Pride and Prejudice Discussion-Week 2 :))))
Can you believe today is Saturday?! The week went by really fast (for me anyway) <3
So, if you didn't have a chance to follow along... here are some of the key points from chapters 7-10
Chapter 7:
- A militia unit arrives at Meryton for the winter. Meryton is a mile from Longbourn, where the Bennets reside.
- The two youngest Bennet girls, Catherine and Lydia, amuse themselves with the soldiers. Their father claims that their infatuation makes them the silliest girls in all of England.
- Let’s put it this way: if the military was a rock band, Catherine and Lydia would be the groupies plotting ways to sneak into the band's trailer.
- Jane is invited to Netherfield to have lunch with Mr. Bingley’s sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.
- Mrs. Bennet schemes for Jane to go on horseback, rather than in the carriage, so that if it rains, she will have to stay all night.
- Jane gets so sick from getting wet in the rain that the Bingleys urge her to stay until she is better.
- Elizabeth is determined to help her sister. She walks three miles in the rain to Netherfield to take care of Jane.
- Everybody at Netherfield is surprised by Elizabeth’s sudden arrival, and Mr. Darcy thinks to himself how pretty she looks after exercise.
- Jane is glad to see her, and Elizabeth begins to like Mr. Bingley’s sisters when she sees how affectionate they are towards Jane.
- The Bingleys encourage Elizabeth to stay overnight so she can take care of her sister.
Chapter 8:
Elizabeth’s dislike for the Bingley sisters returns when she realizes that the only time they care about Jane is when she’s present. They forget all about her while she’s upstairs in bed, sick.
Miss Bingley is preoccupied with capturing Mr. Darcy’s attention.
As soon as Elizabeth leaves the room to attend to her sister, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst begin abusing her. They declare it is absurd that she would walk three miles to help her sister. On top of that, horror of horrors, her petticoat was dirty when she arrived because she walked all that way through the mud.
Mr. Bingley defends Elizabeth, saying she shows pluck, independence, and an admirable regard for her sister
Mr. Darcy says the exercise brought out the brightness in her eyes.
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley laugh at the fact that the Bennets have relatives who live in Cheapside, an unfashionable neighborhood in London. It makes them less than desirable spouses, the women say. Because of their relatives, the Bennet girls are doomed to marry men with little money. When Elizabeth returns, they resume other conversation. Mr. Darcy’s little sister is mentioned, especially her many accomplishments.
The conversation then moves to what it means for a woman to be "accomplished." Mr. Darcy suggests that very few women are truly accomplished – he himself knows of only about half a dozen that fit the definition. Miss Bingley defines such a woman as able to sing, draw, and dance, while Mr. Darcy adds that on top of all of that, an accomplished woman should have a mind developed through reading.
Elizabeth states that he must not know any accomplished women then, for she does not know any women who combine capacity, taste, application, and elegance all together.
Also, I do apologize for the formatting, it highlights in white, and I'm still working on trying to get that fixed :)
Chapter 9:
· Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Jones, the doctor, examine Jane in the morning. Although she is not in real danger, both agree it is best if she remain at Netherfield for the time being.
· Mrs. Bennet is delighted that her daughter has to stay there for a while longer.
Everyone congregates in the breakfast parlour, and Mr. Bingley discovers that Elizabeth studies people to discern their characters. They talk about how complex people are the most interesting to study.
Mr. Darcy remarks that complex people must be difficult to find in the country and Mrs. Bennet takes offense.
· Elizabeth tries to save her mother from her own foolish talk, but Mrs. Bennet inevitably reveals her social climbing tendencies at the same time that she tries to ingratiate herself with the Bingleys.
· Next, Mrs. Bennet makes a fool of herself by going on and on about Jane’s beauty.
· When the Bennets leave to go to Jane’s room, the Bingley women start to gossip about them, but Mr. Darcy refuses to disparage Elizabeth.
Chapter 10: -Very Important!
· The next evening, Elizabeth is amused at the conversation between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley. Miss Bingley throws a steady stream of compliments and requests at Mr. Darcy, who replies with his own dry sense of humor or ignores her.
· Elizabeth observes that the banter between Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy proves that Mr. Darcy notices the reasons why people behave the way they do.
· Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth discuss the merits of changing your mind because a friend persuades you to. Mr. Darcy says that you’re a fool if the only reason you yield to a friend’s opinion is because they have that opinion. In other words, don’t act just to please somebody else. Elizabeth, alternatively, argues that a trusted friend’s opinion should be enough to sway you.
· Not to hit you over the head with it, but this discussion is foreshadowing later parts of the plot, when Mr. Bingley will be persuaded by Mr. Darcy that Jane doesn’t care about him, even though his own heart says otherwise.
· Elizabeth notices how frequently Mr. Darcy looks at her and she wonders why. She assumes he can’t possibly be interested in her and decides that the only reason he keeps looking at her is to find things that are wrong about her. When he looks, she thinks, he looks to judge.
- The group listens to Mr. Bingley’s sisters play the piano and Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth if she would like to dance. She ignores him and he repeats his request. She responds that she would rather not give him the pleasure of mocking her, so no, she will not dance with him.
- Miss Bingley gets jealous, realizing that Mr. Darcy is beginning to get really interested in Elizabeth.
- As for Mr. Darcy, he is "bewitched" but thankful that Elizabeth’s social status is so beneath him that he can’t possibly be tempted into any kind of serious relationship.
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So, as you can see....Chapters 7-10 are very important & detailed chapters in the book.
One thing I like about these chapters is how much the characters are developing.
To get us started on our "discussion".... I thought it would be easier today if we only made our discussion about one question or topic from Pride and Prejudice.
What I would like to know is....
Who is your favorite character, why, and how is their character developing?
(So far from what you read <3 )
I know there quite a few characters (and still more to come) So for your convenience, I copied this character description chart, to help you remember who is who :)
Mr. Bennet - The patriarch of the Bennet family, a gentleman of modest income with five unmarried daughters. Mr. Bennet has a sarcastic, cynical sense of humor that he uses to purposefully irritate his wife. Though he loves his daughters (Elizabeth in particular), he often fails as a parent, preferring to withdraw from the never-ending marriage concerns of the women around him rather than offer help.
Mrs. Bennet - Mr. Bennet’s wife, a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Because of her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the very suitors whom she tries to attract for her daughters.
Jane Bennet - The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister. Jane is more reserved and gentler than Elizabeth. The easy pleasantness with which she and Bingley interact contrasts starkly with the mutual distaste that marks the encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy.
Elizabeth Bennet - The novel’s protagonist. 20 Years old. The second daughter of Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth is the most intelligent and sensible of the five Bennet sisters. She is well read and quick-witted, with a tongue that occasionally proves too sharp for her own good.
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Mary Bennet - The middle Bennet sister, bookish and pedantic. Catherine (Kitty) Bennet - The fourth Bennet sister. 17 Years Old. Like Lydia, she is girlishly enthralled with the soldiers. Lydia Bennet - 15 Years Old. The youngest Bennet sister, she is gossipy, immature, and self-involved. Unlike Elizabeth, Lydia flings herself headlong into romance. Fitzwilliam Darcy - A wealthy gentleman, and the master of Pemberley, Though Darcy is intelligent and honest, his excess of pride causes him to look down on his social inferiors. Over the course of the novel, he tempers his class-consciousness.
Charles Bingley - Darcy’s considerably wealthy best friend. Bingley’s purchase of Netherfield, an estate near the Bennets, serves as the impetus for the novel. He is a genial, well-intentioned gentleman, whose easygoing nature contrasts with Darcy’s initially discourteous demeanor. He is blissfully uncaring about class differences.
Miss Bingley - Bingley’s snobbish sister. Miss Bingley bears inordinate disdain for Elizabeth’s middle-class background. Her vain attempts to garner Darcy’s attention cause Darcy to admire Elizabeth’s self-possessed character even more. Charlotte Lucas - Elizabeth’s dear friend. Pragmatic where Elizabeth is romantic, and also six years older than Elizabeth, Charlotte does not view love as the most vital component of a marriage. She is more interested in having a comfortable home.
I admit this is a tricky question and your favorite character might change between now and when we finish the novel. I know my favorite character probably changes each time I read it.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Optimistically, Bethany Lea
P.S. I'll let you know my favorite character and why only after I get some comments :)
