only for the excuse lets Elizabeth decide in advance to stop caring. Another finds good sense: the excuse is the one case in which she has something to decide. The best answers notice how much feeling the plan carries anyway, in “every expectation, every wish,” and that the chapter never shows which case comes.

What it asks It asks the student to look at how Mr. Bennet reads the letter. He meets her on the stairs: “Lizzy,” said he, “I was going to look for you: come into my room.” He begins, “Let me congratulate you on a very important conquest,” and when she colours: “You look conscious. Young ladies have great penetration in such matters as these; but I think I may defy even _your_ sagacity to discover the name of your admirer.” He passes over the part about Jane: “I shall not sport with your impatience by reading what he says on that point.” Then he breaks into Collins’s letter twice: “Can you possibly guess, Lizzy, who is meant by this?” and “Have you any idea, Lizzy, who this gentleman is?” Then: “_Mr. Darcy_, you see, is the man! Now, Lizzy, I think I _have_ surprised you.” Elizabeth answers neither question. The card does not say that he means to hurt her; the narrator says a later question was “asked without the least suspicion.”

One reading

A partner. He seeks out Lizzy and stages the letter as a game for two: the questions, the suspense, the name. He expects her to enjoy the absurdity as he does, and the narrator’s “Never had his wit been directed in a manner so little agreeable to her” implies that his wit has usually pleased her. On this reading the pauses are an invitation to their old shared joke, which is why his “Are you not diverted?” sounds puzzled rather than unkind.

• “Lizzy,” said he, “I was going to look for you: come into my room.”
• Never had his wit been directed in a manner so little agreeable to her.

Another reading

An audience. He is enjoying his own performance. He promises not to “sport with your impatience,” and then keeps her waiting on the name, and he goes on each time before she can answer. He wants her surprise (“I think I _have_ surprised you”) more than her thoughts. On this reading the game is his alone, and Elizabeth’s part is to react on cue.

• I shall not sport with your impatience by reading what he says on that point.
• Now, Lizzy, I think I have surprised you.

Listen for

• Notices that the questions are never answered, and that he goes on before she speaks.
• Sets “I shall not sport with your impatience” beside the pauses that follow.
• Uses “Never had his wit been directed in a manner so little agreeable to her” as a sign of what the two usually share.
• Does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt her.

If stuck

• Where does Mr. Bennet stop reading, and what does he ask?
• Does Elizabeth answer him?
• What is the difference between telling a joke to someone and sharing it with them?

A strong answer A strong response decides what the pauses are for and grounds the choice in how he reads. One reader hears an invitation: he has sought out Lizzy to share a game, as his wit has usually pleased her. Another hears a performance: he teases, promises not to tease, and teases again, and wants her surprise more than her answer. The best answers notice that both readings rest on the same fact, that he never waits to hear what she thinks.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh the one thing Elizabeth asks for in the library. By this point her father has read out Collins’s warning that “his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, does not look on the match with a friendly eye,” named Darcy, and laughed: “Mr. Darcy, who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish, and who probably never looked at _you_ in his life! It is admirable!” The narrator: “Elizabeth tried to join in her father’s pleasantry, but could only force one most reluctant smile. Never had his wit been directed in a manner so little agreeable to her.” He asks, “Are you not diverted?” and she answers, “Oh, yes. Pray read on.” What comes next is what Lady Catherine said “after mentioning the likelihood of this marriage to her Ladyship last night.” After the visit, “it occurred to Elizabeth that she must meditate an application to her nephew,” and how Darcy might take it “she dared not pronounce.” A few lines after the request, her father sees that she looks “as if you did not enjoy it.” The card does not say what Darcy feels or whether Lady Catherine has spoken to him.

One reading

To hear what Lady Catherine said. The letter has just named her and her unfriendly eye, and Elizabeth has spent hours since the visit wondering what her Ladyship will do next and how Darcy will take it. Collins’s letter is the only news she has. On this reading “Pray read on” is the most honest thing she says in the library: she wants the rest, even in her father’s mocking voice.

• We have reason to imagine that his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, does not look on the match with a friendly eye.
• it occurred to Elizabeth that she must meditate an application to her nephew

Another reading

To turn his eyes back to the page. Her smile has not convinced him, and his question is about her own feelings. A short yes and a request to go on close that question and set him reading again, where his attention is on Collins and not on her face. On this reading the request is part of her cover. It holds only a few lines: soon he says she looks “as if you did not enjoy it.”

• Elizabeth tried to join in her father’s pleasantry, but could only force one most reluctant smile.
• But, Lizzy, you look as if you did not enjoy it.

Listen for

• Notices what the letter has already said about Lady Catherine, and that more is to come.
• Connects the request to Elizabeth’s fear, since the visit, of what Lady Catherine will do.
• Weighs “Pray read on” as a wish to hear more or a way to stop being looked at.
• Does not say what Darcy feels or whether Lady Catherine has spoken to him.

If stuck

• What has the letter said about Lady Catherine so far?
• After the visit, what did Elizabeth fear Lady Catherine would do?
• Why might someone ask a person to keep going when what they say is hard to hear?

A strong answer A strong response decides what Elizabeth wants from the rest of the letter and grounds the choice in where the request falls. One reader hears a real wish: the letter has just named Lady Catherine, whose next move Elizabeth has feared since the visit, and it is the only news she has. Another hears cover: a short yes and a request to go on move her father’s eyes from her face to the page. The best answers notice that both can be true at once, and that the cover holds only until he sees she did not “enjoy it.”

What it asks It asks the student to weigh Collins’s advice and then decide what Mr. Bennet’s laugh at it is doing: passing a verdict, taking a pleasure, or both. Collins writes: “I am truly rejoiced that my cousin Lydia’s sad business has been so well hushed up, and am only concerned that their living together before the marriage took place should be so generally known. I must not, however, neglect the duties of my station, or refrain from declaring my amazement, at hearing that you received the young couple into your house as soon as they were married. It was an encouragement of vice; and had I been the rector of Longbourn, I should very strenuously have opposed it. You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing.” Mr. Bennet: “_That_ is his notion of Christian forgiveness! The rest of his letter is only about his dear Charlotte’s situation, and his expectation of a young olive-branch.” A little later: “Much as I abominate writing, I would not give up Mr. Collins’s correspondence for any consideration. Nay, when I read a letter of his, I cannot help giving him the preference even over Wickham, much as I value the impudence and hypocrisy of my son-in-law.” The card does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt Elizabeth.

One reading

Judging. One line does what a sermon could not: it sets Collins’s own terms beside the word “forgiveness” and lets the gap show. A forgiveness that bars the forgiven from sight and even from mention is no forgiveness, and the scorn names that exactly. Mr. Bennet need not defend his own welcome to the couple, because Collins’s idea of mercy discredits his charge of “an encouragement of vice.” On this reading the laugh is a verdict, and a sharp one.

• You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing.
• That is his notion of Christian forgiveness!

Another reading

Enjoying. Mr. Bennet judges Collins in a line and moves straight on to “his dear Charlotte’s situation.” Later he says he would not give up the letters “for any consideration,” and in the same breath that he values Wickham’s “impudence and hypocrisy.” He collects folly the way a reader enjoys a comic novel, though the letter is about his own daughter’s marriage and his own household. On this reading the scorn is right about Collins, but the pleasure comes first, and it is how Mr. Bennet keeps from taking anything to heart.

• Much as I abominate writing, I would not give up Mr. Collins’s correspondence for any consideration.
• much as I value the impudence and hypocrisy of my son-in-law.

Listen for

• States plainly what is wrong with Collins’s advice before deciding what the laugh is doing.
• Treats Collins’s view as a stance to weigh, not only as a joke.
• Notices that Mr. Bennet says he values Wickham’s “impudence and hypocrisy,” and asks what kind of pleasure that is.
• Does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt Elizabeth.

If stuck

• What does Collins say Mr. Bennet should have done about Lydia and Wickham?
• What does Mr. Bennet say about Collins’s letters, and about Wickham?
• Can you laugh at something because it is wrong and also because you enjoy it?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that the laugh is a judgment: one line exposes a forgiveness that forbids the forgiven to be seen or named. Key evidence to consider includes Collins’s own words, “never to admit them in your sight,” which need no further comment. The strongest objection is that Mr. Bennet enjoys the folly more than he opposes it: he would keep the letters “for any consideration” and values Wickham’s hypocrisy. A revised thesis might hold that his scorn sees Collins clearly and still treats him as entertainment, so the laugh is a true verdict that commits Mr. Bennet to nothing.

What it asks It asks the student to decide where the blindness lies: in Mr. Bennet, in Elizabeth’s disguise, or in both. He sees her colour rise and says, “You look conscious,” and goes on to tease her “sagacity.” He builds the joke on a fixed picture: “Had they fixed on any other man it would have been nothing; but _his_ perfect indifference and _your_ pointed dislike make it so delightfully absurd!” He notices, “Lizzy, you look as if you did not enjoy it,” and at once warns her not to be “_missish_.” Elizabeth “tried to join in her father’s pleasantry,” says “Oh, yes. Pray read on,” and “I am exceedingly diverted.” To his question about Lady Catherine, “his daughter replied only with a laugh; and as it had been asked without the least suspicion, she was not distressed by his repeating it. Elizabeth had never been more at a loss to make her feelings appear what they were not.” At the end she can “do nothing but wonder at such a want of penetration, or fear that, perhaps, instead of his seeing too _little_, she might have fancied too _much_.” The card does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt her, or that she has in fact fancied too much.

One reading

His own picture, and his love of a good joke. He sees the blush and names it, then treats it as any young lady’s flutter at an admirer. He has settled what Darcy and Lizzy think of each other, and the joke depends on that picture staying fixed. He even sees that she is not enjoying it and calls the feeling “missish” before she can explain it. On this reading the blindness is his: the signs are in front of him, and the joke is too good to give up.

• You look conscious.
• but his perfect indifference and your pointed dislike make it so delightfully absurd!

Another reading

Elizabeth herself. She tries to join in, forces a smile, asks him to read on, says she is “exceedingly diverted,” and answers his last question with a laugh. The narrator says she had “never been more at a loss to make her feelings appear what they were not,” so she is working hard at the disguise. A father who asks “without the least suspicion” has been given every reason not to suspect. On this reading the “want of penetration” she wonders at is partly the success of her own hiding.

• To this question his daughter replied only with a laugh; and as it had been asked without the least suspicion, she was not distressed by his repeating it.
• Elizabeth had never been more at a loss to make her feelings appear what they were not.

Listen for

• Collects the signs Mr. Bennet sees and explains away: the blush, “You look conscious,” “you look as if you did not enjoy it.”
• Weighs his fixed picture of Darcy and Elizabeth against her own work to hide what she feels.
• Notices that “want of penetration” is Elizabeth’s judgment, and that the same sentence offers her fear that she “might have fancied too much.”
• Does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt her, or that she has in fact fancied too much.

If stuck

• What does Mr. Bennet say when she blushes, and when she does not laugh?
• What does Elizabeth do to hide what she feels?
• Is it fair to blame someone for not seeing what you have worked to hide?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that the blindness is his: he sees her colour and her lack of pleasure, names both, and explains them away to keep his picture of “perfect indifference” and “pointed dislike.” Key evidence to consider includes “You look conscious” and the warning against being “missish.” The strongest objection is that Elizabeth works hard to be misread, smiling, laughing and asking him to read on, so his lack of suspicion is partly her doing. A revised thesis might hold that her disguise works only because his picture is already fixed, and that the chapter’s last words turn the question back on her: perhaps she, not he, has seen wrongly.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Mr. Bennet on the report: “Mr. Darcy, who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish, and who probably never looked at _you_ in his life! It is admirable!” The narrator: “Elizabeth tried to join in her father’s pleasantry, but could only force one most reluctant smile. Never had his wit been directed in a manner so little agreeable to her.” After the lines on Lydia: “But, Lizzy, you look as if you did not enjoy it. You are not going to be _missish_, I hope, and pretend to be affronted at an idle report. For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” Then: “Had they fixed on any other man it would have been nothing; but _his_ perfect indifference and _your_ pointed dislike make it so delightfully absurd!” His last question was “asked without the least suspicion.” The chapter ends: “It was necessary to laugh when she would rather have cried. Her father had most cruelly mortified her by what he said of Mr. Darcy’s indifference; and she could do nothing but wonder at such a want of penetration, or fear that, perhaps, instead of his seeing too _little_, she might have fancied too _much_.” The card does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt her, what Darcy feels, whether Lady Catherine has spoken to him, or that Elizabeth has fancied too much.

One reading

Harmless in intent, and mostly in fact. The motto describes a fair exchange: the Lucases and the Collinses gossip about the Bennets, and the Bennets laugh back. Mr. Bennet’s targets are a pompous cousin, a son-in-law he calls a hypocrite and an “idle report.” He laughs at what he believes is absurd, and nothing he has been told says otherwise; his last question is “asked without the least suspicion.” The pain is real, but it comes from what Elizabeth keeps from him. On this reading the laughter is innocent, and the hurt is the price of a secret.

• For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?
• as it had been asked without the least suspicion

Another reading

Not harmless. The narrator chooses the word “cruelly,” and a joke can wound without meaning to. His creed makes everyone into material, his own daughter included: he warns her off being “missish” before she can object, and he relishes the picture of a man who “never looks at any woman but to see a blemish.” His laughter rests on a picture he never troubles to check. On this reading the harm lies not in his motive but in a habit of laughing first that leaves no room to look, and Elizabeth, whom his wit has usually pleased, now feels it from the other side.

• Her father had most cruelly mortified her by what he said of Mr. Darcy’s indifference
• Mr. Darcy, who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish, and who probably never looked at you in his life!

Listen for

• Separates what Mr. Bennet means from what his words do.
• Weighs the narrator’s “cruelly” against “without the least suspicion.”
• Tests the motto, “make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn,” against a daughter rather than a neighbour.
• Does not say that Mr. Bennet means to hurt her, what Darcy feels, or that Elizabeth has fancied too much.

If stuck

• What does Mr. Bennet find so funny about the report?
• What does the narrator say his words did to Elizabeth?
• Can a joke do harm if the person telling it means none?

A strong answer A strong response might argue that the laughter is harmless in intent: Mr. Bennet laughs at what he believes is an absurd rumour and asks his last question “without the least suspicion.” Key evidence to consider includes the motto itself, which describes a fair trade of laughter among neighbours. The strongest objection is that the narrator calls the effect cruel, and that his creed turns even a daughter into sport and gives him no reason to look closer. A revised thesis might hold that the laughter is innocent in motive and harmful in habit, and that the chapter ends by turning the doubt on Elizabeth herself, who cannot yet tell whether he has seen too little or she has fancied too much.