Chapter 8 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to weigh Darcy’s two answers to Miss Bingley. First she says, “I am inclined to think that you would not wish to see _your sister_ make such an exhibition.” He answers, “Certainly not.” A little later, “in a half whisper”, she says she is afraid “that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of her fine eyes”. He replies “Not at all”, and adds that “they were brightened by the exercise.” Then “A short pause followed this speech”. The student decides which answer comes closer to what Darcy thinks, or how both can stand. The card must not say that Darcy is in love, and must not treat him as simply agreeing with the sisters.

One reading

The first. “Certainly not” comes at once, with nothing to soften it, and it judges conduct: a woman of his family would not walk three miles alone through the dirt. The eyes answer a different question. Miss Bingley asked whether the walk had hurt his admiration, not whether he approved of it, so he can admire the face and still disapprove of the walk.

• Certainly not.
• you would not wish to see your sister make such an exhibition.

Another reading

The second. Miss Bingley asks about the eyes in a half whisper, hoping to hear him turn against Elizabeth, and he will not. He even makes the walk the cause of what he admires. “Certainly not” is the easy answer about his own sister, given to the woman who asked it. The eyes are the answer he did not have to give, and the room goes quiet after it.

• they were brightened by the exercise.
• A short pause followed this speech,

Listen for

• Notices that the two questions differ: one asks about his sister’s conduct, the other about Elizabeth’s looks.
• Hears “in a half whisper”: Miss Bingley is fishing for an answer.
• Notices that Darcy makes the walk the reason for the brightness (“brightened by the exercise”) instead of defending or blaming it.
• Marks the “short pause” after his answer, and asks who in the room needed it.

If stuck

• What does Miss Bingley ask Darcy about his sister?
• What does she ask him about Elizabeth’s eyes, and how does she ask it?
• Can you disapprove of what someone did and admire them for it at the same time?

A strong answer A strong response chooses an answer and argues from the two exchanges. One reader trusts “Certainly not”: it is quick and plain, and it judges an act, while the eyes answer a separate question about looks. Another trusts the eyes: Miss Bingley asks “in a half whisper” for him to turn on Elizabeth, he says “Not at all”, and he credits the walk itself. The best answers notice that both replies can be sincere, and claim nothing about Darcy’s feelings beyond what he says here.

What it asks It asks the student to read one word of narration. Mrs. Hurst says, “I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet,--she is really a very sweet girl,--and I wish with all my heart she were well settled.” A few lines later the sisters give Darcy’s remark about the uncles “their hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friend’s vulgar relations.” Then: “With a renewal of tenderness, however, they repaired to her room on leaving the dining-parlour, and sat with her till summoned to coffee.” The student decides what “renewal” takes for granted: whether the sisters’ tenderness went out while they laughed and comes back at Jane’s door, or was there all along beside the laughter. The card must not make the sisters cartoon villains, and must not say that Elizabeth hears any of their talk.

One reading

There all along. Mrs. Hurst’s “excessive regard” for Jane and her fear of the family’s “low connections” come in one speech, and she wishes Jane well settled “with all my heart”. The sisters can be fond of Jane and scornful of her family at the same time. The word “renewal” means the fondness is shown again, not that it had died, and they do go up and sit with her. The narrator’s “however” lets both stand without choosing between them.

• I wish with all my heart she were well settled.
• and sat with her till summoned to coffee.

Another reading

Gone while they laughed. At dinner the narrator has already marked “their indifference towards Jane, when not immediately before them”, and the laughter runs on “for some time”. A renewal is the return of something that had lapsed: the tenderness is put on again at her door, and the visit lasts only “till summoned to coffee”. Their fondness belongs to the room Jane is in; their laughter belongs to the room she is not in.

• their indifference towards Jane, when not immediately before them,
• With a renewal of tenderness, however,

Listen for

• Hears what “renewal” takes for granted, and asks whether a feeling that never went away can be renewed.
• Notices “however”, which joins the mirth and the tenderness without excusing either.
• Notices “their dear friend’s vulgar relations”: the narrator sets the sisters’ two attitudes in one phrase.
• Reads “till summoned to coffee” both ways: a long, kind visit, or one that ends when something pleasanter is called.

If stuck

• What do the sisters do just before they go up to Jane?
• What does Mrs. Hurst say she wishes for Jane?
• Can you be truly fond of someone and still laugh at her family?

A strong answer A strong response says whether the tenderness had gone or stayed, and argues from the dinner talk and the visit. One reader finds it there all along: Mrs. Hurst wishes Jane well settled “with all my heart” in the same speech that fears her “low connections”, and the sisters really do sit with her, so affection and snobbery live together in them. Another finds it gone while they laughed and put on again at the door: the narrator has already marked “their indifference towards Jane, when not immediately before them”, and the visit lasts “till summoned to coffee”. The best answers keep both the laughter and the sitting in view, and do not turn the sisters into villains.

What it asks It asks the student to look at Elizabeth’s own small piece of tact. She goes down only when “it appeared to her rather right than pleasant that she should go down stairs herself.” She finds the party at loo and is invited to join, “but suspecting them to be playing high, she declined it, and making her sister the excuse, said she would amuse herself, for the short time she could stay below, with a book.” Playing high means playing for large stakes. The student decides why Elizabeth gives her sister as the reason and keeps her suspicion to herself. The card must not guess at what Elizabeth could or could not afford, which the chapter does not say.

One reading

Good manners, and the excuse is true. A guest does not tell her hosts she thinks they play too deep. Jane really is ill, and Elizabeth means to stay below only a short time. She came down because it was right, not because it was pleasant, and her excuse keeps the evening smooth at no cost to anyone.

• rather right than pleasant
• for the short time she could stay below,

Another reading

Guarded distrust. Since dinner she has believed that the others think her “an intruder”, and the sisters’ coldness to Jane has brought back all her dislike, so she keeps her judgment of the house to herself. The reader knows the house is doing the same to her: the abuse began “as soon as she was out of the room.” Everyone at Netherfield keeps a verdict back, and Elizabeth is no exception.

• restored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her original dislike.
• so much an intruder as she believed she was considered by the others.

Listen for

• Explains “playing high” and sees why a guest might not say it aloud.
• Notices that the excuse is not false: Jane is ill, and Elizabeth stays below only briefly.
• Links her silence to dinner, where she believed the others thought her “an intruder”.
• Asks whether tact and concealment can always be told apart, in Elizabeth as in her hosts.

If stuck

• What is the party doing when Elizabeth comes down?
• What does Elizabeth suspect, and what does she say instead?
• When is it kinder to give a true reason that is not the whole reason?

A strong answer A strong response says why Elizabeth keeps her suspicion back and argues from her coming down and her refusal. One reader sees good manners: she came down because it was “rather right than pleasant”, a guest does not accuse her hosts of playing high, and the excuse is true, since Jane is ill and Elizabeth stays only “for the short time she could stay below”. Another sees distrust: she believes the others think her “an intruder” and she dislikes the sisters, so she guards her judgment as they guard theirs. The best answers notice that Elizabeth, too, manages how she appears, and do not guess at what she could afford.

What it asks It asks the student to read Bingley’s joke. Miss Bingley exclaims, “What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!” Darcy says that it “has been the work of many generations.” She tells her brother, “Charles, when you build _your_ house, I wish it may be half as delightful as Pemberley.” She advises him to “take Pemberley for a kind of model.” Bingley answers, “With all my heart: I will buy Pemberley itself, if Darcy will sell it.” She says, “I am talking of possibilities, Charles.” He replies, “Upon my word, Caroline, I should think it more possible to get Pemberley by purchase than by imitation.” The student decides who the joke is on. The card must not bring in facts about either family’s fortune or history that this chapter does not give.

One reading

His sister. She has been praising Pemberley to its owner, and her advice to copy it is one more compliment to Darcy. Bingley takes her words at face value and offers to buy the place. When she corrects him, he turns the point on her: no one can copy what took “many generations”. Her talk of “possibilities” is shown up as flattery.

• I am talking of possibilities, Charles.
• I should think it more possible to get Pemberley by purchase than by imitation.

Another reading

Himself, and cheerfully. He has just called himself “an idle fellow” with more books “than I ever looked into.” He knows he cannot become a man whose library is “the work of many generations”, and he does not mind. The joke is honest about what money can and cannot do, and he is the first to laugh at his own place in it.

• but I am an idle fellow;
• it has been the work of many generations.

Listen for

• Notices that Miss Bingley’s praise is aimed at Darcy even when she speaks to her brother.
• Hears the two ways of getting a house set against each other: “purchase” and “imitation”.
• Links the joke to Darcy’s “work of many generations”: what makes Pemberley cannot be copied.
• Notices that Bingley, with books “more than I ever looked into”, is the first to admit he is no judge of libraries.

If stuck

• What does Miss Bingley advise her brother to do about his house?
• What does Bingley offer to do instead?
• Can you copy something that took many generations to make?

A strong answer A strong response names who the joke is on and argues from the talk of the library. One reader says his sister: her advice is one more compliment to Darcy, and Bingley punctures it by taking it literally, so that her “possibilities” look like flattery. Another says himself: an “idle fellow” who has not read his own books knows he cannot copy “the work of many generations”, and laughs at that first. The best answers hear “purchase” set against “imitation”, and claim nothing about the two families that the chapter does not give.

What it asks It asks the student to set two moments side by side. After dinner, with Elizabeth upstairs, Mrs. Hurst says she has nothing to recommend her “but being an excellent walker”, and Miss Bingley asks, “Why must _she_ be scampering about the country, because her sister had a cold?” To walk “three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ancles in dirt, and alone” shows, to Miss Bingley, “an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to decorum.” Bingley hears in it “an affection for her sister that is very pleasing”, and Darcy says her eyes “were brightened by the exercise.” Later, with Elizabeth standing by the card-table, Miss Bingley says that a woman must have music, singing, drawing, dancing and the modern languages, and “besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.” The student decides what kind of walking her list asks for, and what kind it leaves out. The card must not say that Elizabeth heard the talk after dinner, and must not decide whether Elizabeth’s doubt is fair; that is the last written question.

One reading

A walk to be watched. Everything in that part of the list is seen or heard in company: an air, a manner, a tone of voice, an address. Elizabeth’s walk was the other kind. It had a purpose, it took her through the dirt to a sick sister, and it left her looking “almost wild”. The walking on the list is display; the walking Miss Bingley mocked was done for someone else, and her measure has no place for it.

• she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions,
• Why must she be scampering about the country, because her sister had a cold?

Another reading

A walk that is not Elizabeth’s, named in front of the man who praised hers. After dinner Darcy would not let the walk count against her eyes. Now Elizabeth stands at the card-table while Miss Bingley puts a lady’s “manner of walking” on the list, one more way to rule out the woman who came “scampering about the country”. Whether Miss Bingley means it so the chapter does not say; the reader hears the echo either way.

• “Not at all,” he replied: “they were brightened by the exercise.”
• stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game.

Listen for

• Links the “manner of walking” on the list to the walk the sisters mocked after dinner.
• Hears what the list’s walking belongs with: an “air”, a “tone”, an “address”, all things shown in company.
• Notices that Elizabeth is in the room for the list, though she was upstairs for the mockery.
• Keeps apart what Miss Bingley may intend and what the reader hears.

If stuck

• What did Miss Bingley say about Elizabeth’s walk after dinner?
• What does she say about walking when she makes her list?
• Where would a woman show her “manner of walking”, and who would be watching?

A strong answer A strong response says what kind of walking the list asks for and argues from both moments. One reader hears a walk to be watched: the list asks for an “air” and a “manner” shown in company, and the walk Elizabeth took for her sister, through the dirt and alone, is just what Miss Bingley called “indifference to decorum”. Another hears a dig made in front of Darcy, who would not let the walk spoil the eyes, while the walker herself stands at the card-table. The best answers keep the two moments side by side, and keep apart what Miss Bingley may intend from what the reader hears.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh Darcy’s addition to the list. Miss Bingley has just said that a woman must have “a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages”, and “a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions”. Darcy answers, “All this she must possess”, and goes on: “and to all she must yet add something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.” Earlier Miss Bingley told him, “you are always buying books”, and he said, “I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.” When Elizabeth chose a book over cards, Miss Bingley told the table, “She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.” Elizabeth’s next words are “I am no longer surprised at your knowing _only_ six accomplished women.” The student decides whether the addition improves the standard or only puts it further out of reach. The card must not say that Darcy means Elizabeth, or that he admires her beyond what the chapter shows, and must not decide whether Elizabeth’s doubt is fair; that is the last written question.

One reading

Better. Darcy calls reading “something more substantial” than anything on Miss Bingley’s list, so he ranks the mind above music, drawing and a manner of walking. Her items are shown off in company; his is a quality of the mind, not of the manner. It also answers the room: Miss Bingley made reading a fault in Elizabeth (“has no pleasure in anything else”), and Darcy makes it the crown of the list. Whom he has in mind the chapter does not say.

• something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.
• She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.

Another reading

Only longer. “All this she must possess” keeps every item, the walk and the voice included, and “yet add” stacks one more on top. Darcy does not swap the measure of show for a better one; he raises it, and the item he adds is the one the man who is “always buying books” already has. Elizabeth answers at once that she is “no longer surprised” he knows only six. The list now fits fewer women than ever.

• “All this she must possess,” added Darcy; “and to all she must yet add
• I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women.

Listen for

• Hears “All this she must possess”: Darcy keeps the whole list before he adds to it.
• Notices that “something more substantial” ranks reading above music, drawing and a manner of walking.
• Links the addition to Darcy’s own talk of the Pemberley library, and to Miss Bingley’s tease of Elizabeth as “a great reader”, without deciding whom he means.
• Notices that Elizabeth answers the longer list at once, and leaves the fairness of her answer to the last written question.

If stuck

• What does Miss Bingley’s list ask a woman to have?
• What does Darcy say about her list before he adds to it?
• Can a harder test also be a better one? When is it only harder?

A strong answer A strong response says whether Darcy’s addition makes the list better or only longer, and argues from his words. One reader finds it better: he ranks the mind as “something more substantial” than anything Miss Bingley named, and turns her tease of “a great reader” into the crown of the list. Another finds it only longer: “All this she must possess” keeps every item, “yet add” stacks one more on top, the new item is one the man who is “always buying books” already has, and Elizabeth is at once “no longer surprised” that he knows only six. The best answers notice that Darcy both agrees with the list and changes it, and claim nothing about whom he admires beyond the chapter.

What it asks It asks the student to hear Darcy’s reply as Miss Bingley hears it. When the door has closed on Elizabeth, Miss Bingley says that she “is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I daresay, it succeeds; but, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.” Darcy, “to whom this remark was chiefly addressed”, replies “Undoubtedly”, and goes on: “there is meanness in _all_ the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.” Then “Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.” Captivation here means winning a man’s heart. The student decides what Miss Bingley heard in the reply that made her let the subject go. The card must not say that Darcy aims his words at Miss Bingley: the chapter shows only that she drops the subject, and the target is the reader’s inference.

One reading

Agreement without the verdict she wanted. She asked him to condemn Elizabeth, and he gave her a rule about ladies in general. “Undoubtedly” grants the charge, but he never names Eliza Bennet or says that her doubt was one of these arts. A general rule leaves the particular case open, and a woman hoping to hear Elizabeth put down gets only a maxim.

• “Undoubtedly,” replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed,
• Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.

Another reading

A rule that fits herself, as a reader may hear it. The stress falls on “_all_”, and the arts that win a man have been on show all evening: her praise of Pemberley and of Miss Darcy, her quick “Nor I, I am sure”, her question about the fine eyes in a half whisper. A rule that takes in every lady takes in the one who asked for it. Whether Darcy meant it so the chapter does not say; it says only that she does not go on.

• there is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation.
• Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.

Listen for

• Hears “Undoubtedly” as real agreement, and notices what the reply leaves out: Elizabeth’s name.
• Notices the italic “_all_”, which widens the charge beyond one woman.
• Lists the arts the reader has seen this evening, and who used them.
• Keeps apart what Miss Bingley may have heard and whom Darcy meant: the chapter says only that she drops the subject.

If stuck

• What does Miss Bingley say about Elizabeth once the door has closed?
• What is Darcy’s first word in reply, and what does he say after it?
• Can you agree with someone and still give them an answer they did not want?

A strong answer A strong response says what Miss Bingley heard and argues from Darcy’s reply. One reader hears agreement without the verdict she wanted: “Undoubtedly” grants the charge, but Darcy speaks of ladies in general and never says that Elizabeth is one of them. Another hears a rule that fits the woman who asked for it: the stress on “_all_” reaches the flattery Miss Bingley has used all evening, and she “was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.” The best answers keep apart what she may have heard and whom Darcy meant, and claim no target the chapter does not name.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh Bingley’s way of seeing. When Mrs. Hurst describes the petticoat “six inches deep in mud”, he answers, “Your picture may be very exact, Louisa,” and then: “but this was all lost upon me. I thought Miss Elizabeth Bennet looked remarkably well when she came into the room this morning. Her dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice.” He calls the walk proof of “an affection for her sister that is very pleasing”. Of his books he says, “I am an idle fellow; and though I have not many, I have more than I ever looked into.” At the end of the evening his sisters want “one of the most eminent physicians” from town, while he urges Mr. Jones. They solace themselves “by duets after supper”, while he gives “his housekeeper directions that every possible attention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister.” The student builds a thesis on whether Bingley’s not seeing is a failure or a choice, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not turn his kindness into foolishness or his sisters into villains.

One reading

A choice. “Your picture may be very exact” grants that the mud may have been there; he will not dwell on it. What he chose to see was a woman who “looked remarkably well” and a sister’s affection. His kindness goes on choosing all evening: he urges Mr. Jones, and he ends the night giving the housekeeper orders while his sisters play duets. Not looking at the mud is a judgment about what matters.

• Your picture may be very exact, Louisa,
• It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing,

Another reading

A failure to see, or a habit of not looking. He tells the room he has more books “than I ever looked into”, and “quite escaped my notice” sounds like the same easy temper. His sisters see the mud that is really there, and Darcy sees both the mud and the eyes. A kindness that misses what is in front of it is pleasant to receive, but it is no guide to anyone’s worth.

• Her dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice.
• I have more than I ever looked into.

Listen for

• Hears “Your picture may be very exact”: Bingley does not deny the mud.
• Hears the narrator’s irony in “They solaced their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper”, set against his orders to the housekeeper.
• Links “escaped my notice” to the books “than I ever looked into”, and asks whether both come from the same easy temper.
• Compares three ways of seeing the walk: the sisters’ mud, Darcy’s eyes and Bingley’s affection.

If stuck

• What do his sisters say about the petticoat, and what does Bingley say back?
• Does Bingley say the mud was not there?
• Is it better to see people clearly or to see them kindly, and can you do both?

A strong answer A strong thesis says whether Bingley’s not seeing is a failure or a choice, and argues from his words and acts. A student might argue that it is a choice: he grants that the picture “may be very exact” and then says what he saw instead, a woman who “looked remarkably well” and an affection “very pleasing”. The strongest objection is that it looks like his habit of not looking: he has more books “than I ever looked into”, and he sees none of what his sisters see. A good revision might hold that his kindness chooses what to notice, and that this is itself a kind of worth the room does not count, the one the chapter sets against display when the evening ends in duets on one side and a housekeeper’s orders on the other.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh two ways of judging the Bennets’ relations. Mrs. Hurst says, “But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.” The sisters bring up an uncle who is an attorney in Meryton and another “who lives somewhere near Cheapside.” One says “That is capital”, “and they both laughed heartily.” Bingley cries that if they had “uncles enough to fill _all_ Cheapside”, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable.” Darcy replies, “But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world”. “To this speech Bingley made no answer; but his sisters gave it their hearty assent”. Men of consideration are men of standing. The student builds a thesis on which is harder on the Bennets, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Darcy will act on this view; here it is one remark at dinner.

One reading

The laughter. It is mockery for its own sake, at the expense of a woman they call their “dear friend”, and it goes on “for some time”. Darcy speaks of the world, not of his own taste: he says what men “of any consideration in the world” will think. The sisters enjoy the Bennets’ lowness; Darcy only names its cost.

• “That is capital,” added her sister; and they both laughed heartily.
• indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friend’s vulgar relations.

Another reading

Darcy’s remark. Laughter can be answered, and Bingley answers it at once: the uncles would not make the girls “one jot less agreeable”. A sober fact cannot be laughed off. Bingley has nothing to say to it, and the sisters, who had only been laughing, now have a reason and give it their hearty assent. The remark turns a joke into a verdict on the girls’ future.

• But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world,
• To this speech Bingley made no answer;

Listen for

• Separates two kinds of harm: contempt that enjoys itself, and a judgment that may be true.
• Notices that Bingley answers the laughter and falls silent before the remark.
• Hears “of any consideration in the world”: Darcy speaks for the world’s measure, and the student decides whether he shares it.
• Keeps to the chapter: this is one remark at dinner, and says nothing about what Darcy will do.

If stuck

• What do the sisters do when they hear about the uncle near Cheapside?
• What does Bingley say to his sisters, and what does he say to Darcy?
• Which hurts more over time: being laughed at, or being judged by a hard rule that may be true?

A strong answer A strong thesis says which is harder on the Bennets and argues from the talk at dinner. A student might argue that the laughter is worse: the sisters enjoy “their dear friend’s vulgar relations” for some time, while Darcy only names what the world will think. The strongest objection is that the remark does more harm because it cannot be answered: Bingley meets the laughter at once and makes no answer to Darcy, and the sisters’ mirth now has a reason behind it. A good revision might hold that the laughter is crueller and the remark more dangerous, and that the chapter shows each lending the other strength.

What it asks It asks the guide’s last question. Bingley says all young ladies are accomplished: “They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses.” Darcy knows no “more than half-a-dozen” who really are, and Miss Bingley says, “Nor I, I am sure”. Elizabeth observes, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.” Then “his faithful assistant” gives the list: “A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and, besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.” Darcy adds “extensive reading”. Elizabeth says, “I am no longer surprised at your knowing _only_ six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing _any_.” Darcy asks, “Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?” She answers, “_I_ never saw such a woman. _I_ never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.” After she leaves, Miss Bingley says she seeks to win men “by undervaluing their own” sex. The student builds a thesis on whether Elizabeth’s doubt is a fair point or a way of running down her own sex, meets the strongest objection, and revises. The card must not say that Elizabeth hears any of the earlier mockery, must not turn the debate into a general talk about women’s education, and must not decide whom Darcy’s reply about cunning is aimed at.

One reading

A fair point. The list grows with every speaker, from netting purses to music, languages, a manner of walking and extensive reading, until it describes no one. Elizabeth’s stress falls on “_I_”: she reports what she has seen, not what women can be, and her last word, “united”, doubts only that all of it meets in one person. The sisters protest that they know many such women and never name one. Her doubt is aimed at the list and its makers, not at her sex.

• I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.
• you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.

Another reading

Close to running down her sex. Darcy hears it that way at once: “so severe upon your own sex”. She is speaking to a man, about women, and her joke (“I rather wonder now at your knowing _any_”) lands on every woman he knows. Miss Bingley’s charge has some weight even from a jealous speaker: a woman who tells a man that no woman meets his standard sets herself apart from the rest.

• Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?
• seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own;

Listen for

• Traces how the list grows, speaker by speaker, from Bingley’s purses to Darcy’s reading.
• Hears the stress on “_I_” and the weight of the last word, “united”.
• Weighs Darcy’s “so severe upon your own sex” as a fair reading of her, or a misreading.
• Keeps to the people in the room: who is trying to win what in this talk, and whom the list describes.

If stuck

• By Miss Bingley’s list, what must a woman have, and what does Darcy add?
• What does Elizabeth say she never saw?
• Is doubting that anyone meets a standard the same as thinking poorly of the people it is meant for?

A strong answer A strong thesis says whether Elizabeth’s doubt is fair or a slight on her own sex, and argues from the list and her answer. A student might argue that it is fair: the list grows with every speaker until it describes no one, her stress on “_I_” reports her own experience, and “united” doubts only that all of it meets in one woman, while the sisters claim many such women and never name one. The strongest objection is Darcy’s own question, “so severe upon your own sex”, and Miss Bingley’s charge: a woman who tells a man that no woman meets his standard sets herself apart from the rest. A good revision might hold that the doubt is fair as an answer to the list, and that its edge falls on the people who drew the list up; the chapter leaves a reader to decide whether wit at the expense of an ideal is also, a little, at the expense of the women held to it.