Pride & Prejudice, ch. 37: Thank U, Next

How are you guys? Any life-changing, epiphany-inducing moments of clarity to report, perhaps as the result of a missive from a rebuked man of higher social standing than yourself?

Me neither. But I started yoga, so, there’s that.

Mr. Collins is up in time to catch both Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam as they leave Rosings, combining his sense of duty, curiosity, and instinct for brown-nosing in one go. He returns to the Parsonage with an invitation, though the subtext suggests that now that her cool nephews have left, Lady Catherine can now socialize with the lesser beings.

Lizzy is in a good enough mood to imagine what would’ve happened if she’d accepted Darcy’s proposal. Though she doesn’t outright say it, she seems to think that Lady Catherine wouldn’t have taken it all that well. (You know, for a character who is defined in part by the one big mistake she makes, she gets several other details right.)

Once there, Lady Catherine takes the parting as an opportunity to brag about herself: “They were excessively sorry to go! But so they always are. The dear colonel rallied his spirits tolerably till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely, more I think than last year.” Of course, we and Lizzy know the real reason why both men were a bit mopey—one got rejected by her while the other had to reject her. Mr. Collins offers some “compliment” that heavily implies that Anne d.B. is the reason why Darcy’s “attachment to Rosings” has strengthened. There is, of course, no proof of Darcy’s fondness for his aunt’s home or for his cousin; we haven’t seen a direct exchange between the two wealthy cousins and curiously, this is the only hint we get that Anne might like the idea of marrying Darcy. We saw her stop to speak with the Collinses more often. (Counterpoint: technically she had opportunities to speak with Darcy as he was a guest at Rosings. We just were not privy to those.) As she is such a void of a character, it’s hard to tell if she’s as snobby as her mother or just going along with with her mother’s wishes. Truly, she is a sad little rich girl.

Lady Catherine’s inflated ego doesn’t stop there: noticing that Lizzy isn’t as lively as she has been, she assumes that Lizzy doesn’t want to leave Rosings herself. Because of all the non-stop partying that has been going on there, obviously. Lady Catherine loftily invites her to stay with … Charlotte, adding that in the near future she plans to visit London and she might have room for one or even two petite young women in her barouche box. So not only is she inviting Lizzy to continue to be a guest at another person’s house, but she’s also offering the chance of a road trip to London. As in, the place where Lizzy already plans to go as soon as she leaves Hunsford. Lady Catherine appears to believe that the opportunity to travel into London with her a month later is a gracious offer, despite Lizzy having just stated that she has a guaranteed ride to London later in the week.

This is why Lizzy doesn’t want to marry into this family! This right here!

And the unstoppable Lady Catherine keeps showing her own ignorance by sneering in surprise at the notion that Lizzy’s uncle is wealthy enough to keep a manservant.* The Gardiners’ social position is sort of a gray area, as they have one foot in the “genteel” class and one in the working class. One might wonder if Lady Catherine is trying to insult Lizzy, or at the very least point out her relatives’ lower standing (“she likes to have the distinction of rank preserved,” remember). She continues to pester Lizzy with instructions and advice while bringing up her niece Georgiana’s seaside trip and her insistence on sending a manservant down with her. Yeah. Well done, L.C. Obviously nothing gets by you. Lizzy, however, chooses to see the silver lining in Lady Catherine’s inane pomposity, as it distracts her from thinking about Darcy and the letter.

Quick aside: poor little Maria Lucas makes nary a peep during this whole thing. If anyone might benefit from a trip to London, it’d be her … though I’d make sure it was Charlotte who was chaperoning her and not Lady Catherine. Although her world has opened up geographically, it’s still quite small psychologically.

Once she can get back to her nature walks, Lizzy’s thoughts resume. Though Darcy’s know-it-all style of writing still irks her, she starts to reflect on her own behavior toward him. “[S]he had condemned and upbraided him” without proof, without thinking about the consequences. Her feelings toward him have softened: she can “respect” him and have “gratitude” for the love he expressed for her. This has always struck me as a funny, though not unreasonable, reaction to have—that she’s touched by his feelings, feelings that must feel more pure to her now that she has a clearer idea of his integrity and kindness. Yet, she also decides that she never wants to see him again. After all, he is the guy who a) pointed out her family’s reckless and graceless behavior, b) showed Lizzy her own limitations, and c) proved that Bingley is blameless, “heighten[ing] the sense of what Jane had lost.” In other words, Darcy really Darcied it up big-time.

Of course, we can’t be serious for too long, as our brave protagonist must endure the oppressive silliness of the resident queen bee. Said queen bee goes into detail about the best way to (pause for effect) … pack one’s trunk. For a high-ranking woman—an earl’s daughter—to be so obsessed with such small matters (she has opinions on the sizes of Charlotte’s poultry and how shelves should be placed in closets) really speaks to the size of her own world. Hunsford is her kingdom. Anne d.B. shows similar tendencies, as demonstrated when she “curts[ies] and hold[s] out her hand” to Lizzy and Maria. (It’s a miracle! Someone remembered Maria!) This is an especially gracious gesture, but also an empty one: Anne has made no effort to get to know either of these girls and seems to have ignored them entirely. Thus the de Bourghs use good manners not to make others feel at home or ingratiate themselves, but to lord their superiority over others.

The next time we see Lady Catherine, she will not have the splendors of Rosings Park to comfort her.

Next time: Mr. Collins has to get the last word, we say goodbye to Charlotte (for the most part), and Lizzy reunites with Jane.

*Fellow Republic of Pemberley members from way back might remember that the annotated, hypertext (it sounded way cooler in the days of dial-up) edition of Pride & Prejudice took pains to point this out.