“Mr Darcy took her advice, and did finish his letter.”
Yet another day passes in the Bingley household, where Jane recuperates in bed in the hopes of getting her to bond with the head of the house, Mr Charles Bingley.
This time, her condition has begun to improve, though is referred to by Austen as “the invalid”, which I think is over-dramatic and a bit dehumanising, though I know society’s views on disability and levels of empathy to those not in predetermined ‘perfect’ condition fluctuates.
Anyway.
That evening, Lizzy does some needlework and listens in on Ms Bingley’s conversation with Mr Darcy, in as much as a barrage of questions and comments while trying to write a letter to your sister can be called a conversation. At first, he tries to brush her off subtly, batting off her non-sequiturs with short sentences like “You are mistaken.”. Whether due to her ignorance or her determination to disrespect his personal boundaries, she does not pick up on his hints and presses him to add her desire to chat with his sister in a business-related letter.
When Darcy suggests putting it in another letter some other time under the excuse of not being able “to do it justice” in this one. In response, she completely disregards the importance of what she wanted and her brother enters the conversation. Little does he know that this will turn all talk to him and a debate on false modesty and the nature of compliments for around three pages.
At last, Lizzy lets Darcy get to the business of finishing his letter, which is wrapped up in a line so short in contrast to the reams of writing that detailed their debate that you have to feel bad for the guy. All he wanted was to write a letter home and the Bingleys won’t give him a moment of peace.
Speaking of peace, once the letter is complete he asks the most eligible ladies of the house for some music and all the while he keeps his eyes on Lizzy as she leads the singing and piano-forteing. Naturally, she fails to take a hint and assumes he’s eyeing her the most out of everyone there because she is “more wrong and reprehensible”. Clearly they’re at cross-purposes at the moment.
When the songs come to an end, Lizzy is offered a dance by Mr Darcy, but does not respond. When asked again, she replies with a detailed analysis of all hypothetical scenarios the question entails, from saying ‘yes’ and being judged for it, to saying ‘no’ and being judged for it. To wit, she settles on ‘no’, hoping to antagonise our favourite introvert and instead being “amazed at his gallantry” when he refuses to act snide about it. A low bar, but this could be the turning point in their relationship. No idea how they’ll pad out the next 50 chapters.
This is all it takes to draw Ms Bingley’s ire. In spite of her “great anxiety” (apparently) for Jane, she offers no resistance to her jealous feelings and tries to turn Darcy against Lizzy on a little walk round the grounds. And so for the second time that evening, Darcy is bothered by someone who will not take a hint. From insinuations that he should not ever get a portrait of Lizzy lest it not quite “do justice to those beautiful eyes” to stressing how much Mrs Bennet might try to get in his business should he court her child, she will not waver. If not for the fact that they stumble into Lizzy and Mrs Hurst also taking a walk (presumably to try and dissuade Lizzy).
At the sight of all three of them standing in a row (the pathway is too narrow for her to join the line-up), Lizzy declares them to be so “charmingly group’d” (dripping with sarcasm, obviously) that she couldn’t possibly spoil the view. In Austen’s words, “She then ran gaily off”. A bit childish, but at least she gets to check on Jane, who is picking up enough to leave her room later on. One day, she may actually leave their home, but sadly not yet.
Thoughts
- Pretty impressive study into Bingley’s character here
- Ms Bingley’s motivations are a little shallow, but the whole book’s about the pursuit of marriage, so I’ll allow it
- Honestly not much else. I started this piece a week ago and came back to it with a completely derailed train of thought. Manage your time, kids!
- Actually, I did learn Mr Darcy’s first name since my last post : Fitzwilliam
