"Mrs Phillips was very thankful for [Collins'] compliance, but could not wait for his reason."
Previously, William Collins (the inheritor of Longbourn House) paid a visit to the Bennet household with the intention of marrying one of the girls. With Miss Bennet (Jane) out of the question due to her entanglement with Mr Bingley, his sights have turned to the other four, with little luck.
Last chapter, the girls (minus Mary) paid a visit to their aunt’s house with Collins and encountered Mr Darcy on the way, as well as an enigmatic newcomer called Mr Wickham who seemed to have some history with him.
The chapter begins with everyone returning to the Phillips’ household after their aunt invited them back at the end of the last chapter, this time with Mary in tow. Some soldiers and the enigmatic Mr Wickham also attend at Mr Phillips’ behest.
As ever, Collins decides to make his obsession with Lady Catherine de Borough everyone’s problem by cryptically comparing Mrs Phillips’ drawing-room (living room or lounge) to a “small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings”, which is her ladyship’s estate (not that Mrs Phillips would know that).
After taking the time to explain how his compliment was a compliment, Collins spends much of his time there talking with his host and dining on muffins out of the way of the more eligible bachelors there that the Bennets flock to, including Mr Wickham.
Much like his adversary, Wickham takes a liking to Elizabeth and spends time with her while the group is engaged in card games. Despite her curiosity, neither her or myself expected Wickham to pull back the curtain on his history with Darcy so soon.
Apparently friends with (and godson of) the deceased father of Mr Darcy, Wickham is appalled by the “scandalous” behavior (being snide and not dancing all that much) of the inheritor of the title, and likely jealous of the £10,000 annual income Fitzwilliam Darcy gets.
His godfather Darcy had planned to make sure he was provided for with lodging and the like, but when the time to fulfill the will came, our Darcy did not take that part as a rule, so much as a foolish suggestion. Or at least, that’s what Wickham assumes happened.
Out of respect for his father, Wickham has refused to publicly disgrace Darcy for this injustice, but has been very verbal about his feelings about him, especially to his face.
Although she wasn’t exactly fond of Mr Darcy anyway, this comes as a shock to Elizabeth and she thinks to herself for a few minutes on the man she’d met and how he measured up to this cruel creature who cast his childhood companion aside due to his immense pride.
Despite their history, Wickham will admit that the different kinds of pride that sway Mr Darcy can at times lead him to do good for its sake, such as being a good host to guests and a good brother to Miss Darcy, who Wickham says is “very, very proud”, just like her brother, despite the time he devoted to playing with her in her youth.
When he hears of Darcy’s relationship with Mr Bingley, Wickham brushes it off as Darcy choosing when to act respectably. When in the company of the rich, he theorises that Darcy is “liberal-minded, just, sincere, rational, honourable” and more; none of which we’ve seen in him so far, but it would line up with how Bingley treats him.
After the card game is over, Collins shares with Mrs Phillips that his loss doesn’t bother him much thanks to Lady Catherine’s patronage, which Wickham overhears. He reveals to Elizabeth that her ladyship is Mr Darcy’s aunt. What an incredibly small world.
He goes on to similarly decry her as he decried Mr Darcy - as “an arrogant, conceited [person]” who knows the right time to act respectable. Elizabeth is inclined to agree with his assessment of a woman she has never met and he has scarcely seen and kept talking up until supper, when the noise would drown them out too much to communicate.
On the way home, Wickham and his words linger in Elizabeth’s mind, while Lydia rambled about her losses in the card games and Collins rambled about the Phillips’ excellent hosting skills, as well as the contents of each dish, which lasted far beyond the carriage ride back to Longbourn.
Thoughts
- Not much I can say about this one, really, but this substantial 10-page chapter framed the party quite well.
- This quick unearthing of the mystery established in the last chapter makes me wonder if Wickham was being entirely honest with his account.
- A shame we didn’t get much of Kitty and Lydia mingling with the soldiers.
