Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 5

Still, all that Mrs. Bennet, with the assistance of her five daughters, could gather on this visit, was not sufficient to obtain a more satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley from her husband.They tried every means against him; stark questions, ingenious conjectures, wild guesses; but none of these techniques worked against him; Here comes the indirect news.Neighbors' reports are heartwarming.Sir William was very fond of Mr. Bingley.He was very young, surprisingly handsome, very easygoing, and best of all, he intended to bring a lot of friends to the next ball.It doesn't get more exciting than this!Love to dance, which means a real step on the road to falling in love; girls are eager to win Mr. Bingley's heart.

"If I see one of my daughters happily married to Netherfield," said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, "and the others marry well, I shall I am satisfied."

A few days later Mr. Bingley called Mr. Bennet back and sat with him for about ten minutes in his study.He had expected to see the faces of young ladies, whose beauty he had heard so much; but the only one who saw him was their fathers.The ladies were luckier than him, for they had seen him from upstairs windows, in a blue coat, and riding a black horse.

The invitation to the dinner was sent out shortly; Mrs. Bennet was already planning to prepare a few dishes that showed her cooking skills, when a sudden reply came from the other side, so the matter of the dinner was put on hold. up.Mrs. Bingley, who was going into town next day, could not accept their kind invitation, and Mrs. Bennet felt very uncomfortable about it.She could hardly imagine what he was going back to town for when he first arrived in Hertfordshire; and she began to worry that he would always be running from place to place like this, never as he intended Settle down in Nicefeld.Mrs. Lucas reassured her a little by saying that she thought he had gone to London only to bring a large number of guests to the ball; and word soon came out that Bingley was bringing twelve ladies and seven men to the ball. .The girls here were dismayed to hear so many ladies were coming, but they cheered up the day before the ball when they heard that he had brought only six from London—he five sisters and a cousin.When he and his guests entered the ballroom, there were only five of them: Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, his brother-in-law, and another man.

Bingley was handsome and gentlemanly; his face was pleasing, and his manners were easy and unaffected.His two sisters are also beautiful girls, and their behavior and attire are very elegant.His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, seemed to be just an ordinary gentleman, but Bingley's friend Darcy quickly attracted the attention of the whole room. He was handsome, well-proportioned and tall, with noble manners. In the five minutes since he came in, news of his £5-a-year income had spread.The men said he was the best of men, and the women said he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley.For the first half of the evening he had been basking in the admiration of the people, and then his behavior began to arouse the disgust of the people, and his reputation plummeted; for the people at the ball found him lonely and unapproachable. and delighted him; so that no matter how large his Derbyshire estate was, he would not be exempted from the reproach of those who said that he had a hard face, which seemed to keep people away from him for thousands of miles. His friends were nothing compared to him.

Mr. Bingley soon became acquainted with all the leading persons present; he was lively, handsome, and obliged to dance at every dance, and finally regretted that the ball was over too soon, and said that he himself would be at Nisse. Field throws a dance.Such an amiable and easy-going disposition did him a great favor.What a contrast this created between him and his friend!Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, but never with any other woman. The rest of the time he walked up and down the room, sometimes occasionally Chat with the gang he came with.His character has been judged by those present.He was the proudest and most unpleasant man in the world, and everyone hoped he would never come here again.The most against him of all was Mrs. Bennet, whose general dissatisfaction with his conduct was transformed into a peculiar resentment by the contemptuous treatment of one of her daughters.

Because there were few male dancers at the party, Elizabeth Bennet had to sit there for two dances; during that time, Mr. Darcy was standing not far from her, so when Mr. When Min came to urge his friend to jump up too, she heard the conversation between them.

"Hey, Darcy," said Bingley, "come and dance, for I hate to see you standing by yourself so foolishly."

"I can't dance. You know I hate dancing, unless it's with people I know very well. I can't bear to dance at a party like this one. Your sisters are all busy, and there's nothing in this house." I can't find any other woman, if I go to dance with her, it will make me suffer."

"I'm not so picky as you are," said Bingley, "at any rate! To tell the truth, I've never met so many lovely girls as this evening. You see how many there are to say It is beautiful."

"The one you danced with was the only good-looking girl in the room," said Mr. Darcy, looking yonder at Miss Bennet.

"Oh! she's the prettiest girl I've ever seen! But behind you sits her sister, who, I dare say, is pretty and lovely too. Come, let me ask my partner to introduce you one time."

"Which one are you referring to?" He turned his head to search for a while, and when he met Elizabeth's gaze, he stopped looking at her and said coldly, "She looks pretty good, but Not pretty enough to tempt me yet; and I'm not in the mood at the moment to favor young ladies who are neglected by other men. You'd better go back to your partner, she smiles sweetly , don't waste your time with me anymore."

Mr. Bingley obeyed his advice, and Mr. Darcy went away; Elizabeth did not feel very fond of him.Nevertheless she related the incident to her friends with gusto; Elizabeth had a lively and mischievous disposition, and took pleasure in anything ridiculous.

The whole evening was a happy one for the Bennets.Mrs. Bennet observed that her eldest daughter was much admired by the company from Netherfield.Mr. Bingley danced with her twice, and her beauty was enhanced by the presence of her sisters.Jane was as thankful for this as her mother was, though she was not as happy as her mother.Elizabeth was also proud of Jane.Mary heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most talented woman in the neighbourhood; Catherine and Lydia were also fortunate enough to have never lost a partner, and they had long regarded this as the most important thing at a ball. Fortunately.The family therefore happily returned to Longborn, the village where they lived (their family was the main inhabitants of the village).When they got home they found Mr. Bennet still awake.As soon as he read the book he lost track of time; and on an occasion like this evening he was certainly curious about the ball which had previously aroused the hopes and expectations of his wife and daughter.He would have preferred his wife to think that the new neighbor was not at all satisfactory; but he soon found that what he now heard was quite different from what he had hoped for.

"Oh! my dear," cried his wife, as she came in, "the girls and I have had the best evening and the best ball. I wish you were there too. Jane is well received She had received so many compliments that no one could compare with her. Everyone said she was pretty; Bingley thought she was very pretty, and danced with her twice; He invited Miss Lucas when the ball began. It made me feel bad to see him standing with her; People would; when Jane walked off the dance floor, his heart seemed to be deeply moved. So he asked for her name, asked for an introduction, and invited her to the next round. He first The three-round dance with Miss King, the fourth with Maria Lucas, the fifth with Jane, the sixth with Lizzy, and the Blanchets—”

"If he'd had any sympathy for me," cried her husband impatiently, "he wouldn't have danced even half of that much! God, don't mention his partners. Ah! He twisted his ankle at the first dance!"

"Oh! my dear," went on Mrs. Bennet, "I like him very much. He is so handsome! And his sisters are charming too. I never saw them so elegant in my life." dress. I dare say Mrs. Hurst's stripes are—"

At this point she was interrupted again.Mr. Bennet would not hear any details of the attire.So she was obliged to find another subject, and she related indignantly, not without exaggeration, the astonishing insolence of Mr. Darcy.

"However, I believe," she added after this account, "it will not do Lizzy's reputation that he doesn't like Lizzy; for he is the most detestable sort of Delight him. He is haughty, arrogant, and unbearable! He walks here and there, thinking how great he is! No one is worthy enough to dance with him! When, my dear, you It would have been nice to be there to teach him a lesson. I hate that guy so much."

(End of this chapter)