Austen 250 Reader Series: Pride and Prejudice (Chapters 32-40)

Hello and a heartfelt welcome to one and all. This year, in honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday celebration, the Jane Austen Summer Program is dedicating blog space to summarizing and reviewing the great works written by one of the world’s most renowned authors. We have now reached the point in our journey when it is time to discuss what some might consider Austen’s most treasured piece: Pride and Prejudice. Published January 28, 1813, this novel’s quick-witted characters and highly quotable dialogue have allowed this classic to become timeless and continually lauded by modern audiences. This week, we will focus on the events that unfold during chapters 32-40.

Synopsis

One morning, while the rest of the family are out and Elizabeth is at home writing letters, Mr. Darcy appears. He and Elizabeth have a quiet conversation. It appears he is putting her advice to use by “practicing” conversing with others. When Mrs. Collins returns home, she is astonished to find them alone together. She tells Elizabeth Mr. Darcy must be in love with her, but Elizabeth rejects that notion at once. She says Mr. Darcy is very quiet in her company. He cannot have affectionate feelings for her. Charlotte often muses on this subject and she even entertains the notion of Elizabeth marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam, for both men visit the Parsonage daily. But she does not always share these feelings with Elizabeth because she does not want her friend to get her hopes up only to have them dashed later.

Regularly, when Elizabeth goes out for her solitary walks, she is joined by Mr. Darcy. This surprises her exceedingly because they still do not talk much, but he insists, upon meeting her, on escorting her back to the Parsonage. One day, while out on a walk and reading a letter from Jane, Elizabeth happens upon Colonel Fitzwilliam. They talk of Mr. Darcy and his sister a little because Colonel Fitzwilliam reveals he is also one of Miss Darcy’s guardians and Elizabeth makes a joke about young girls of that age being fractious.

The conversation then turns toward Mr. Darcy recently relating a story in which he saved a dear friend from an imprudent marriage. Apparently, there were objections to the lady. Colonel Fitzwilliam says he does not know the person, but he supposes it to be Mr. Bingley because he and Mr. Darcy spent so much time together during the summer. Elizabeth is wounded by the knowledge of Mr. Darcy triumphing in pulling apart his friend and her sister. She thinks of Jane, kind and generous Jane, and is once again sick of Mr. Darcy and his pride.

But his feelings are quite different from her own. While Elizabeth is irritated by the mere thought of Mr. Darcy, he has come to care for her so greatly that he decides to propose marriage. He starts out well enough but then goes on to say that he knows Elizabeth’s relations are inferior to his own.  Since he cares for her, he is willing to look beyond all that. She is flattered by his proposal but the more he speaks, the more bothered she becomes because he is pointedly insulting her and her family. When he finishes, she thanks him for the proposal but succinctly rejects him. She can tell he is angered by this so when he asks why she is so uncivil, she replies with feeling. She lectures him for the words he said, offending her with almost every breath while trying to profess his love. But she doesn’t stop there. She goes on and tells him she cannot accept him because of how he ruined Jane’s happiness. When she presses Darcy to admit what part he played in separating Mr. Bingley from Jane, he admits he did as Elizabeth suspects. And he feels as though he has been kinder to Mr. Bingley than to himself. She is not mollified by this response, so she asks about his involvement with Mr. Wickham. He does not answer directly but becomes peeved himself because she is so interested in Mr. Wickham’s affairs. Darcy makes to leave, but before he goes, he stops and says he wonders if her dislike for him might have been overlooked if he had flattered her rather than wounded her pride by expressing his true feelings.

While out walking the next morning, even though she veers off her normal course, Elizabeth encounters Mr. Darcy. He gives her a letter and bids her to read it. In the first part, he explains the part he played in Mr. Bingley and Jane’s affairs. He had seen Mr. Bingley in love before and knew that his friend was prone to falling head over heels. So, he watched Jane carefully. He saw that she was amiable and had a certain regard for Charles Bingley, but he did not think her heart had been touched by their interactions. He is sorry that Jane has suffered from the breach, but he did not genuinely think her in love with his friend.

Then he writes of his circumstances with Mr. Wickham. He acknowledges that his own father loved Wickham dearly. Old Mr. Wickham was a good man, but he suffered because his wife squandered their money. Old Mr. Darcy provided for young Wickham by ensuring he got a gentleman’s education and because he loved him so well intended to see Mr. Wickham take up the role of a clergyman in the parish. But because Young Darcy was the same age as George Wickham, he saw things his father did not.

When Old Mr. Darcy died and just six months later Old Mr. Wickham followed suit, young Wickham appeared before the present Mr. Darcy and said he did not wish to be a clergyman. He had a desire to study law. Mr. Darcy gave him three thousand pounds and thought that would be the end of their interactions. Three years later, when the rector in the parish died, Mr. Wickham changed his mind. He said he now wanted to be a clergyman and expected Mr. Darcy to follow his father’s wishes by giving him employment. Mr. Darcy refused to give into Mr. Wickham’s wishes. Until last summer, Mr. Darcy thought he might never see Mr. Wickham again, but then, he reappeared.

While Georgiana, Mr. Darcy’s sister, was with her companion, Mrs. Younge, in Ramsgate, Mr. Wickham joined them. Georgiana was persuaded to think herself in love with him and agreed to an elopement. Right before the ceremony was set to take place, Mr. Darcy arrived and Georgiana unfolded the whole truth to him. She was only fifteen years old at the time, so he kept the affair a secret to preserve her good name and sent Mr. Wickham away for good. Mr. Darcy is convinced Mr. Wickham meant to secure Georgiana’s fortune of thirty thousand pounds, but he also wished to exact revenge on Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth struggles as she reads Mr. Darcy’s letter. At first, she does not make it all the way through because she is appalled by his smug haughtiness regarding the ruination of Jane’s happiness. But when she does persist and learns the truth of his dealings with Mr. Wickham, she takes the time to think through them fully. Once Elizabeth understands the truth of matters, she is ashamed of her own behavior. She allowed herself to be prejudiced against Mr. Darcy, in Mr. Wickham’s favor, because she believed the stories he told. This feeling is made worse because she has always prided herself upon being a good judge of character. And she allowed herself to be woefully played upon by George Wickham.

Elizabeth returns home to learn that Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy both called to say goodbye, but she missed them.

It is not long after the gentlemen take their leave that Elizabeth and Maria prepare to venture back home as well. Lady Catherine is very concerned about their travel arrangements. Elizabeth spends most of her days thinking of Mr. Darcy’s letter and reconciling herself to the fact that Jane’s happiness was not ruined by Mr. Darcy but by the conduct and lack of propriety shown by her own family members.

Elizabeth and Mr. Collins have a chance to speak privately. He wishes her to report just how pleasant the visit was and to tell all her family and friends back in Hertfordshire just how much he rejoices in his choice of wives. Elizabeth is relieved when it is finally time to leave. Maria Lucas says, with some enthusiasm, that she cannot wait to tell others all they saw and experienced at Rosings and Elizabeth thinks of all she will have to conceal.

As Elizabeth, Jane, and Maria prepare to leave town together, they are greeted by Lydia and Kitty. The younger Bennet sisters traveled in their father’s coach so they might see their sisters and friend first and have the honor of sharing all the latest news. The most pressing matters, according to Lydia, are those concerning the soldiers. The regiment is going away to Brighton, and she has it in her head that the whole Bennet family should follow them. She is persuaded it would be good fun. Then, she shares the news that Mr. Wickham and Miss Mary King are no longer engaged to be married. Once the carriage arrives at home, the Lucases come to collect Maria, and the idea of going to Brighton for the summer is mentioned once more. Elizabeth does not wish to encounter Mr. Wickham again, and when Lydia suggests they all walk to Meryton, Elizabeth squashes that idea readily and completely.

Elizabeth is relieved to finally tell her secrets to Jane. But Jane is truly upset by the matters that Mr. Darcy shared concerning Mr. Wickham. They discuss Wickham’s deeds at length and Jane tries to understand how someone could be so wicked, but it is beyond her comprehension. The girls determine they ought not to tell others about Wickham’s misdeeds and Elizabeth feels better having unburdened herself slightly. She can see that Jane is still unhappily in love with Mr. Bingley, so she decides to keep the first half of Mr. Darcy’s letter to herself. She does not wish to make her sister truly miserable.

Impressions

These chapters are revelatory not just because of all Mr. Darcy confesses to Elizabeth, but because of the way her character changes. In the beginning, she appears to be an immovable force—a strong, independent young lady, who when confronted by a series of inappropriate questions by Lady Catherine replies with cheeky responses in retaliation. But after receiving Mr. Darcy’s proposal, and more importantly his missive, Elizabeth allows her mind to flex and give a little. She is not a static person, but rather a dynamic character because where she saw Mr. Darcy as a wholly prideful person before, she now has come to think of him in a slightly different manner. She is still displeased by the role he played in separating Jane and Mr. Bingley, but now she can also look upon their parting with unveiled eyes. Her family was as much to blame in that instance as his.

I don’t generally think of Pride and Prejudice as a coming-of-age story, but Elizabeth Bennet does undergo a great alteration in this section of text. She moves from being slightly arrogant in her opinions and conjectures to seeing that her version of events was tainted. It was incomplete and lacked portions of the truth. Once she accepts that her recollection of events and the judgements she has passed on others are slightly fallible, she matures.

Extras

Want to read a summary of Volume II that’s told from a different author’s perspective? Check out the blog post Sarah Hurley wrote in August 2024 as part of a Pride and Prejudice read along.

Next week, we will venture into chapters 41-47 with Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner as they take a holiday through Oxford, Blenheim, and Warwick before heading to Lambton and Pemberley.