Pride & Prejudice, ch. 57: Fatherly Advice
But before we get to that, let’s check in on Lizzy’s state of mind as she attempts to process her interaction with Lady Catherine. She reasons that the news of Jane’s engagement with Bingley had something to do with how the rumor got started. Less (?) reasonably, she “feel[s] some uneasiness as to the possible consequence of [Lady Catherine] persisting in this interference,” figuring that the great Lady C’s arguments might appeal more to Darcy’s “notions of dignity” than Lizzy’s common sense. After all, Darcy has lately appeared reluctant to even approach Lizzy, much less resume their courtship, so it makes sense to Lizzy that his pride (“his weakest side”) has been the only thing holding him back.
“If he is satisfied with only regretting me, when he might have obtained my affections and hand, I shall soon cease to regret him at all,” Lizzy tells herself. Talk about a sentiment that savors strongly of bitterness, huh? I mean, I think she’s got what it takes to get over her first heartbreak (a “Pride & Prejudice variant” premise in itself), but it might not come as “soon” as she’d hope. At first she thinks the letter from Mr. Collins is a proposal letter from Darcy! She clearly anticipates something happening one way or the other.
When he receives a piece of mail from his favorite idiot cousin, Mr. Bennet thinks he has a great joke to deliver, so he builds the suspense: the letter is from Mr. Collins, who warns Mr. Bennet—and Lizzy by proxy—to not immediately accept a proposal from Darcy, as his aunt “does not look on the match with a friendly eye.” Her objection to Lizzy’s “family,” Mr. Collins says, means that a potential engagement would “not [be] properly sanctioned,” though he understands how the Bennets may very well be tempted by Darcy’s “splendid property, noble kindred, and extensive patronage.” Yeah, Darcy could totally … patronize them extensively as Lizzy’s husband.
Mr. Bennet takes delight in the “absurd” idea of Lizzy and Darcy as a couple, accounting for “his perfect indifference, and [Lizzy’s] pointed dislike.” Only people like Mr. Collins and “some of the good-natured, gossiping Lucases” (there you go)* could imagine that Darcy, “who never looks at any woman but to see a blemish,” would ever be seriously connected to Lizzy. There’s a few takeaways here, some more earnest than others, but let me get one thought out of the way: it occurs to me that Mr. Bennet, for all his supposed supposed intellectual superiority (prizing his library and common sense above all else), engages in neighborhood gossip rather than hold himself above it. To be fair, he isn’t hypocritical about it, as his declaration that “we live … to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn” puts him on equal footing with everyone else. But it’s hard to see him as being the only sane man when his weakness is similar to his wife’s—or indeed, the Lucases’ or Mr. Collins’. He treats the gossip of Darcy as gospel just like the rest, without questioning it. Mr. Bennet is the smartest guy around, but he’s not putting those smarts to better use at the end of the day.
On a more comic-tragic note, Mr. Bennet’s immediate dismissal of a connection between Darcy and his daughter is worth discussing. We understand that to him, Mr. Collins’ word means nothing (as does his holier-than-thou advice on dealing with Lydia) and can be safely disregarded. On the other hand, I think there’s a version of this scene where a more attentive Mr. Bennet recognizes Lizzy’s unease and non-judgmentally asks her if there’s a grain of truth to this gossip. Heck, he correctly guesses that Lady Catherine visited the house to give Lizzy a piece of her mind—but only in the context of a joke.
Look, for all the Pa Bennet-bashing I do, I’m willing to allow that there are good reasons as to why Mr. Bennet remains so clueless. A lot of it has to do with Lizzy’s choice to keep her history with Darcy to herself, and it’d be silly to expect her father to be a mind-reader here. But unfairly or not (I vote not), this illustrates the wide emotional gulf between Lizzy and her father. Lizzy’s most powerful team player—he went to bat for her against Mr. Collins, which is not nothing—is no longer part of her life. Underscoring this point, she must put effort into pretending to joke along with her father while suppressing her true feelings. I doubt she’s ever felt like she has had to hide herself like that before.
Possibly even more distressing is that Lizzy almost believes Mr. Bennet when he talks about “Mr. Darcy’s indifference.” She ventilates between wondering “at such a want of penetration, or fear that perhaps, instead of his seeing too little, she might have fancied too much.” You read that right: she seriously considers the possibility that she’s been reading too much into Darcy’s behavior, thanks to Mr. Bennet’s sense of humor. Even when he’s not actively bad at being a dad, he’s still somehow bad nonetheless.
Chapter to come: All is right with the world.
*Expanding on this: I think it makes sense to assume that the rumor bypassed Charlotte altogether, and that it was instead the Lucases/Meryton society who circulated it. Why? I have no idea. Maybe everybody liked the idea of a comeback story so much (going from a runaway daughter to a restored reputation and a proper engagement) that they went overboard. Anyone else remember the “twelve ladies and seven gentlemen” report from chapter 3? Stopped clocks and all that …
I’ll be sad when the book is over, have been very much enjoying your commentary:-)
ReplyDeleteMe too, they have been a delight to read.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. Even when I disagree, I love it.
ReplyDeleteMe too, but I’m already planning a re-read. :)
DeleteMr Bennett has had very limited interaction with Darcy and Darcy is not amiable at best so even discounting gossip, there's not much he can conclude from his interactions with him.
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ReplyDeleteI think if the Lucases are instrumental in spreading the gossip, there is a possibility that it was in a letter to Charlotte. I think Charlotte would have been to wise and discreet to pass on the gossip to Lady Catherine, but Mr. Collins may have been reading his wife's letters. Another possibility someone raised in a different forum, is that Sir Lucas is corresponding directly with his son-in-law.
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