Chapter XI of Volume II (Chapter 34) presents Darcy's
proposal of marriage to Elizabeth while the Collins household is away to dine with Lady
Catherine. The scene follows upon Elizabeth's learning from Colonel Fitzwilliam that
Darcy congratulated himself upon having saved Bingley from an ill-advised marriage to
Jane. Elizabeth is full of (1) resentment and anger at what Darcy has done and is
reading all of Jane's letters to rekindle her perception of Jane's suffering. It is then
that Darcy arrives to (2) anxiously inquire after her health as she had claimed headache
for her reason for staying home.
Darcy won't sit, but
impulsively stands and (3) nervously walks up and down the room in silence. Elizabeth is
(4) surprised at Darcy's behavior but waits in silence for him to speak. When he does
speak, he declares his (5) love for her, saying:
In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My
feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and
love you.
In reaction,
"Elizabeth's (6) astonishment was beyond expression." Darcy continued to express his
feelings of (7) tenderness toward her while at the same time expressing his feelings of
(8) pride that would suffer degradation by the inferiority of her position and family
(Mrs. Bennet!!). Despite her (9) dislike of Darcy, Elizabeth felt (10) complimented by
the proposal of such a man as Darcy. She quickly moves from compliment and (11)
compassion for him to more resentment and anger. Before she gives Darcy her answer, he
speaks of (12) apprehension and (13) anxiety but she only sees secure (14)
confidence:
He
spoke of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real
security.
Her (15)
exasperation was heightened and lay simmering under the words of her refusal of his
offer. Now it's Darcy's turn for (16) resentment, though mixed with (17) surprise and
seasoned with his own (18) anger. He forces himself to sound and appear calm and
incredulous and tranquil, but these are assumed (i.e., pretend) emotions and not his
real ones.
When Elizabeth brings up Wickham, Darcy responds
with deep (19) contempt. When she goes on to say to Darcy that no representation of his
feelings could have inclined her to accept his offer, he adds to his feelings of (20)
astonishment and incredulity the feeling of mortification. He leaves her with feelings
of (21) shame for the love he has felt for her. Elizabeth is left alone with deeper
feelings of (22) astonishment and anger.
No comments:
Post a Comment