Pride & Prejudice, ch. 59: Playing Catch-Up

Credit to Bookishly. Too cute!

It’s funny how breaking good news can still be tough. Lizzy, now the fiancée of a wealthy, respectable, good-looking man, should in theory have nothing to worry about. Of course, that would also mean ignoring that fact that her courtship with Darcy has been kept close to her heart for the last several months. And everybody is convinced that she can’t stand the guy. Worse, “[she] even fear[s] that with the others it was a dislike which not all his fortune and consequence might do away.”

So all that means her happiness is somewhat … conditional, let’s say.

But it’s nice to see her laughing again when Jane expresses disbelief after Lizzy breaks it to her. Poor Jane doesn’t know what’s hit her—on top of having just soldiered through her own romantic woes, now she has Lizzy’s to parse through. Think about it: the last time Jane had any update on her sister’s dealings with Darcy, it was his failed proposal. Lizzy doesn’t make it easy for Jane, with her jokes about only marrying Darcy for his cash and “his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.” Jane cautions her against “marry[ing] without affection,” advice that Lizzy herself lives by—but Jane believes that Lizzy has forgotten it. Then she reveals that Bingley actually filled her in on the Pemberley lunch and calls Lizzy out on “hav[ing] been very sly.” Good for you, Jane—call it like it is.

There’s a little interlude where Mrs. Bennet kinda-sorta makes Lizzy go out walking with Darcy when Bingley brings him around the day after. Bingley demonstrates heretofore unseen subtlety (could it be Darcy rubbing off on him?) as he silently congratulates Lizzy on the engagement. While nothing special, this little bit does suggest that, while Lizzy is currently agitated due to dreading her parents’ reactions (mostly her mom’s), there will be celebration and encouragement for Lizzy and Darcy’s union in the future. And hey, this means that Darcy and Bingley will be brothers-in-law. 

If this book wasn’t essentially the first of its kind, I’d be rolling my eyes at all these clichés … 

After Darcy* asks for and is granted Mr. Bennet’s permission (ugh, the patriarchy), Lizzy must face her father in his “anxious” state. His concerns are similar to Jane’s—namely, the fear that she is going into this marriage with dollar signs in her eyes—only much more pronounced. Unlike Jane, Mr. Bennet actively tries to dissuade Lizzy from marrying Darcy: “I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage.” He emphasizes qualities like respect and equality among partners (leaving the “as a superior” rather vague) in a way that makes it obvious that he’s speaking from experience … but also possibly suggests that he has higher standards for his favorite daughter than he does for himself. It’s notable, for example, that Mr. Bennet gives his consent to Darcy and then asks Lizzy to give it a good rethink, when he could have simply told Darcy no. He plays this off as cowardice, but for the record, I don’t agree. I think this shows his value for Lizzy’s ability to choose for herself, rather than extreme respect toward Darcy.

The Lizzy of last chapter—the one who was all about keeping the good memories and doing away with the bad—now expresses regret, “wish[ing] that her former opinions had been more reasonable, her expressions more moderate!” To counteract this, she basically has to back-fill Mr. Bennet in on her history with Darcy in the same way she did with Jane. As a bonus, she shares Darcy’s involvement in the Lydia and Wickham scandal to impress her father further. Mr. Bennet proves that he’s back to normal as he jokes about having the pleasure of hearing Darcy insist on not paying him back for his troubles. He gets in a few more cracks, laughing at the idea of Lizzy’s inner turmoil as she listened to his recitation of Mr. Collins’s letter. I point this out not to complain about Mr. Bennet, but to contrast his behavior with his daughter’s: as he relaxes in his study, Lizzy goes to her room to decompress before joining the rest of the household. For all his genuine concern, his world has not changed; his habits do not alter.

Funnily enough, it is Mrs. Bennet who displays a change in, if not personality, than at least outward behavior. Struck numb with the news at first, she eventually reacts the way Lizzy anticipated: “Oh! my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane's is nothing to it—nothing at all. I am so pleased—so happy. Such a charming man! [S]o handsome! [S]o tall!” Ma Bennet even follows her daughter around the house as she obsesses over Darcy’s fortune. Not a great look, right? Until she sees him again the day after and “luckily stood in such awe of [Darcy] that she ventured not to speak to him, unless it was in her power to offer him any attention, or mark her deference for his opinion.” I feel like this is intentional on Austen’s part: the parents’ behavior toward Darcy exceeds Lizzy’s expectations because Austen ultimately wants to end on a happy note—so why not add a detail or two that suggest that Ma and Pa Bennet won’t be the worst in-laws in the world?

Next: Lizzy and Darcy discuss their foibles and inform their favorite aunts of the engagement.

*Another Darcy smile in this chapter. I think that brings us up to six??