Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 48

Had Elizabeth's conception of marriage and family been taken entirely from her own family, she would not have formed in her mind a pleasant picture of a happy marriage and a comfortable home.Because her father was obsessed with youthful beauty and the superficial charm that youthful beauty often attached to, he married a woman with weak intelligence and narrow thinking. Soon after the marriage, his sincere love for her ended.Gone forever was the respect, love, and confidence of husband and wife; all his hopes for domestic happiness were gone.But Mr. Bennet is not the sort of man who, when he is disappointed by his own recklessness, comforts his misfortune with pleasure.He was fond of the country, and of borrowing books; and derived his chief pleasures from these inclinations.To his wife he said words of gratitude now only because her ignorance and stupidity sometimes served him as a joke.A man would not, in common sense, seek such pleasures in his wife; but in the absence of other pleasures, a true sage can profit from whatever is given him.

Elizabeth was not unable to see her father's failure to fulfill her husband's responsibilities, and she always felt painful when she saw this situation; it was only out of respect for his ability and gratitude for his love for her that she tried to forget Those unpleasant places, try to get rid of those unpleasant thoughts, because her father often does not perform the duties of a husband, and does not have the respect due between husband and wife, making his wife often embarrassing among his children. condemned.But never before had she felt more strongly the disadvantages of an unhappy marriage to children; Used well, it might at least preserve the decency of the daughters, if not broaden his wife's mind.

When Elizabeth was grateful for Wickham's departure, she also found that the departure of the militia was not beneficial in other ways.Their outings were much more monotonous than before; at home, there was a mother and sister who were always complaining about the boredom of life, making the family atmosphere even more gloomy; Now, she will gradually calm down, but her other younger sister is now in the double dangerous environment of the barracks and the bathing place, coupled with her character of not doing enough to accomplish things but to fail, it is very likely that she will become more calm. Capricious nonsense, so that on the whole she felt, as she had sometimes found before, that an event which she had longed for would not, when it did come, be as satisfying as she had imagined it to be.So she had to look forward to a time when her happiness would really begin; to find another fulcrum for her happiness, to comfort herself now by intoxicating anticipation, and to prepare for another disappointment to come.Her trip to the Lake District was the happiest thing in her mind now; it was her greatest consolation during this unhappy time of mother and Kitty's continual whining; If you also join in, then this trip to the Lake District will be perfect.

"Anyway," thought Elizabeth, "I have one more thing to look forward to, and when everything is ready to go, my disappointment will surely return. However, as my sister cannot go with me, I save This endless regret is on the way, and I have reason to hope to fulfill my pleasant expectations. A plan full of good promises can never be realized; only a little bit of special distress can be roughly realized. to avoid disappointment."

When Lydia left she had promised her mother and Kitty to write often and in detail about her presence there; but her letters were always belated and brief.Her letters to her mother always said that they had just returned from the library, and they were accompanied by many officers, and that she was jealous of the beautiful decorations she saw there; or She had just bought a new dress and an umbrella, and she wanted to describe it to them, but she had to give up because Mrs. First told her to go to the barracks; Even less is known, because although these letters are very long, the content under the name is full of long-lined content that is not allowed to be disclosed.

After two or three weeks of Lydia's absence, Longbourne began to regain its cheerfulness.People who went to London for the winter are back, people are wearing summer clothes, and there are summer dates everywhere.Mrs. Bennet was as active and easy-going as ever, and by the middle of June Kitty was in better spirits, and shed no tears when she could reach Meryton; Elizabeth was glad to see it, and she hoped By Christmas, Kitty will be sensible enough not to mention the officers several times a day, unless the headquarters, regardless of all this, has a malicious trick and sends another group to the station. Meryton come.

The time they had set for their northward trip seemed to be approaching; at this moment a letter came from Aunt Gardiner, which delayed the trip and moved the place of the trip closer.The letter stated that because of Mr. Gardiner's business, he had to delay his departure for two weeks until July, and he had to rush back to London within a month; As they planned at the beginning, they saw so many scenic spots, or at least they could not visit the Lake District in such a leisurely and leisurely way, so they had to abandon the Lake District and find a shorter place to replace it. According to the current arrangement, the most north-facing As far as Derbyshire.In fact, there was a lot to see in that place, enough to pass their three weeks' travel time; and to Aunt Gardiner, the place had a special attraction.The town where she had lived for several years, and now she would spend a few days revisiting, aroused her great curiosity. But that's all.

Elizabeth was greatly disappointed; her mind had been set on going to the Lake District, and she still thought there was time enough to go there.However, she had to go with what she wanted—and she had a natural, happy disposition; so she felt all right after a while.

The mention of Derbyshire inevitably aroused many other associations in her.It was impossible for her to see the word without thinking of Pemberley and its owner. "Of course," she thought, "I could strut into his town and take a few clear spars (clear spars: a well-known ore here in Derbyshire.) without his knowing. "

Now, the waiting period has been doubled.Her uncle and aunt were not due to arrive for another four weeks.But they passed at last, and the Gardiners and their four children appeared at Longbourn.These four children, two girls, six and eight years old, and two boys, were to remain here under the special care of their cousin, Jane, who was very dear to them, and her Patience and gentle disposition made her well suited to care for them in every way—teaching them, playing games with them, loving them, and so on.

The Gardiners stayed in Longbourn for only one night, and took Elizabeth on the next morning for their adventure-seeking journey.At least, such a pleasure must have been part of their trip—that the companions were well chosen, that they were all in good health and easy disposition, and could bear whatever inconveniences they encountered—and that they were all naturally optimistic. It can be called joy in joy when encountering happy things-everyone is smart and loves each other, with these things in common, even if something disappointing happens outside, they can still enjoy themselves with each other.

This book does not intend to describe the scenery of Derbyshire, nor does it intend to describe the famous scenic spots they passed along the way, such as Oxford, Brann, Warwick, Kenilvaughan, Birmingham, etc. are all familiar to everyone.A small town in Derbyshire is the subject of this book.The town was called Lambton, where Mrs. Gardiner once lived, and she had recently heard that some old people were still alive here, so she made a detour to this town after seeing all the main attractions in the country. and Elizabeth had heard from her aunt that Pemberley lay five miles beyond Lambton.Pemberley is not a place they must pass through, but if they want to go, it is only a detour of a mile or two.While discussing the journey the previous evening, Mrs Gardiner had expressed a desire to see Pemberley again.Mr. Gardiner was in full agreement, and they came to Elizabeth for advice.

"Would you like, my dear, to see a place you've heard of?" asked her aunt. "Many of your friends are connected with that place, where Wickham was brought up, and you Know."

Elizabeth was perplexed, feeling that she had nothing to do with Pemberley, and had no reason to go there, and so excused herself by saying that she did not want to see the place.She said she had seen enough of the great mansions; after traveling so much, she had lost all interest in tapestry and drapery.

Mrs. Gardiner said she was stupid. "If it was only a pretty house and rich furnishings," she said, "I wouldn't care about it myself; but the landscape is lovely there. The woods there Many are the best known in the country."

Elizabeth said no more--though she still disagreed.It occurred to her that she might run into Mr. Darcy while looking at the scenery there.How embarrassing that must be!Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blush, and she thought it was best to explain the matter clearly to her aunt, so as not to take this risk.But there were many inconveniences in doing so; at last she decided that it would not be too late to take this last step if she inquired privately whether Mr. Darcy was at home.

So at night, when she went to bed, she asked the maid whether Pemberley was a good place, and who owned it, and then, in a trembling heart, asked if the owner had gone away for the summer, a last question which won her over. The much-desired answer—her apprehensions were now gone, and when she had settled down she aroused a great curiosity to see the house for herself; When Elizabeth came, she answered calmly, with an air of indifference, that she had nothing against the plan.

So the three of them set off for Pemberley.

(End of this chapter)