Pride & Prejudice :) The End of Part 2!

As you all know, I didn't post anything last Saturday for Pride and Prejudice.

I had too much on my plate for blogging :)

Today, we are supposed to have a discussion about Part 3...

However, I thought I would go ahead and catch up by posting the last chapters of part 2. (The ones that I failed to post last Saturday)

:)

ENJOY!

Part 2: Chapters 10-19

WARNING: These chapters contain lots of drama!!!

10:

• Elizabeth often meets Mr. Darcy while she’s out walking.
• She finds this an odd coincidence, especially since she had told him it was a favorite spot of hers…so that he would avoid it. She’s assuming that he doesn’t like her and wouldn’t want to run into her like that.
• Darcy makes some comments that makes her believe he is alluding to Fitzwilliam, and she wonders if Fitzwilliam is interested in her.
• Elizabeth winces when Fitzwilliam comes to Charlotte’s house one day and catches her alone.
• Their discussion meanders from marriage to Miss Darcy. Elizabeth comments that if she is like her older brother, she must like to get her own way.
• Colonel Fitzwilliam looks at her closely and asks what she has heard to suppose that Miss Darcy is any trouble. Elizabeth says she’s heard nothing at all; she was teasing.
• Then Fitzwilliam reveals that Darcy convinced Bingley not to make an imprudent marriage. There were, he states, some very strong objections against the young lady. Fitzwilliam clearly doesn’t realize the "young lady" is Elizabeth’s sister.
• Elizabeth gets mad but tries not to show it. She guesses that the objections must be her family, the fact that Jane does not come from the right social class.
• Elizabeth grows increasingly upset until she has such a headache that she can’t go to tea at Rosings with the Collinses.

11:

The first time I read this book, I thought that Darcy & Elizabeth would never end up together because of this scene in this chapter.

• Left alone after the Collinses leave for tea, Elizabeth continues to think about what she just learned.
• The doorbell rings and it is Mr. Darcy, come to inquire after her health.
• To Elizabeth's complete astonishment, Mr. Darcy suddenly makes a declaration of love.
• Her shocked silence encourages him so he speaks about how he has long felt this way and how he tried to repress his interest in her because of her inferior position in life.
• The more he talks, the angrier Elizabeth gets. She tells herself she will refuse him patiently when he is finally done.
• When he is done, however, she lectures him about the manner of his proposal. She has no affectionate feelings for him, she announces, and she cannot imagine saying yes to a man who is the reason that her sister is so unhappy.
• Mr. Darcy tries to explain that he feels he did his friend (Mr. Bingley) a favor.
• Elizabeth also points out that his behavior toward Wickham has been despicable.
• Mr. Darcy responds that perhaps she might not have reacted so angrily to his proposal if he had concealed the difficulty he had in coming to terms with his love for her (because of her family and social position), but "disguise of every sort" is his "abhorrence."
• Elizabeth gets angrier and angrier and finally tells him, in short, that he is the last man in the world that she would marry.
• And so he leaves.

 

12:

• The next day, Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy out on her walk. He has been looking for her and he hands her a letter that he has written.
• In the letter, he addresses first the charge that he considers least serious, that of his willful and deliberate acts to prevent Jane and Mr. Bingley’s engagement. He had not felt that Jane really loved Mr. Bingley, though he now realizes he was mistaken. And he was concerned by the behavior of all members of the Bennet family, with the exception of Jane and Elizabeth herself.
• He has no shame for playing a part in all this, but he feels that it was beneath him to have prevented Mr. Bingley from knowing that Jane was in London. He does regret that.
• As for Wickham, Darcy writes that he had indeed carried out his father’s wishes and given Wickham an inheritance, but Wickham squandered the money and then asked for more. When Darcy refused, Wickham managed to worm his way into Darcy’s little sister Georgiana’s heart and tried to elope with her. She was only fifteen.

13:

Also known as: "Elizabeth Realizes Her Idiocy."

• When Elizabeth first reads Darcy's letter, she is still angry, feeling that the letter is no apology for Darcy’s behavior.
• She is, however, aghast to learn about Wickham. She doesn’t want to believe it, so she puts the letter away, saying she will not read it or think about it again.
• But she can’t help herself.
• Elizabeth goes for a long, long walk and reads the letter several times over, realizing that if what Mr. Darcy says is true, it means he is completely blameless in the Wickham affair.
• At first, she tries to exculpate Wickham by remembering something he had done that would exonerate his character, but she can’t remember anything.
• Then she realizes how inappropriate it was for Wickham to have said anything to her about Mr. Darcy at all on their first meeting.
• Thinking even harder, she remembers how Wickham waited until the Netherfield contingent had left before he spread his anti-Darcy story wide and far, and she begins to realize that Wickham is guilty of character assassination.
• She also realizes that, as odious as Mr. Darcy might be to her, she has never observed anything immoral or unscrupulous in his character.
• She is ashamed of herself. Her pride in her own powers of character analysis has blinded her. She has been prejudiced against Darcy.
• In light of her new understanding, she re-reads his account of his actions towards Jane and Bingley. Now she can’t deny that he was speaking the truth. Jane didn’t, after all, wear her heart on her sleeve.
• As for his unflattering words about her family, Elizabeth can’t help but acknowledge their truth.
• When she returns to the house, Elizabeth discovers that Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam had dropped by to say good-bye (they're heading out of town), but they had had to leave before she returned.

14:

• Though Darcy and Fitzwilliam are gone Lady Catherine sends an invitation for Elizabeth and the Collinses to come around, as she is bored and wants company.
• Lady Catherine tries to convince Elizabeth to stay at Charlotte's house for a longer visit. When she cannot persuade Elizabeth, she makes a big deal about how Elizabeth needs a servant to accompany her on her trip home.
• By now, Elizabeth has re-read Darcy’s letter so often that she has it memorized. Her feelings are still muddled; sometimes she feels compassion for him, and other times she’s angry with his general attitude.
• But for her own behavior toward Darcy, Elizabeth feels nothing but regret.
• As to her family, she thinks it is impossible to ever get them to behave.
• Darcy letter did restore Bingley’s reputation in her mind, and she feels sad that Jane has been deprived of marital happiness because of her family’s foolish behavior.

15: 

• Mr. Collins wishes Elizabeth a good trip home, but not before going on and on about how happy he is in his marriage, how he and Charlotte think with one mind, how fortunate they are to have Lady Catherine’s patronage, etc.
• Elizabeth arrives at the Gardiner house, where she will stay for a few days, then takes Jane home with her.
• Elizabeth doesn’t know what she should tell Jane about Darcy's letter and what she should keep secret. She doesn’t want to upset her sister further.

16:

• The girls meet their youngest sisters, Kitty and Lydia, near the inn where they were to meet the Bennet carriage.
• They eat together, while Lydia tells the latest news about Wickham: Mary King, the girl he was courting, has gone to stay with her uncle in Liverpool. So, Lydia says, Wickham is safe – and, Elizabeth thinks, Mary King is the safe one.
• Lydia entertains them all the way home with stories. Elizabeth notices how often the young girl mentions Wickham’s name.
• At home, Lydia wants to go to Meryton, but Elizabeth says no. She does not want the town to talk about how the Bennet girls are barely home before they’re running off to see men; and furthermore, she dreads seeing Wickham.

17:

• When Elizabeth is finally able to tell Jane about Mr. Darcy’s proposal, Jane feels sorry for Mr. Darcy’s disappointment.
• When Elizabeth tells her Darcy’s side of the Wickham story, she struggles. Jane has a hard time thinking poorly of either man. Ultimately, though, she is persuaded.
• Elizabeth wonders if she should expose Mr. Wickham’s awful character, but she thinks not because she cannot expose him without telling all the details related to Miss Darcy, which Mr. Darcy specifically asked her not to do.
• Elizabeth is perfectly silent about her new information regarding Bingley, realizing that it would just wound Jane rather than bring her comfort.
• As for Jane, she is not happy and still regards Mr. Bingley with affection.
• Mrs. Bennet, for her part, is bitter over idea of losing her house to Charlotte Collins at some point in the distant future. She tells Elizabeth that she bets the Collinses talk about it all the time. Elizabeth says that they never mentioned it in front of her.

18:

• The younger girls are despondent because the military regiment (i.e., the attractive men) will be leaving soon. But the wife of the regiment’s colonel invites Lydia to go to Brighton with them.
• Elizabeth advises her father not to let Lydia go, pointing out the likelihood of Lydia’s impropriety and imprudence.
• Mr. Bennet is inclined to let the youngest Bennet girl go, saying any follies Lydia might commit in Brighton will be less likely to embarrass them locally.
• Elizabeth says that Lydia’s wildness already shames the entire family and hurts their reputation (she’s thinking of how Darcy views the Bennet family).
• She speaks with passion and her father recognizes it, but he says that Jane and Elizabeth’s reputations cannot possibly be hurt by their three very silly sisters.
• Lydia would have been furious if she had known that Elizabeth was trying to deny her the joy of flirting with untold numbers of men.
• Elizabeth can now finally say goodbye to Wickham. She has seen plenty of him and now abhors parts of his personality which before seemed delightful.
• When she has a chance, she informs Wickham that she spent three weeks in the company of Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. She lets Wickham know that she liked the Colonel immensely, and adds that Mr. Darcy’s personality and manners improve as she gets to know him better.
• Wickham is alarmed and agitated. He tries to engage Elizabeth in abusing Mr. Darcy, as they used to do, but Elizabeth just smiles.
• When the party is over, Lydia goes with her friend to Meryton; in the morning, they will leave for Brighton.

19:

• Elizabeth realizes that her parents’ marriage is not a model marriage, and her father’s amusement at his wife’s foolishness has always made her feel badly.
• Elizabeth now sees how such an unfortunate marriage affects children, and she begins to judge her father. Although Mrs. Bennet might have be silly and vain, he could have protected his daughters and raised them as respectable young women.
• Lydia writes rarely and mostly about the new gowns she has bought or her latest flirtations.
• Mrs. Gardiner writes to say that she and her husband are going to Derbyshire. Elizabeth is invited to go with them. Derbyshire is Mr. Darcy’s country and Elizabeth wonders if she will be able to enjoy it without constantly thinking about him.
• Soon Elizabeth is in Derbyshire and Mrs. Gardiner urges her to visit Pemberley, Darcy’s estate.
• Elizabeth doesn’t want to go, for obvious reasons. But that evening, the chambermaid lets her know that the family is not down for the summer. That means there’s no risk of running into Darcy.
• The next morning, Elizabeth tells her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner she would like to go see Pemberley after all.

What a good place to stop! At this point in the novel, ANYTHING can happen! 
I can't wait to post the first half of part 3! (Chapters 1-9)

And so the novel continues into Part 3.....
which will be posted sometime later today. (if time allows)
 :)



Question #1

 When I read this part of the book, I would always ask myself...
"If I were Elizabeth would I tell my sister about the letter?"
So now I'm asking you....

Would you tell your sister about the letter or keep it a secret???

As the older sister in my family I would tell my younger sister about the letter because I would feel that it is my responsibility, but if I were younger than my sister, like Elizabeth is to Jane, I wouldn't know if I would tell her or not. It would make me feel bad if I didn't tell her, but at the same time, telling her might only make her more upset. I'm a very indecisive person and I'm curious about what decision you would make :)

Question #2

If you were Mr. Bennet, would you let Lydia go to Brighton, knowing that she might cause your family some kind of embarrassment?

 For me, this question is hard to answer. If I were the one making the decision, I would probably try to keep Lydia at home, and away from the military regiment. Stupid decisions that you make, often effect more than just you, and I wouldn't be willing to take any risks with my younger daughters, the ones that I know make terrible choices and are extremely immature.

Thanks for reading along! This book has gone so much faster than expected!
I can't wait until we finish discussion next Saturday!

Keep Reading!

Optimistically, Bethany Lea