(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters and possibly for future chapters.)

S: This was a difficult section for me to read, and I’m not sure why. I wonder if it’s because it seemed like things moved really slowly. There was a lot of introspection, which isn’t bad, but I find that I am not as interested sometimes with that part of the story; it’s kind of like working on multiplication – you know it’s going to be useful later in life, but goodness it’s annoying to learn!

In Chapter 36, I think we see Elizabeth’s character better than we’ve seen before, because her emotions are on full display. Upon her first read-through of Mr. Darcy’s letter, she is full of indignation and disbelief, and then begins to think more about her experiences with Mr. Wickham, and eventually is able to fully see how her family acts. She is also better able to see her own character, something which, I’m afraid, I tend to not do very well.

R: It had to have been a sobering realization for Elizabeth. She has some justifiable anger when it comes to how Mr. Darcy acted in relation to her sister and how he addressed himself in his marriage proposal; however, being able to come to grips with and accept that her own behavior had not been what it should have says much of her overall character. It’s not a pleasant experience, having your own sins and foibles dragged into the light.   

S: So true! We don’t like unpleasant things.

I was very sad that she missed sending off Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. I wonder if, had she been able to talk with Mr. Darcy, things would have improved a little between them.

R: I think, even with Elizabeth’s new understanding of the situation, their meeting before Darcy and Fitzwilliam leave Rosings wouldn’t have gone well. The chances of them being able to speak privately would have been almost nil with nosy Lady Catherine around. I also believe that they both might have been too embarrassed by the proposal encounter to really be able make any sort of progress. Darcy is likely raw from Elizabeth’s rejection; Elizabeth is probably too horrified by her responses to even know what she feels. At this point, Darcy’s love is not reciprocated, so any exchange between them would have been nothing but incredibly awkward.

S: Those are good points.

I have a different feeling toward Lady Catherine after she gives an invitation to Elizabeth to stay longer. I’ll not say that she’s a favourite character, but I think she might mean well in this instance. She seems to have taken perhaps a little liking to Elizabeth. She reminds me of a snobbish version of Mrs. Jenkins.

R: I can see the resemblance to Mrs. Jenkins, but I feel like Lady Catherine’s invitation to stay longer is nothing more than wanting to maintain control of everybody’s lives. She doesn’t want Elizabeth to leave yet, for whatever reason, so she must stay. Anyone else probably would have capitulated. I think it was good for Lady Catherine to encounter someone who stood up to her, and I think it foreshadows later events in the book.

S: I am intrigued!

When Elizabeth, Maria, and Mr. Lucas leave, it is good to note that Elizabeth sees Charlotte’s decision to marry Mr. Collins in a better light; of course, she still does not wish to ever be in that position, but it appears by all accounts that the friendship was mended in Elizabeth’s mind. Mr. Collins’s ramblings do not seem as tiresome as they did at the beginning of the book; the reader kind of learns to ‘tune him out’.

R: It’s definitely nice that after Elizabeth’s initial negative reaction to Charlotte’s marriage she’s able to reconcile herself to it somewhat and be the friend Charlotte undoubtedly needs. Mr. Collins seems to take some final digs at Elizabeth before she leaves by pointing out how good his situation is because of Lady Catherine.  

S: Yes, Mr. Collins has poor taste and doesn’t act like the kind of pastor I’d want to be under.

I hate to say it, but Catherine’s and Lydia’s impropriety frustrated me when reading Chapter 39. Of all the things to do! – meet your sisters and friend and prepare them a meal, but be so vain and self-centered that you make them pay for it but still take the credit – I simply do not like Lydia. Catherine (Kitty) is not too bad so far, but Lydia’s incessant talking and complete focus on the regiment is just silly and irritating. Mary’s piety is also frustrating. Even though she doesn’t whine and drone on and on about the officers and do silly things with them, she has a ‘pooh-pooh’ attitude which is almost just as bad. 

R: Oh, yes! Kitty and Lydia are so thoughtless and self-centered, and Mary is pedantic. The two youngest have no thoughts in their head besides military and millinery, paying no heed to what their older sisters think. They have no interest in hearing about their travels, only conveying gossip about Mr. Wickham and the girl he was supposed to be marrying. 

S: As I read this section, I felt as though all Elizabeth’s emotions were overwhelming mine, that I was feeling her frustration with her sisters as much as she was. I know her father is glad she returned, but she now just seems tired; her eyes are opened to herself and her family, and she’s bearing a great secret.

Even though Elizabeth keeps the secret of Mr. Darcy’s dealings with Mr. Bingley’s departure from Jane, I am glad she can confide in her about Mr. Wickham and about the proposal. I like Jane’s sensible attitude toward them, and that they do not either of them wish to discredit anyone or spread gossip. Elizabeth shows prudence in not wanting Miss Darcy’s affair to be made public, and I think this shows a maturity in her we had not previously seen. 

R: I agree with all of the above. It’s good that Elizabeth has one sister in whom she can confide, but I think it was wise to not reveal Mr. Darcy’s interference in Jane’s relationship with Bingley. Jane’s such a calm, reasonable woman, but I think it would have preyed on her mind to know that her happiness had been destroyed by a third party. 

I do love how Jane tries so hard to see something good in both Darcy and Wickham. One of my favorite quotations is from this passage:

‘This will not do,’ said Elizabeth; ‘you never will be able to make both of them good for anything. Take your choice, but you must be satisfied with only one. There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much. For my part, I am inclined to believe it all Darcy’s; but you shall do as you choose.’

And this one:

‘There certainly was some great mismanagement in the education of those two young men. One has got all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it.’

S: Those were good quotes and sum up this section very nicely!

Mrs. Bennet’s questions and observations appear more rude than before, and perhaps that is because we are feeling what Elizabeth is feeling – confusion, frustration, a bit of melancholy on Jane’s behalf. Mrs. Bennet doesn’t seem to understand that, as much as she tries to make herself sound intelligent, she really sounds rather ignorant. 

R: Indeed, Mrs. Bennet has no sensitivity for others’ feelings beyond how they affect her own. Can you imagine her reaction if she knew that Elizabeth had turned down a proposal from Mr. Darcy? I think Elizabeth might have found herself tossed out on her ear. 

S: This section leaves off with a sense of melancholy. There’s not much of a cliffhanger or dramatic reveal, and I think that’s on purpose (not that Jane Austen necessarily meant for us to read it five chapters at a time!). This feels like a good point in the book to pause, like Elizabeth does, and take stock of all that has happened. Of course, we still have twenty chapters to go, but there’s just a quiet in this section that I wonder whether or not will carry through the rest of the book.

R: You’re right. It’s a little bit of a breaking point, the ruminations on the huge revelations in the previous chapters sort of wrapping up the first part of the book and teasing the reader about what might be to come.