Intelligence in "Pride and Prejudice"
Author(s): Susan Morgan
Source: Modern Philology, Vol. 73, No. 1 (Aug., 1975), pp. 54-68
Published by: University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/436104
Accessed: 28-01-2016 07:34 UTC
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inPrideandPrejudice
Intelligence
Susan Morgan
Murphysat out of it,as thoughhe werefree.
Pride and Prejudice has a charmed place as the most popular of Jane Austen's
novels. Its heroine,Elizabeth Bennet, witty,self-confident,
with those dancing
and
not
beautiful
for
us
all
that
is
and irresistible
flawed
eyes,
quite
face, depicts
about real people. Lionel Trillinghas observed about Emma that we like Mr.
Knightley"because we perceivethathe cherishesEmma not merelyin spiteof her
subversiveself-assertionbut because of it."' This applies to Mr. Darcy as well,
and Elizabeth,perfectly
aware of it, cannot resistinquiringwhenshe demands an
account of his havingfallenin love withher: "Did you admireme formyimpertinence?"'2 Her impertinence,of course, is why generationsof readers have
admiredherand whywe recognizethatthe major concernof the book is withthe
possibilitiesand responsibilityof free and lively thought.Pride and Prejudice
exploresthe special question of the meaningof freedom,giventhepremisewhich
JaneAustenassumes throughoutherfiction,thattherelationbetweena character
and public realityis at once problematicand necessary.We watch Elizabeth as
she moves froma beliefin herown logic to a morefluidinterpretation
of knowing
and of intelligencein termsof the backgrounds,contexts,and particularswhich
informtruth.And we learn to acknowledgethatthe pressingimportanceof such
a movementrestsnot in our hopes for being rightbut in our hopes for being
free.
Miss Bingley describes Elizabeth's free spirit as "an abominable sort of
conceited independence,a most countrytown indifference
to decorum" (p. 36).
Certainly,Elizabeth hurryingthrough the muddy countrysideto visit Jane,
springingover puddles and jumping over stiles,is not a decorous sight.And just
as certainly,those muddypetticoatsand glowingcheekscontributea greatdeal to
Mr. Darcy's fallingin love. The importanceof Elizabeth's sense of freedomand
the necessityof relatingthatidea to her growthin the novel may account forthe
factthat so manycriticshave soughtto discussPride and Prejudicein termsof a
dichotomy(suggestedby the title) in which Elizabeth's freedomconstitutesone
pole and some sortof social sense the other.Her progresscan thenbe understood
as a movementfrom polarity to a mergingor harmony,representedby her
marriageto Mr. Darcy. Thus AlistairDuckworth findsit generallyagreed that
Pride and Prejudice "achieves an ideal relation between the individual and
and
society."3 Dorothy Van Ghent sees the book as illuminating"the difficult
delicatereconciliationof thesensitivelydevelopedindividualwiththe termsof his
social existence."4Marvin Mudrick,then,would account forElizabeth's wrongheadedness as a failureto acknowledgethe social context,and Samuel Kliger,
and Authenticity
1/LionelTrilling,Sincerity
(Cambridge,Mass., 1972),p. 77.
references
to
2/TheNovelsofJaneAusten,ed. R. W. Chapman(Oxford,1932),2:380. All further
thenovelsarefromthisedition.
The
the
Estate
n.
Duckworth, Improvement
3/Alistair
of
(Baltimore,1971),p. 118,
4/Dorothy Van Ghent, The English Novel: Form and Function (1953; reprint ed., New York,
1961),p. 100.
54
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in Pride and Prejudice 55
Morgan/Intelligence
in variantterms,places the dichotomyas thatbetweennatureand art.5All would
locate the embodimentof that final harmony among the statelyand tasteful
groundsof Pemberley.
Although most of these individual discussions,and others like them, are
both valuable and persuasive,theyshare an assumptionwhich in Jane Austen
criticismhas sunk to a truism,that her perspectiveis one of social and rational
good. The generalobjectionto thisprevailingview is its orderlinesswhenapplied
to Pride and Prejudice.It is hard to see wherein thatvisionof social and emotional
harmonywith which so many would have the novel end therecould be room
for the doubts, the blindness,and the mistakes which Elizabeth still exhibits
and which are a continuingpart of everymajor characterJane Austen creates.
I do not mean at all to implythatbeyondthe lightnessthereis some dark side to
the novelist,some sortof regulatedhatredor repression.I do mean to ask where
therewould be room forthe lifewhich,as JaneAustenwas perfectly
aware, goes
on beyond all our formulationsof it. Stuart Tave, in his recentstudy of Jane
Austen's words, remindsus that "She knows, and she shows us in her novels,
messylives,and mostpeople are leadingthem,even whenthe surfaceof lifeseems
proper."6 We have been too eager to assume thatJaneAusten's was a conclusive
vision,a sort of apotheosis of the optimismof premodernfiction.Yet to understand Pride and Prejudicein termsof some ideal blend of the individualand the
social is to speak of finalitiesabout a writerwho herselfchooses to speak of the
possible, the continuous, the incomplete.Jane Austen's "social" concerns are
withhuman relations,not society.Her own referenceto "the littlebit(two inches
wide) of Ivory" can only be called unfortunatein the lightof the criticalweight
given that suspiciously humble remark. Jane Austen offersneither Chinese
miniaturesnor Dutch interiorsnor any surface so finishedthat meanings are
conclusive as well. It is hardly possible to speak of her themesas social (or as
rational) withoutinvolving,by implicationalone, that too familiarimage of her
as outsideher own timeand belongingto an earlierand more orderedage.
A more particularobjection to the prevailingview of Pride and Prejudice
is thatit does not actuallywork.If Mr. Darcy is to representsocietyand Elizabeth
a rebelliousindividualism,how are we to account forthe factthat the firstmajor
breach of society'srules is made by Mr. Darcy, whenhe insultsElizabeth within
herhearingat theMerytonball? It seemsevasiveto conclude,withMaryLascelles,
that at the momentMr. Darcy is out of characterand the remarkis a technical
flaw.7 Unquestionably,Mr. Darcy is an outstandingmemberof society,a landowner with both power and responsibility.His position and an accompanying
sense of dutiesand obligationsdo justifya properkind of pride. Yet thisshould
not obscure the factthat Darcy's nature,farfrombeing social, is reserved,independent,isolated, private,and vain. And it is Elizabeth who points to this dis5/Marvin Mudrick, Jane Austen: Irony as Defense and Discovery (1952; reprinted., Berkeley,
1968); Samuel Kliger,"JaneAusten'sPrideand Prejudicein theEighteenth-Century
Mode,"
Universityof Toronto Quarterly 16 (July 1947): 357-70.
6/Stuart Tave, Some Words of Jane Austen (Chicago, 1973), p. 33.
7/MaryLascelles,JaneAustenand Her Art(Oxford,1939),p. 160.
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56
Modern Philology(August 1975)
crepancywhenshe remarksto Colonel Fitzwilliamon Mr. Darcy's rude conduct
at the Merytondance: "Shall we ask him whya man of sense and education,and
?"
who has lived in the world,is ill qualifiedto recommendhimselfto strangers
(p. 175).
Elizabeth's failuresin judgment,with Charlotte Lucas but primarilywith
Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy, are not adequately explained as a headstrong
insistenceon privatejudgment in the face of social values. It is inaccurate to
claim thatElizabeth should have been swayed by the factthat Mr. Wickham"is
a dispossessedman in an acquisitivesociety."8He has a militarycommissionand
the militia,like the navy, is an honorable and a gentlemanlyoccupation and a
respectedpart of Jane Austen's social scheme. It would be just as distortingfor
Elizabeth to find Mr. Darcy socially acceptable because he owns Pemberley,
whatever Charlotte Lucas may think. It is Charlotte, after all, who advises
Elizabeth "not to be a simpletonand allow her fancyfor Wickhamto make her
appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man of ten times his consequence" (p. 90).
Charlottechooses "not to be a simpleton"and will spend therestof herlifewith
Mr. Collins. To judge others in economic or social termsis the very sort of
thinkingJane Austen would expose. Mr. Wickham is socially unacceptable,but
for moral reasons ratherthan economic ones, not because he has no possessions
but because he has no principles.And thisis no more a questionof mannersthan
it is of position or money. Mr. Wickhamcan be as polite and conversantas Mr.
Darcy can be reservedand rude. Elizabeth misjudgesthem,but not throughan
individualismwhich fails to appreciate class or social values. If that were true,
Pride and Prejudicewould be a lessernovel. Her failureis one of intelligence.
Jane Austen's major studyof the links betweenintelligenceand freedomis
cast as a love story,and of a sortwhichshe delightedin characterizingas "rather
too light,and brightand sparkling."9 Most of the action of Pride and Prejudice
can be accounted for as a tale of love which violates the traditionsof romance.
The rather unromanticbeginningsof Henry Tilney's affectionfor Catherine
Morland in NorthangerAbbeyhave been expanded into a prominentmotifabout
theloversin Prideand Prejudice.For muchof the storyMr. Darcy cares forElizabethin spiteof himself,and she does not care forhimat all. When Elizabeth does
come to have some feelingsfor Mr. Darcy she understandsher change as above
all "a motive withinher of good will which could not be overlooked. It was
gratitude.-Gratitude,not merelyfor having once loved her, but for loving her
still well enough, to forgiveall the petulance and acrimonyof her manner in
rejectinghim,and all theunjustaccusationsaccompanyingherrejection"(p. 265).
Such a motiveforlove may not be ideal, but it has theauthor'sfullapproval. It is
also sharedby JaneBennet,thecharacterin PrideandPrejudicewho comes closest
to providingstandards of true sensibility.Jane explains to Elizabeth her own
goodwill to Mr. Darcy on the groundsthat "I always had a value forhim. Were
it fornothingbut his love of you, I must always have esteemedhim" (p. 374).
p. 110.
8/Mudrick,
9/JaneAusten'sLetters,ed. R. W. Chapman,2d ed. (1952; reprinted., London, 1969),no. 77,
Thursday,February4, 1813,p. 299.
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in Pride and Prejudice 57
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The emotional appeal of someone being in love withyou is a favoritetheme
of Jane Austen's. It draws Marianne Dashwood to Colonel Brandon as well as
HenryTilneyto Catherineand even,in a morecomical way,HarrietSmithto the
farmer,Martin. It may help to explain Jane Fairfax's love for
long-suffering
Frank Churchill,and it is strongenough to begin to lure Fanny Price toward
Henry Crawfordand finallyto win Edmund Bertramfor her. Its most powerful
expressionis in Persuasion,in the intenseand mutedfeelingsof Anne Elliot and
Captain Wentworth.There love reawakens love in an almost Shelleyan cycle of
The particularsignificanceof thisthemein Pride and Prejudiceis that
reciprocity.
Elizabeth's gratitudeand increasingaffectionforMr. Darcy are inseparablefrom
her intellectualgrowth.Right thinkingand wrongin the novel can be measured
in termsof Elizabeth's changingfeelingstoward Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham.
Against Mr. Wickham's emptycharm Elizabeth must balance the dangersand
obligations of a demanding love. Gratitude, then, is the response through
which Jane Austen seeks to definefreedomand intelligencewithinthe binding
and incompletetruths.10
circumstancesof emotions,partialunderstandings,
The progressinPrideandPrejudiceneed not thenbe describedas a dichotomy
resolved.Elizabeth's mistakesare not based on a rejectionof societyeven though
it is quite truethattheyare relatedto hersense of personalfreedom.What we are
to understandby thatfreedomis not the rightto do and say whatevershe wants
in defianceof social conventions.Rather,it is a freedomfrombecominginvolved.
This is why Elizabeth's education is most appropriatelya love story. Lionel
Trillinghas said thatPride and Prejudiceshows us that moralitycan be a matter
of style.It also shows us that intelligencecan be a matterof the heart.Elizabeth
believesthatunderstanding,
intelligence,
perception,dependon beingindependent
of theirobjects,and she wantsmostpowerfullyto be an intelligent
observerof her
world. That urge explains much of her continuingappeal and is the single most
importantforcein her story.But forElizabeth it means to be apart fromevents.
Her lesson is the particularlyharsh one her fatherhas impartedthat people are
blindand sillyand onlydistancecan save herfrombeingblindand sillyas well.The
viewfromthatdistanceis necessarilyironic.For Elizabeth,then,beingdisengaged
seems the only salvation fromstupidity.Elizabeth's heartis not engaged by Mr.
Wickham,her understandingis. Her opinion of him is based on her beliefin her
own discernmentand her separation throughintelligencefrom an essentially
uglyworld. Elizabeth's weapon against what she sees as stupidityand uglinessis
her laughter,her impertinence,
and her uncommittedheart.AndrewWrighthas
argued withsome powerthat"against clarity,in Pride and Prejudice,involvement
is set," yet his position is so unfortunately
similarto Mr. Bennet's that it needs
modification."lMr. Bennet's clarityoffersthe protectionagainst the pains of
misjudgmentand disillusion which only a disinterestedcynicismcan provide.
Involvement,it is true,can give no such protection.Yet the point of Elizabeth's
storyis surelythat she is always involved,and her recognitionof that bringsthe
kind of opennesswhichalone can make claritypossible.
Tave offersa helpfuldefinition
of gratitudeas "the responseto thefeelingof another,
10/Stuart
the naturalobligationin returnforhavingbeenthoughtworthyof beingloved" (p. 140).
JaneAusten'sNovels:A Studyin Structure
11/Andrew
Wright,
(London, 1953),pp. 117-18.
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58 Modern Philology(August 1975)
In defendingElizabeth's affection
forMr. Darcy in language almost identical
withthat she had used in defendingHenry Tilney's for Catherine,Jane Austen
makes thealternativequiteexplicit:
Ifgratitude
andesteemaregoodfoundations
ofaffection,
Elizabeth'schangeofsentiment
iftheregardspringing
willbe neither
fromsuch
improbablenorfaulty.But ifotherwise,
sourcesis unreasonableor unnatural,in comparisonof whatis so oftendescribedas
interview
withitsobject,andevenbeforetwowordshavebeenexchanged,
arisingon a first
nothingcan be said in herdefence,
exceptthatshe had givensomewhatof a trialto the
lattermethod,in her partiality
for Wickham,and thatits ill-successmightperhaps
authorizeherto seektheotherlessinteresting
modeof attachment.
[P. 279]
The love at firstsightthatElizabeth had triedwith Mr. Wickham was curiously
betweenFrank Churchilland Emma was cold. This is
cold, much as theflirtation
clear whenWickhambecomes "the admirerof someoneelse. Elizabethwas watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it and writeof it withoutmaterialpain.
Her heart had been but slightlytouched,and her vanitywas satisfiedwith believingthatshewould have beenhischoice,had fortunepermittedit" (p. 149).Elizabeth's attractionfor Mr. Wickham cannot be accounted for as a misplaced
affection.The discrepancybetween how Jane Austen presents Mr. Wickham
and how Elizabeth sees him leads us to an understandingof the falseness of
Elizabeth's vision.
There is a similarityof temperament(if not character)betweenElizabethand
Mr. Wickham,much as thereis betweenEmma and Frank Churchill.What all
thesecharactersshare is a greatdeal of charm,a charmwhichcomes froma livelinessof mindwhichis as interestedin whatis entertaining
as in whatis good and
right.Mr. Wickham's villainymustlimitthe comparison,for Frank Churchillis
merelyirresponsible.His principlesare sound. Yet Mr. Wickham'sblack character
should not be understoodas a cruderand more extremeversionof Frank's, in
spiteof JaneAusten'sgeneralcommitmentto mixedcharacteras superiorboth in
termsof realism and technique.The firstcommentof Mr. Wickham that Jane
Austen provides us with, when that interestingstrangerhas appeared on the
streetin MerytonwithMr. Denny, and theBennetsistersare beinginformedthat
he has accepted a commissionin the corps, is that "this was exactlyas it should
be; forthe young man wanted only regimentalsto make him completelycharming" (p. 72). One wonders immediatelywhat sort of charm would best present
itselfin the brightred uniformof the militia.And JaneAustengoes on to say that
"his appearance was greatlyin his favour; he had all the best part of beauty,a
finecountenance,a good figure,and verypleasingaddress. The introductionwas
followedup on his side by a happy readinessof conversation-a readinessat the
same time perfectlycorrectand unassuming" (p. 72). This description,unlike
JaneAusten's usual introductionsin thenovel,tellsus nothingof Mr. Wickham's
qualities or nature,but only of his looks and manners.His looks and manners
are all that Elizabeth has noticed. And it will turn out that they are all Mr.
Wickhamhas to recommendhim.
Mr. Wickham, as the villain that Frank Churchill could never be, is a
familiartype. That Jane Austen meant the reader to be aware of Wickham's
conventionalityis broughtout in many scenes. A late example is Jane Bennet's
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in Pride and Prejudice 59
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horrifiedreactionto the discoverythat Mr. Wickham is "a gamester!" There is
no need to explain this response, as HenriettaTen Harmsel does, as a bit of
The point Jane
moralizingcreepinginto an otherwisesophisticatedstructure.12
Austen wantsus to see is not that forJane Bennet(or her author) gamblingis as
bad as or worsethaneloping withLydia but thatthe factof Wickham'sgambling
fixeshis characterand so leaves no doubt as to how the elopementis to be understood. Afterthis Jane says no more of her hope that Wickham's intentionsare
honorable. She knows the kind of man he is and so mustwe. Wickhamis somethingof a cliche,both in his false face as a charmingyoung man and in his true
face as thefortunehunter.This lack of originalityin Wickham'sportraitcan have
nothingto do withany lack of authorialskill.We need onlythinkof Mr. Collins,
who belongs in the traditionof pious Christianhypocritesbut whose character
has so many peculiaritiesthat he stands unabashedlyon his own. We must then
ask whyJaneAusten,withherexplicitcontemptforthestock villain,would place
such a characterinPrideand Prejudice.
Mr. Wickham is most appropriatelydressed in the scarlet uniformof the
militiabecause he is a typeratherthan an individual.He is one of a class of men
whom Lydia and Kitty,like theirmotherbeforethem,are wild about. Mr. Wickham, to be sure,is a particularlygood-lookingversion,and thisdistinctionis not
unnoticedby anotherof the Bennet sistersduringthat firstdinner: "When Mr.
Wickham walked into the room, Elizabeth feltthat she had neitherbeen seeing
him before,nor thinkingof him since, withthe smallestdegreeof unreasonable
admiration.The officersof the shire were in general a very creditable,
gentlemanlikeset, and the best of them were of the present party; but Mr.
Wickham was as far beyond them all in person,countenance,air, and walk, as
uncle Philips" (p. 76). We cannot but
theyweresuperiorto the broadfacedstuffy
notice how commonplaceand how coldlyevaluativethisresponseis fromthe girl
whosejudgmentis supposed to be special. Near theend of Northanger
AbbeyJane
Austen, in her role as conventionalnovelist,reassuresus that Eleanor Tilney's
new husband,thoughhe has not actuallyappeared in the story,is "to a precision
the most charmingyoung man in the world." She goes on to observe that "any
furtherdefinitionof his meritsmust be unnecessary;the most charmingyoung
man in the world is instantlybeforethe imaginationof us all" (Works, 5:251).
This idea, withits overtonesof literaryconvention,is used morecriticallyin Pride
andPrejudice.How closelyMr. Wickhamqualifiesas Elizabeth's ideal of the most
charmingyoung man in the world may be guessed from her conviction,after
takingleave forHunsford,that "he mustalways be hermodel of theamiable and
pleasing" (p. 152). The airy fictionaltone of theirrelationsis establishedfrom
the beginningin the account of theirfirstconversation:"Mr. Wickham was the
happy man towardswhomalmosteveryfemaleeye was turned,and Elizabeth was
the happy woman by whom he finallyseated himself;and the agreeable manner
in whichhe immediatelyfellinto conversation,thoughit was only on its being a
wet night,and on the probabilityof a rainy season, made her feel that the
12/Henrietta Ten Harmsel, Jane Austen: A Study in Fictional Conventions (The Hague, 1964),
p. 68.
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60 Modern Philology(August 1975)
bytheskill
commonest,dullest,mostthreadbaretopicmightbe renderedinteresting
of the speaker" (p. 76). The feelingand behaviorof the "happy" pair are obvious
reinforcedby Jane Austen's referenceto Mr. Wickcliches,an effectdelightfully
ham and the otherofficersas Mr. Collins's "rivals forthe notice of the fair" (p.
her lack of any serious feelingsforthis
76). We notice Elizabeth's self-deception,
about whom,as she is to realizelater,she knows nothing
handsomeyoungofficer
at all.
Mr. Wickham's kind of charm, one of public and superficialease, makes
him seem unreal. He is a flatcharactermoving amongst actual people. This is
achievedin partthroughthefactthatJaneAustenhas Wickhamhimselfmake up
his own public role. The aestheticand the moral responsibilityfor creatinga
typicalrake mustlie withWickhamratherthan withhis author.It is an excellent
method,forWickham,thoughvillainous,is neithersubtlenor ingenious,and the
mask he creates for Meryton'sbenefitand his own is tellinglyunoriginal.One
need only notice the sillinessof the sad tale he recitesto Elizabeth, in its styleas
well as itssentiments:
itis notformeto be drivenawayby Mr.Darcy.Ifhewishesto avoidseeingme,he must
go ... His father,Miss Bennet,thelate Mr. Darcy,was one of thebestmenthatever
and thetruestfriendI everhad; and I can neverbe in companywiththisMr.
breathed,
His behavior
beinggrievedto thesoul bya thousandtenderrecollections.
Darcywithout
to myselfhas been scandalous;but I verilybelieveI could forgivehimanything
and
thehopes and disgracing
the memoryof his
ratherthanhis disappointing
everything,
father.
[P. 78]
He is as triteas a scoundrelas he has been whena pretendedhero. His unsettled
to Lydia, his debts and applicationsformoneythroughher,are
life,indifference
all boringlypredictable.We are taughtby the verylanguage of the book, by the
styleof Wickham's life and conversationsand the styleof his author's descriptions,thathe is not to be takenseriously,thathe is just a made-upcharacter,only
a fictionafterall. But for the charactersin Pride and PrejudiceWickham is not
some conventionalvillain in a novel. And, of course, his villainyhas real consequences. Certainlyin life thereare people who are stereotypes,those limitedto
the superficiality
and the insidious simplicityof livingin roles. Like Willoughby
in Sense and Sensibility,Wickhamlacks the moral imaginationto develop and so
definesthe limitsratherthan the possibilitiesof character.
Wickham is a danger to the veryinnocent(Georgiana Darcy) and the very
wild (Lydia Bennet). Even Mr. Darcy acknowledgesat the Netherfieldball that
"Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy mannersas may ensure his making
friends-whetherhe may be equally capable of retainingthem,is less certain"
(p. 92). Mr. Wickhamdoes succeed in beinguniversallyliked in Meryton.Yet we
mustask whyElizabeth, who is neitherinnocentnor wild nor like everyoneelse
in Meryton,is also completelytaken in. The firstwe know of Elizabeth is Mr.
Bennet's laconic observationthat "theyare all sillyand ignorantlike othergirls;
but Lizzy has somethingmore of quickness than her sisters" (p. 5). Yet to be
praised by Mr. Bennet is a questionable recommendation,since by quickness
he mustsurelymean the discernmentof otherpeople's follies.This is the way Mr.
Bennet has chosen to exercisehis own facultiesand the way he has taughthis
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daughter,by exampleand encouragement,to applyhers.Elizabeth is quick to see
and laugh at the failingsof many-of the Bingleysisters,of Mr. Collins, of Mr.
Bingley,of her own family,and even of Jane. Yet she chooses not to see Mr.
Wickham,and thisin spite of the factthatshe is providedwithobvious evidence
of his falseness-in his absurdlysentimentalchoices of expressions,in the discrepanciesbetweenhis assertionsand his behavior,and in the veryimprobability
of his story.
Elizabeth can be charmed by Wickham and can accept his storyprecisely
because he and his storyare such cliches.Elizabeth's self-deceptiondoes not lie,
like Emma's, in being a creatorof one's own interesting
fictions.Nor does it,like
CatherineMorland's, consistof playinga createdcharacter,exceptforthattouch
at the end of the novel when she and Mr. Darcy discuss whetherthe moral of
their story will come out as it should. If Emma behaves like an author and
Catherinelike a character,then Elizabeth behaves like a reader. Anotherway of
saying this is simplythat Elizabeth neithermanipulatespeople nor acts like a
heroine herself.Instead, she understandsherselfas an observer,an enlightened
in others.And she
and discerningwitnessto all thatis ridiculousand entertaining
frequentlyplaces herselfin the presumablydisinterestedposition of someone
watchingyetapart. In the drawing-roomat Netherfield"Elizabeth was so much
caughtby whatpassed, as to leave herverylittleattentionforherbook; and soon
laying it whollyaside, she drew near the card-table" (p. 38). The next evening
"Elizabeth took up some needlework,and was sufficiently
amused in attendingto
what passed betweenDarcy and his companion" (p. 47). She takes up much the
same positions at Hunsford and even within her own home. In Elizabeth's
attitudewe see the influenceof Mr. Bennet's cynicalcredo that "for what do we
live, but to make sport for our neighbors,and to laugh at them in our turn?"
(p. 364).
Elizabeth's observationsare far frombeing as irresponsibleand limitingas
herfather's.She tellsMr. Darcy that"I hope I neverridiculewhatis wise or good.
Follies and nonsense,whimsand inconsistenciesdo divertme, I own, and I laugh
at themwheneverI can" (p. 57). Elizabeth can do morethan laugh. She is able to
creditCharlotte'ssensibledomesticarrangementsas much as she delightsin the
absurditiesof Mr. Collins. She can sympathizewith Jane's sufferingand can
condemn the impropriety
and theevil of herfather'smisusedintelligence.Indeed,
the varietyof Elizabeth's observationsand the degreeto whichshe enjoys them
are basic to her charm. Nonetheless,it is this sense of herselfas standingapart
and watchinglifewhichaccounts forat least part of her attractionto Mr. Wickham.
Jane Austen has deliberatelyand obviously made Mr. Wickham a stock
characterin order to point to Elizabeth's centralmoral weakness,that she does
not take lifeseriously.Raised by a foolishmotherand a cynicalfatherwho has
abdicated all responsibility,and encouraged to distinguishherselffrom her
sisters,Elizabeth sees the world as some sort of entertaininggame. She is not
close to them),
sillyin theway thatLydia and Kittyare (thoughshe is surprisingly
but she cannot imagine that anythingcould be expected of her. Elizabeth is
morallydisengaged.What she wants is to understandwhat she sees and she also
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62
Modern Philology(August 1975)
hopes that what she sees will be exciting,will be worthunderstanding.And this,
of course, is just what she thinksMr. Wickhamcan offer.His stereotypedcharm
confersno individual feelingsand invokes no personal obligations. His tale is
appeal of
bizarre, out of the ordinary,and shocking,with the initial flattering
being a privilegedconfidence.It is presentedto Elizabeth and to the reader
literallyas the recountingof a story. And on Elizabeth's part the hearing is
completewiththe properformsof response,withexpectations("what she chiefly
wishedto hear she could not hope to be told, thehistoryof his acquaintance with
Mr. Darcy" [p. 77]) and theappropriateexclamations(such as, "Indeed!" "Good
heavens!" "This is quite shocking!" "How strange!" and "How abominable!").
Elizabeth chooses to believe Mr. Wickham's story,and the reason she gives
Janeis that"therewas truthin his looks" (p. 86). We mightaccept thisas having
the familiarmeaningthat Mr. Wickham has an honest face if it were not that
throughoutMr. Wickham's account Jane Austen has Elizabeth thinkabout his
good looks. She responds to his declarations of honoring Mr. Darcy's father
(declarations made suspect as much by the tritenessof theirphrasingas by the
factthatMr. Wickhamis even now dishonoringthe fatherby exposingMr. Darcy
to Elizabeth) by the remarkablethoughtthat Mr. Wickham was "handsomer
than ever as he expressed them" (p. 80). And she silentlyremarksthat Mr.
Wickham is a young man "whose verycountenancemay vouch for [his] being
amiable" (pp. 80-81). We cannot simplyexplaintheseresponsesbyunderstanding
Elizabeth, as we do Lydia, as a sillyand ignorantflirtwithoutany sense. Yet for
herthe credibilityof Mr. Wickham'sstoryis inseparablefromhis handsomeface.
Both Mr. Wickham'sstoryand his looks have a glamor whichis exceptionaland
dramaticwithoutbeing eitherunpredictableor unique. Both are a recognizable
type.
Because JaneAustendepictsboth Elizabeth's credenceand herfeelingsin the
familiar and suspect language of sentimentalfictionwe must conclude that
Elizabeth no more seriously believes Mr. Wickham's tale than she seriously
believesshe is in love withhim. We need only thinkof how Jane Austen depicts
theclassic situationof a girllookingforwardto seeinga man at a dance. Elizabeth,
hopingto see Mr. Wickhamat the Netherfieldball, "had dressedwithmore than
usual care, and preparedin thehighestspiritsfortheconquestof all thatremained
unsubdued of his heart,trustingthat it was not more than mightbe won in the
course of the evening"(p. 89). Her own highspiritsare the most dominantnote,
and when Mr. Wickham does not come, the extentof Elizabeth's real regretmay
be gauged by Jane Austen's commentthat "Elizabeth was not formedfor illhumour; and thougheveryprospectof herown was destroyedforthe evening,it
could not dwell long on her spirits;and havingtold all her griefsto Charlotte
Lucas, whom she had not seen in a week,she was soon able to make a voluntary
transitionto the odditiesof her cousin" (p. 90). And it is to be doubted whether
Elizabeth would have found more pleasure in dancing with Mr. Wickham than
she does in laughingat Mr. Collins,or that,indeed,thereis finallymuchdifference
betweenthe two activities.Elizabeth has allowed herselfto be taken in by a style
whichshe can recognizeso clearlylateras stale affectationbecause she views the
of her connectionto Mr. Wickhamas an assurance of freedom.
veryartificiality
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For Jane Austen it is in that factthatthe immoralityof theirrelationlies. In the
termsofPride and Prejudicetherecan be nothingbetweenthemto be gratefulfor.
This is not just a question of freedomfromemotional involvement.Elizabeth is
hereviolatinga necessitywhichis as mucha matterof imaginationand perception
freedomis a refusalto commitherintelligence
as itis of feelings.Herself-restricting
to growth,to seriousness,to a moral life.
Pride and Prejudiceis about what is a pervasivethemeforJaneAusten-the
charm of what is passing around us, those experienceswithotherpeople out of
which sound judgment can grow. The particular difficulty
preventingproper
relationshipswhichJaneAustenexaminesin Pride and Prejudiceis theintellectual
commitmentto a presumed"objectivity,"to claritywithoutinvolvement.This is
the source of Elizabeth's attractionto Mr. Wickham. Her ties to him are as
artificialas his character.With Wickham Elizabeth has played at romance. We
see a similarobjectivityin CharlotteLucas's clear-eyedeconomic practicalityas
she reflectson her forthcomingmarriage: "Mr. Collins to be sure was neither
sensiblenor agreeable; his societywas irksome,and his attachmentto her must
be imaginary.But stillhe would be herhusband.-Without thinkinghighlyeither
of men or of matrimony,marriagehad always been her object; it was the only
honourableprovisionforwell-educatedyoungwomenof small fortune,and however uncertainof givinghappiness, must be theirpleasantestpreservativefrom
want" (pp. 122-23). As to any question of sensibility,Charlotte quietly tells
Elizabeth that"I am not romanticyou know. I neverwas" (p. 125). There is also
the objectivityof Mr. Bennet'sunbiased cynicismwhichdoes not excepteven his
own family.His unfailingrecognitionof Lydia's sillinessis unmarredbyeven a
touch of sympathyor of regretthathis child should have such a nature.He is just
as impartialto Jane,and can be amused that she is "crossed in love." Yet these
two,Charlotteand Mr. Bennet,have been theonlyintelligent
people in Elizabeth's
environmentand have influencedher moral growth.Pride and Prejudice is the
story of Elizabeth's movement away from these "sensible" and coldly selfdeceptivevisions,of freeingherintelligencefromdefensivenessand negation,and
of learningto understand,as Isabel Archerwould learn so much more painfully
choicesis a prison,thatobjectivseventyyearslater,thatfreedomfromsignificant
itycan be blind,and thatto set oneselfapart is only to be cut offfromthe means
to truthand to happiness.
Elizabeth, followingthe disappointmentsof Mr. Bingley'sdeparturefrom
Netherfieldand Charlotte's engagement,responds by a moment of blinding
cynicism:"There are few people whom I reallylove, and still fewerof whom I
thinkwell. The more I see of the world,the more am I dissatisfiedwithit; and
everyday confirmsmybeliefof the inconsistencyof all human characters,and of
the littledependence that can be placed on the appearance of eithermeritor
sense" (p. 135). Mr. Bennetwould approve of such remarks.This closed visionis
a violationof Elizabeth's intelligenceand an abnegationof her humanity.Nor is
it forcedupon her by the vicissitudesof life,being a matterof will ratherthan
circumstance.Her hard opinion of Mr. Bingley's departuremakes that clear.
That qualityin himshe had describedat Netherfieldas the merit"to yieldreadily
-easily-to thepersuasionof a friend"(p. 50) she now determinesto see as "that
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easiness of temper,thatwant of properresolutionwhichnow made himthe slave
of his designingfriends"(p. 133). Nor will she mitigatehercontemptby recalling
Charlotte's warningthat Jane's feelingsfor Bingley were not apparent at all.
Elizabeth, seeing herselfas the impartialobserver,unprejudicedby any feelings
towardBingley,is in factchoosingto place his actionsin as bad a lightas possible.
Such objectivityis nothingmore than cynicism.The saving differencebetween
Elizabeth and her fatheris that her motive is not cool pleasure at the folliesof
othersbut a helplesssympathywithher sister'spain.
The sense of blasted hopes which passes as a realistic intelligencewith
Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Bennet is not allowed to influenceElizabeth unchallenged.The cynicismof thesetwo is opposed by a warmervision,thatof Jane
Bennet. It is Jane who replies to Elizabeth's despair at human nature and at
Charlotte's marriagewith the comment,"Do not give way to such feelingsas
these. They will ruin your happiness" (p. 135). For it is Jane who understands
that to view the world coldly is to be neitherperceptivenor superiornor safe
fromwrong.It is to be irresponsibleand to abandon the difficulties
of trustfor
the finalitiesof easy generalization.Jane's prepossessionto thinkwell of people
does not lead her to be perceptive,and she is obviouslywrongabout the Bingley
sisters.Yet Jane's kind of misunderstanding
is acceptable to her author in a way
thatthe dispositionto thinkill of people is not. And herrole as the opponentof
negativityis centralto understandingElizabeth's mistakes,her choices, and her
intellectualgrowth.
At the beginningof the novel we are assured of Elizabeth's intelligenceand
Jane's blindness,in part because Elizabeth can see immediatelythat Bingley's
sistersare not well intentioned.And we are quick to thinkof Janeas sweetbut a
fool. Although Elizabeth asserts that Jane is so good as to be quite perfectwe
know thisto be untrue.Janedoes lack discernment,
does confuseher hopes with
truths.We are on Elizabeth's side, the side of clarityas againstsoftheadedness,as
she takes Jane to task with an energyand realism we can only support. We
rememberthe finenessof her replyto Jane's excuses for Charlotte's marriage:
"You shall not defendher,thoughit is CharlotteLucas. You shall not, forthe
sake of one individual,change the meaning of principleand integrity,
nor endeavour to persuadeyourselfor me, thatselfishnessis prudence,and insensibility
of danger,securityforhappiness" (pp. 135-36). And we mustbe delightedby her
answer to Jane's attemptto explain away Mr. Wickham's accusations: "And
now, my dear Jane,what have you got to say in behalfof the interestedpeople
who have probably been concernedin the business?-Do clear themtoo, or we
shall be obliged to thinkill of somebody" (p. 85). Against her sister'swit Jane's
generousdoubts seem foolishindeed. It is in thisrole of counteringJane'scandor
thatElizabeth mostconvincesus of herclevernessand perspicacity.
And yet,in the midstof Elizabeth's livelybanterand her quick successes in
teasingJane,thereemergesthe disturbingfactthat her superiorwit actuallyhas
littleto do withtruth.Elizabeth may always win the arguments,but she is often
even thoughJane cannot sensiblyexplain
wrong.Wickham's storyis farfetched,
why. She is quite rightthat "one does not know what to think," although the
remarkdoes sound limpwhenfollowedby Elizabeth'sfirm"I beg yourpardon;-
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one knows exactly what to think" (p. 86). Nor does Jane at all deserve to be
accused of subvertingprinciple in explaining Charlotte's marriage, for she
attemptsto understandCharlotteas much as to excuse her. Elizabeth will not
toleratesuch an attempt,though a momentbeforeshe has found the marriage
unaccountable. But it will be Jane who, near the end of the story,pleads with
Elizabeth to "do any thingratherthan marrywithoutaffection"(p. 373). Elizabeth undoubtedly was in the right about the Bingley sisters, but it should
be rememberedthat she had the advantage not only of "more quickness of
observationand lesspliancyof temperthanhersister"butalso of a "judgmenttoo
unassailed by any attentionto herself"(p. 15). Certainly,in the beginningthe
sisters do treat Jane with more real politeness and kindness than they do
Elizabeth.
Jane's candor, then,is not just the naive blindnessElizabeth would have us
believe it to be, any more than Elizabeth's lack of candor is true perception.
Indeed, Elizabeth is more than eager to discover and laugh at those faults in
to see. Moreover,Jane's optimismhas to do
otherswhichJane findsso difficult
withher faiththat thereis much in lifethat is beyond what she knows and that
certaintyas to the minds and heartsof othersis rare indeed. Elizabeth does not
allow forher own ignoranceand prefersthe certaintyof decidingthe worst.Her
just enjoymentof the follies and nonsense of her companions sometimesgoes
close to the attitudedescribedby Mr. Darcy as when "the wisest
uncomfortably
and the best of men, nay, the wisestand best of theiractions, may be rendered
ridiculousby a person whose firstobject in lifeis a joke" (p. 57). For the truthis
that both sistersmust oftenjudge in ignorance,must imagine,must surmise.In
such a case Elizabeth's livelydoubts are no morejustifiedthanJane's candor and
gentletrust.
Althoughthe comic side of Jane's goodwill is so delightfully
broughtout by
Elizabeth, its serious value is centralto events.On Mr. Wickham's story,"Miss
Bennetwas the only creaturewho could suppose theremightbe any extenuating
circumstancesin the case, unknownto the societyof Hertfordshire;hermild and
steady candour always pleaded for allowances, and urged the possibilityof
mistakes-but by everybodyelse Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of
men" (p. 138). Janedoes not see that Mr. Wickhamis a liar. But neitherdoes she
allow his allegationto subsumeher own view of human goodness or her sense of
what is probable and likely.In part thisis because Jane cannot believe that Mr.
Bingleycould be so wrongabout his friend,Mr. Darcy, and in part because she
just cannot conceive of deliberatewrongs.But primarilyit is because of Jane's
recognition,insistedupon in the face of all Elizabeth's powerfulweapons of wit,
observation,and laughter,that people and eventsare more complex and hidden
than she can know. Jane Austen has not created Jane as a simple and goodheartedcharactermerelyto providea balance to the complexityand intelligence
of her main heroine.Whenwe considerwhatJaneis doing in the novel and why
her author would thinkher creationnecessary,we must recognizethat Jane is
by natureneitherobjectivenor perceptiveand yet Jane Austen has made her
the one characterin the novel who is just to Mr. Darcy. It is by reason of thevery
qualities which Elizabeth (and the reader) presumeto be weaknessesthat Jane
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turnsout to be right.Withoutany "quickness of observation"and withthe "wish
not to be hastyin censuringanyone" (p. 14), Janecomes closer to truththan her
intelligentsister.Certainly,Jane Austen is not instructingus to thinkpleasant
thoughtsratherthan to apply our powers toward a betterunderstandingof the
world. Yet Jane's candor, based on a sense of her own weaknesses,allows a
thatElizabeth lacks.
flexibility
The willingnessto commitoneselfto experience,in its unknowndangersas
well as its possibilities,comes naturallyto Jane,and perhaps that is whyshe is
not the centralcharacterof Pride and Prejudice.She has neverdeliberatelychosen
involvementover clarity.JaneAusten's major interestis always withthose whose
connectionsto reality,in termsof knowledge and goodness, are at once more
questionable and more difficult.Jane is an innocent. Yet she teaches us that
involvementcan lead to a kind of truthwhich is not accessible to those who
understandclarityas a vision gained throughthe exclusion of being involved.
Elizabeth's freedom,insofaras it leads to judgmentsshe likes to presume are
untouchedby commitmentor concern,does not bringunderstanding.In accounting to Janeforher unfairnessto Mr. Darcy, Elizabethadmitsthat"'I meantto be
so uncommonlycleverin takingso decided a disliketo him,withoutany reason.
It is such a spur to one's genius,such an openingforwitto have a dislikeof that
kind. One may be continuallyabusive withoutsaying anythingjust; but one
cannot be always laughingat a man withoutnow and then stumblingon somethingwitty'" (pp. 225-26). For we are in England, wherecharacteris mixed,and
that makes it always possible for an observer to find the flaws in others. As
Elizabeth acknowledges,such ways of looking are selfishand distorting,and cut
oneselfofffromone's kind. Betweencandor and cynicismtherecan be a way of
understandingwhichpresupposesneitherhuman evil nor human good yetallows
for both by the verysuspensionof any fixedview.
One of the most powerfulfactsin Pride and Prejudiceis that afterElizabeth
has hermomentof shame and revelationat Hunsfordso manyof her perceptions
continueto be quite wrong.She does see throughWickham,but she can learn to
detect his artificiality
only because she knows the truth.Her judgment not to
reveal him turnsout to be almost disastrousto her own family.And she is still
virtuallyalways wrongabout Mr. Darcy. She interpretshis silence at Lambton
on learning of Lydia's elopement with complete assurance: "Her power was
sinking; every thing mustsink under such proof of familyweakness, such an
assurance of the deepest disgrace. She could neitherwondernor condemn ..."
(p. 278). AfterLady Catherine'svisitElizabeth speculatesthatifhis aunt appeals
to Mr. Darcy to giveherup, "withhis notionsof dignity,he would probablyfeel
that the arguments,which to Elizabeth had appeared weak and ridiculous,
contained much good sense and solid reasoning" (p. 361). Even when all these
confusionsare resolved by Darcy's second proposal, the two must still spend
much of theircourtshipin the charmingyet quite necessaryexplanationsof all
those motivesand actions so misunderstood.JaneAusten,who did not compose
love scenesfortheiremotionalappeal, remindsthereaderthatin humanrelations,
even of the kind reputedto provide immediateunderstanding,thereis a great
deal that intuitionand surmisedo not reveal.
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We mustask what,afterall, Elizabeth has learnedand whatherstoryis about
if afterthe acknowledgmentof prejudiceand vanityin the lane at Hunsfordher
judgmentseems hardlymore accurate than before.Jane Austen has so arranged
the plot thather heroine'smomentof revelationand chagrincomes nearlyin the
middle of the story.AfterHunsfordthereare fewscenes of Elizabeth's quickness
and wit,and muchof theaction seemsnot to depend on herat all. The Gardiners'
delayed vacation and wish to visitPemberley,the combinationof Mrs. Forster's
invitation,Wickham's mountingdebtsand Lydia's recklessnesswhichprecipitate
the elopement,and Mr. Darcy's arrival at the Lambton inn at the momentof
Elizabeth's receivingthe news,all remindus thatElizabeth can have littlecontrol
over people or events,whileboth may be crucial to her. The second half of Pride
and Prejudicemay be less sparklingthan the first,but the quieterpleasureit offers
is an extendedview of Elizabeth's fateentwinedwiththelives of thosearound her.
What Elizabeth is doing in these later scenes, with a directnessand care
which were absent fromher earliercasual wit, is seriouslytryingto understand
the particularsituations she finds herselfin and the people she cares about.
Whethershe is tryingto controlher feelingsenough at the Lambton inn in order
to receive Georgiana Darcy and her brother,or paying a morningvisit to the
ladies at Pemberley,or acceptingwhat she believes to be Darcy's givingher up
afterthe elopement,or speculating(withthe Gardinersand Jane) on Mr. Wickham's intentions,or surmisingMr. Darcy's reaction to his aunt's interference,
Elizabeth is constantlyengaged in tryingto see and respond to other points of
view. She is oftenwrong-and for quite the same reasons that she was wrongin
the beginning,that her partialitiesand ignorancemust limither. The difference
is thatElizabeth no longersees herworldas a place of easilydiscoveredfollyfrom
as much as in amusement,she muststand apart if she is to
which,in self-defense
see thetruth.She has come to value theconnectionsand partialitieswhichinform
truth,to understandthat a livelyintelligenceis personal and engaged,and to use
that quick mind to reach for hopes and suggestivemeaningsratherthan killing
finalities.The formerview had placed Elizabeth, along with her father,among
those who understandhuman nature in crude categoriesof behavior and motivation. Against this reductiveview Jane Austen places a vision of people as
palpable yet flexibleand elusive beyond our predictionsfor them. Even Jane's
candor is not so conclusivelydefinedas to be unchanged by Miss Bingley's
unkindness.NeitherJane nor her creatorcan teach Elizabeth to be right.They
do teach her that she has constructedprotectivefictionsas a substitutefor the
pitfallsand delightsof freethought.
As Elizabeth learns to suspend judgment and examine her experienceshe
also becomes aware of her own affections.She had known by the Hunsfordvisit
that her opinion of Mr. Darcy had been wrong.Yet her most importantlesson
about him is not thathe is good but thathe loves her in ways thatcan overcome
the failingsin his character.Lydia Bennet's elopementwith Mr. Wickham is a
curiouslyobtrusiveeventin a novel of JaneAusten's. Yet it is throughthisterrible
deed that Elizabeth comes to realize her obligationto Mr. Darcy, an obligation
which,as he makes clear, could only have come about because he loves her. All
was done for Elizabeth's sake. And it is a romantic moment for these most
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unromanticlovers when Elizabeth finallyexpresses her obligation and finds
herselfbeing proposed to. Elizabeth's gratitude-gratitudein the sense in which
Jane Austen means it-is not for a favor done, not for an act of socially right
behavior.It is a gratitudethat,despiteall the obstacleswhichrealismcan provide,
despite time, conventions,and misunderstandings,
despite her wrongs and his
own limitations,Mr. Darcy can see Elizabeth honestlyand love her as well.
Betweenthemthereare no longerany of the conventionaldangersof social slips
or sudden reversalsof opinion,as therealways were in Elizabeth's relationswith
Wickham.That is whyMr. Darcy's proposal would have come withoutElizabeth's
offeredthanks. Their feelingsare past being subject to the accidentsof circumstance. Fate is an empty convention of romance. Instead, Mr. Darcy offers
Elizabeth an understandingof herself,one that is moral and affectionateand
sound. It is a visionof claritybecause of his involvement,
a visionfroma generous
heart.To recognizethatand to appreciateit is a reciprocalfeelingwhichwillunite
Elizabeth withMr. Darcy. For gratitudeis an act of selflove whichcarrieswith
it an act of love.
Near theend of thenovel Mr. Bingleyreturnsto Hertfordshire
and ridesinto
the paddock at Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet, seeing him fromher window,calls to
her daughtersto come as well. "Jane resolutelykept her place at the table; but
Elizabeth, to satisfyher mother,wentto the window-she looked,-she saw Mr.
Darcy withhim,and sat down again by hersister"(p. 333). Withthisimage of the
two sisters,and Elizabeth's gestureof lookingchanged to shared embarrassment
and retreat,Jane Austen capturesher heroine'stransformation
froma detached
visionto an engagedone. Elizabeth,as shejoins Janeat thetable,accepts hernew
and its hope.
freedom,its boundaries,its uncertainties,
Cornell University
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