For Monday: Austen, Pride
and Prejudice, Chs. IX-Volume III , Ch.IV (pp.117-176)
Answer TWO of the
following...
Q1: How does the manner of
Darcy’s proposal echo, in some particulars, that of Mr. Collins? Why is each
one incapable of a truly flattering, romantic proposal? What factors does Darcy
apparently have to overcome to express his love and affection to Elizabeth
Q2: Why do you think Elizabeth
Q3: In Chapter XIX (Volume
II), the Narrator notes that “Had Elizabeth
Q4: When
1. Darcy, naturally, has to overcome his own pride to properly propose to Elizabeth. To, at any level, admit he was wrong in his first impression and settle down with someone he essentially dissed at first sight.
ReplyDelete3. It is clear that the marriage of Mr. And Mrs. Bennett is not a passionate affair of love. Mrs. Bennett loves to fret and Mr. Bennett loves to give her reason to fret. Not precisely the ideal model for a loving marriage. If she only has that to look forward to, then why bother at all?-- would be a very natural train of thought that Jane Austen herself very likely echoes, given what we know of her own life and what is present in the novel.
Kenia Starry
Q1: Darcy's proposal, much like Mr. Collin's proposal, is filled with pride. Elizabeth observes: "he spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride" (125). This line illustrates that his proposal is not entirely based on romanticism or love, but also on the fact that Elizabeth could not possibly turn him down because she is inferior to him. He is "doing her a favor" by stepping down to her level and asking her hand in marriage, despite her social class and "family obstacles" (125). To truly express his love, Darcy must overcome an idea of superiority and see Elizabeth as his equal.
ReplyDeleteQ4: Darcy's servants, who have no idea who Elizabeth is, speak very well of their master. Their words contradict her ideas about Darcy. His maid, Mrs. Reynolds, refers to him as "the best landlord, and the best master... not like the wild young men now-a-days, who think of nothing but themselves" (161). In this line, his prideful character flaw is somewhat resolved in Elizabeth's eyes. She has now seen his home with all its extravagance and trimmings, but she also sees a man who is good-tempered and kind to the servants. Her love begins to blossom because she can finally see beyond his prideful "mask."
Q1: Darcy, as we have established, has issues with pride. Elizabeth seeing his pride, like Mr. Collins, notices that he is also alluding to she has no other option. For Elizabeth, marriage isn’t about convenience. While Darcy ties in some romance, he still feels like ultimately he is doing her a great favor. For Elizabeth, she wants to be seen as an equal.
ReplyDeleteQ3: I believe the love affair between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet very well plays into the theme of the novel. Elizabeth sees how her parents are incompatible and battle each other on occasion, as well as the constant reminder from her mother that marriage is all about convenience and not about love. So based on Elizabeth’s observances, you could see how she is disinclined to marriage. I believe Jane Austen is trying to point out many flaws as to why love and marriage could not be one in the same during her time in American culture.
-Casady Burns
Q1) both men are expecting her to be so willing to marry him--they're expecting a desperate woman to say yes. They're both rude and insulting in the way that they announce how they would be marrying "down" in status and class. Kind of a "I can do better but against my own judgement I love you" proposal. They think they're doing her a favor and she gives them both the boot and let's them know how it is.
ReplyDeleteQ4) I may have read too far so I don't want to overstep the answer but I see that Lizzy has begun to see Darcy in a positive light, she's beginning to appreciate his honesty. After all, that's a quality she expresses herself! While in the proposal scene on page 125, he tries to flatter her with his brutal honesty, she's turned off. But then, in the turn of the novel, Lizzy begins to develop a new opinion of him after noticing that the servants in his home thought so highly of him. (I actually thought there'd be a negative result after this--not positive. I thought this was a set up for a disappointment but I was so wrong!) She appreciates that he didn't talk smack on Wickham--he has no mask.
Priscilla Texter
ReplyDelete1.) I think Mr. Darcy’s proposal echo’s like Mr. Collins because it was so unexpected. He sort of just burst in and professed his love for her. It had to have been flattering, however, the unexpectedness of it was just shocking. A big thing Mr. Darcy had to overcome to express his love and affection to Elizabeth is his pride. He is such a proud man and to admit he loves somebody as obnoxious as Elizabeth is almost insulting to himself and his family. I think he’s kind of secretly ashamed he loves her otherwise he would has her father first and profess his love rather than just go straight to her. He kind of did things on the spur of the moment. He also made no attempt to make her seem like a bad person, which I commend him on. He could have ruined that family and their reputation, but he didn’t.
2.) I think Elizabeth is both flattered and ashamed. After she turns down Darcy she is in shock of what just happened, but I think she is so mad because she knows he expected her to say yes. He came in there so sure of himself and I think that made Elizabeth sick. Also, all the things that Elizabeth only had a half story on, she was fuming at the thought he could fool her. I think it’s lovely how she loves him so much, but it makes me so sad that she won’t admit it to him. I think if she told her family, her family would be so upset. I think she’s ashamed for her family because this could ruin them and all of his daughters. I think she didn’t tell Jane because Jane would be crushed. The man who practically ruined Jane’s chance to ever marry, asked Elizabeth to marry. I think Jane would have been crushed. As to why she told Charlotte, I am unsure. I think Charlotte has a sensible mind and Elizabeth needed some good advice. Also, Charlotte is completely outside everything so she can look at the situation from a third person point of view.