Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 8 Conditions a Talented Woman Should Possess
At five o'clock, the two sisters of the host family went out to change clothes; at 06:30, Elizabeth was invited to dinner.Everyone was polite and thoughtful, and asked about Jane's condition one after another, especially Mr. Bingley, who was very concerned, which made Elizabeth feel very happy; it was a pity that Jane's condition did not improve at all, and she could not give everyone a satisfactory answer.When the two sisters heard these words, they kept expressing that they were also very worried, saying that a severe cold was very terrible, and that they themselves hated getting sick very much... After saying these things, they didn't take it as the same thing .Elizabeth saw this indifference to Jane when she was not in their presence, and the distaste she had already had for them rekindled.

Indeed, only their brother in their family could satisfy her, because you could see at a glance that he was really worried about Jane, and of course he was very polite to Elizabeth.Elizabeth had expected that she would be regarded as an unexpected visitor, but this attention prevented her from thinking so.Nobody paid much attention to her except him.Miss Bingley's thoughts were mainly on Mr. Darcy, and Mrs. Hurst was almost the same; beside Elizabeth sat Mr. Hurst, who was by nature a lazy man, and lived to eat, drink, and play cards. , when he heard that Elizabeth would rather eat an ordinary dish than ragout, he lost interest in talking to her.

Elizabeth went straight back to Jane's as soon as she had supper.As soon as she came out of the dining-room, Miss Bingley began to blame her, and to discredit her manners, to say that she was haughty and insolent, incapable of conversation, ill-looking, witty, and ugly.Mrs. Hurst thought in the same way, and added: "In short, she has no other virtues than her ability to run. I will never forget the way she looked this morning. She looked like a madman." "

"She's a madman, Louisa. I can't help laughing. She's been a very boring trip. My sister has a cold, why is she making such a fuss about it? - Messy-haired !"

"Yeah, and her petticoat--too bad you didn't see her petticoat. I'm not talking nonsense, it's got a full six inches of mud on it, and she lowered the outer skirt a little to hide it." For a moment, but it cannot be concealed."

Mr. Bingley said: "You don't describe it too much, Louisa, but I don't think so. I think Miss Elizabeth Bennet's air and manner when she entered the room this morning was very nice. I didn't see to her soiled petticoat."

"You must have seen it, Mr. Darcy," said Miss Bingley, "I think you would not like to see your own sister in such a state of distress."

"Of course not."

"Got knows how many miles, three or five miles for no reason, with mud and water up to her ankles, and she's all alone! What does she mean by that? I think she's showing an uneducated savagery. It's the frivolity of country people who don't have good manners."

Mr. Bingley said: "That just says something about her brotherhood, which is wonderful."

Miss Bingley said eccentrically, "Mr. Darcy, I'm afraid that her rash behavior this time will affect your admiration for her beautiful eyes?"

Darcy replied, "Not at all, and her eyes are brighter from the journey."

After saying this, the people in the room were silent for a while, and Mrs. Hurst said again: "I am very concerned about Jane Bennet--she is indeed a lovely girl--I sincerely hope that She's trying to get married. It's a pity that she has met such parents, and there are so many despicable relatives, I'm afraid she has nothing to look forward to."

"I remember hearing you say that she had an uncle who was a solicitor in Meryton?"

"Yes, their uncle lives in Hopeside, Hopeside: London street name. It is famous for selling jewels and silks. Nearby."

"That's wonderful!" added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

Mr. Bingley cried out at this: "If they had as many uncles as they could have filled the whole of Shipside, they would not have lost one iota of their loveliness."

"However, if they want to marry a man of status, the chances will be greatly reduced." Darcy replied.

Mr. Bingley paid no heed to his remark, but his sisters listened with great satisfaction, and their jests at Miss Bennet's lowly relations were all the more unscrupulous, and continued for a long time.After they left the dining-room, they went to Jane's room, resumed all their tenderness and consideration, and sat with her until coffee time.

Jane's condition was still not improving, and Elizabeth watched her closely until dusk.Seeing that she was asleep, she was relieved.Although she was not happy to go downstairs, she felt that she should go downstairs.

Walking into the living room, she saw everyone playing cards.They immediately invited her to come to play, but she was worried that she would lose badly, so she politely declined, saying that she was worried about her sister and had to go upstairs later, so she could read a book for entertainment.

Mr. Hurst gave her a surprised look.

"Would you rather read a book than play cards?" said he. "That's very rare."

Miss Bingley said: "Miss Elizabeth Bennet despises card games; she is a great reader, and has little interest in anything else."

Elizabeth responded loudly: "I don't dare to take such a compliment, and I don't dare to take such a blame. I am not a great scholar, and I am very interested in many things."

Mr. Bingley said: "I think you will be very willing to take care of your sister, and I hope she will recover soon, and you will be happier." Elizabeth thanked him from the bottom of her heart.

Mr. Bingley approached a table where a few books lay, and at once offered to bring her some more—he took all the books in his study.

"It would be great if I had more books, whether it's for your sake or for my own sake. But I'm a lazy person, I don't have a lot of books, and I have read even fewer."

Elizabeth told him that the few books in the room were enough for her to read.

Miss Bingley said: "I wonder how papa has left so few books?—Mr. Darcy, what a splendid library you have at Pemberley!"

Darcy said, "What's so strange about that, it's a legacy of generations."

"You bought a lot of books yourself. I always see you buying books."

"I have such conditions, so naturally I can't neglect the library at home."

"Negligence! I believe you have neglected nothing that has done honor to that noble place of yours.—Charles, if only you could build a house half as beautiful as Pemberley."

"I hope so."

"But I would advise you to buy property around there, and use Pemberley as an example. There is no better county in the whole of England than Derbyshire."

"I'd be more than happy to do that. I'd love to just buy Pemberley, if only Darcy would sell."

"I mean what can be done, Charles."

"I dare say, Caroline, that buying Pemberley is more likely than building a house after Pemberley." These words caught Elizabeth's attention, and she lost her mind for reading, and she simply read the book. put it aside, and went to the card-table, and sat between Mr. Bingley and his sister, and watched their game.

At this moment, Miss Bingley asked Darcy again: "Has Miss Darcy grown a lot since spring? Will she be as tall as me in the future?"

"I suppose so. She is about as tall as Miss Elizabeth Bennet now, and perhaps a little taller."

"I should like to see her again! I never met anyone I liked like her again. She is so good-looking, and so polite, and she has many talents at such a young age, and she plays the piano very well."

Mr. Bingley said: "It really amazes me how young girls can have so much ability and exercise themselves so versatilely."

"All young girls are talented! What do you mean, my dear Charles?"

"Yeah, I think so. They can decorate tables, decorate screens, weave purses . . . Never heard that she is versatile."

Darcy said: "The extremely ordinary so-called talents you mentioned are indeed true. Many women are given the reputation of being versatile just because they can weave money bags and decorate screens. However, I cannot agree with you on The perception of women in general. I don’t want to exaggerate, I know a lot of women, and there are definitely not more than half a dozen who are really versatile.”

"So do I, I am sure," said Miss Bingley.

Elizabeth said: "Then, in your imagination, a versatile woman should include many conditions."

"Yes, I think it should include a lot of conditions."

"Oh, of course," exclaimed Darcy's loyal assistant, "if a woman can't surpass ordinary people, she can't be called versatile. A woman must be proficient in music knowledge, singing, painting, dancing, and modern languages. Besides, her appearance and gait, her tone of voice, her speech and expression, must all have a certain quality, otherwise she is not qualified."

Darcy went on to say: "In addition to these conditions, she should also read more books, increase her knowledge, and have some real talents."

"No wonder you only know six talented women! I really doubt you know even one."

"Why are you so demanding on women, thinking that they can't meet these conditions?"

"I have never seen such a woman. I have never seen a woman so talented, so interesting, so studious, so graceful, as you say."

Both Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley exclaimed that she ought not to have doubted, as it was unjust, and they unanimously gave corroborative evidence that they themselves knew that there were many women who were worthy of it. condition.They waited until Mr. Hurst told them to play their cards well, and reprimanded them for not being distracted in the game, they stopped.

That's how the debate ended.Elizabeth also walked away after a short while.

After the door had shut, Miss Bingley said: "Elizabeth Bennet is one such woman who, in order to promote herself, arranges women in front of men. It may work with some men, but I think it's a base ruse, a base device."

Darcy realized that these words were intended for him, so he quickly replied: "There is no doubt that girls sometimes use unscrupulous means and tricks in order to attract men. This is really despicable. As long as her actions bring Anything cunning should be despised."

Miss Bingley was not quite satisfied with his answer, and lost interest in the conversation.

Elizabeth came to them again, only to tell them that her sister was getting worse, and she could not go away.Mr. Bingley insisted that Dr. Jones should be sent at once, but his sisters, saying that the country doctors were of no avail, insisted that one of the most famous doctors should be sent to the city as soon as possible.Elizabeth disapproved, but she was not too stubborn to disappoint their brother and sister's kindness.So a plan was negotiated: if Miss Bennet was still not getting any better early next morning, Dr. Jones should be sent immediately.Mr. Bingley was very disturbed, and his sister and sister said they were very worried.After supper, they managed to relieve some of their boredom by playing some songs together; and Mr. Bingley, being unable to think of a good way, ordered his maid to devote herself to the care of the sick man and his sister.

(End of this chapter)