Pride and Prejudice

When Bingley and Darcy next call at Longbourn, Elizabeth thanks Darcy “again and again” (339) for helping Lydia; he reiterates that he didn’t want her to know because it would cause her “uneasiness” and that “the wish of giving happiness to you” (339) was most in his thoughts. He states that his feelings haven’t changed since last spring; he asks if her feelings are the same and tells her that if they are, he won’t mention it again. When Elizabeth confirms her feelings have changed, he experiences “happiness […] such as he had probably never felt before” as he tells her “of what importance she [is] to him” (340). Lady Catherine had told him about her conversation with Elizabeth and it had given him hope, for if Elizabeth had no intention of marrying him, she would have told Lady Catherine so.

When Elizabeth makes a joke about her “abusing” him “so abominably,” Darcy asks, “‘What did you say of me that I did not deserve?’” (341). He believes his behavior was “unpardonable,” and he “cannot think of it without abhorrence” (341). Elizabeth says they should not “quarrel for the greater share of blame,” for they have both “improved in civility” (341). Darcy tells her that her words the day of his proposal affected him deeply; she, too, regrets what she said and says “all her former prejudices [have] been removed” (342). When Darcy expresses regret over the wording in his letter, Elizabeth says they should forget the letter because “[t]he feelings of the person who wrote and the person who received it are now so widely different from what they were then” (342).

Darcy says he has “been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle” (342) and still might be had it not been for her. He has learned “a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous,” and has been “properly humbled” (343). He’d proposed expecting to be accepted, but “a woman worthy of being pleased” (343) deserves more.

When they met at Pemberley, Darcy says, he wanted to demonstrate that he had taken her words to heart. He confirms that he’d given Bingley his blessing in proposing to Jane: after watching Jane during their recent visits and determining she truly did love him, he’d confessed to Bingley that he’d been mistaken about his feelings regarding Jane’s affection for him.

Elizabeth is worried about her family’s reaction to her engagement. Jane at first doesn’t believe her. She begs Elizabeth to “do any thing rather than marry without affection” (346). Elizabeth tells her the complete story, including the events related to Bingley and to Darcy’s role in helping Lydia, and Jane is satisfied that Elizabeth will be happy. Elizabeth and Darcy agree that Darcy will ask for Mr. Bennet’s consent that night and that Elizabeth will talk to her mother herself: she is worried that Mrs. Bennet’s reaction will be embarrassing.

After Darcy receives consent from Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth speaks with her father. He asks how she could marry a man she hates, and Elizabeth regrets having spoken so ill of Darcy. Mr. Bennet believes Elizabeth must be marrying him because he is rich and that he is “a proud, unpleasant sort of man” (349). Elizabeth cries that she truly loves him and that her father does “not know what he really is” (349).

Mr. Bennet says Darcy “is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse any thing, which he condescended to ask” (349). He is concerned that Elizabeth could not be happy “unless you truly [esteem] your husband” and that her “lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage” (349). Elizabeth finally convinces her father she loves Darcy, noting that his love “[has] stood the test of many months’ suspense” (350). Her father states, “I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy” (350).

Elizabeth confesses Darcy’s role in Lydia’s marriage. Mr. Bennet is overjoyed: had his brother-in-law invested the money, he would have paid him back, but Darcy, madly in love, will refuse.

That night, Elizabeth tells her mother about her engagement. After sitting silently in shock, Mrs. Bennet proclaims how delighted she is, how rich Elizabeth will be, and how “charming” and “handsome” she finds Darcy. Mrs. Bennet hopes Darcy “will overlook” (351) her previous dislike of him and says that this marriage dwarfs even Jane’s.

Elizabeth fears how her mother will behave in front of Darcy. However, the next day, Mrs. Bennet, in her “awe” (352), says little. Mr. Bennet, who makes an effort to get to know Darcy and who likes him more and more, says Wickham is his favourite [sic] son-in-law but that he’ll like Bingley and Darcy equally.

Darcy and Elizabeth discuss when he fell in love with her. Elizabeth asks if he “admire[d] me for my impertinence” (352); he says he admired her “[f]or the liveliness of your mind” (352). Elizabeth says he was “sick of civility” and “disgusted with the women who were always speaking, and looking, and thinking for your approbation alone” and that she “roused and interested you, because I was so unlike them” (353).She engages him in teasing banter about how he should “exaggerate” her “good qualities” and that she must “find occasions for teasing and quarrelling” (353) with him. She comments that “Lady Catherine has been of infinite use, which ought to make her happy, for she loves to be of use” (354). When Darcy says he will write to tell Lady Catherine right away, Elizabeth says she will sit by him “and admire the evenness of your writing, as another young lady once did” (354).

Elizabeth writes to Mrs. Gardiner, thanking her for sharing what she knew about Darcy. She also thanks her for not going to the Lakes and says they “are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas” (355).Mr. Bennet writes a letter to Mr. Collins, telling him Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged, that he should “[c]onsole Lady Catherine,” but that in his shoes, he “would stand by the nephew,” who “has more to give” (355).Miss Bingley writes to Jane with “all her former professions of regard” (355). Jane, now knowing her character, feels “no reliance on her” but writes her “a much kinder answer than she [knows is] deserved” (355).

Charlotte and Mr. Collins come to visit because Charlotte wants to be away from Lady Catherine, who is furious at the news. Elizabeth’s delight at seeing Charlotte is equaled only by her dismay at seeing Mr. Collins fawn over Darcy. However, Darcy tolerates it “with admirable calmness” (356).Mrs. Philips is “vulgar” (356) in her manners despite her awe of Darcy, and though Elizabeth is mortified, she feels his ability to bear it bodes well for the future. She’s excited for a time when they are away from everyone at Pemberley.

Mrs. Bennet is thrilled the day she gets “rid of her two most deserving daughters” (357). The narrator wishes she could relate that Mrs. Bennet became “a sensible, amiable, well-informed woman” but notes Mr. Bennet “might not have relished domestic felicity in so unusual a form” (357).

Mr. Bennet misses Elizabeth and goes often to Pemberley. Jane and Bingley stay at Netherfield for a year before their close proximity to Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Philips taxes their patience. Bingley buys an estate near Derbyshire. Jane and Elizabeth live only thirty miles from each other.

Kitty spends most of her time with Jane or Elizabeth, and “[i]n society so superior to what she had generally known […] her improvement [is] great” (357). Lydia frequently invites Kitty to visit, promising “balls and young men” (358), but Mr. Bennet refuses to let her go.

Wickham and Lydia live above their means, and Lydia’s congratulatory letter to Elizabeth asks for financial help. Elizabeth does not mention it to Darcy but does send Lydia some of her own money occasionally. Lydia and Wickham constantly move around, looking for cheaper housing. Their affection for each other dwindles, his a little faster than hers.

Darcy’s marriage devastates Miss Bingley, but she affects an air of civility in order to be allowed to continue visiting Pemberley.

Georgiana Darcy lives at Pemberley, and she and Elizabeth love each other dearly. At first, Georgiana “listen[s] with an astonishment bordering on alarm at her lively, sportive manner of talking to her brother” (359).Elizabeth teaches her “that a woman may take liberties with her husband” (359).

Lady Catherine sends Darcy a letter so harsh as to make him stop speaking with her entirely until, at Elizabeth’s coaxing, he renews the relationship. Lady Catherine eventually receives them at Rosings, curious “to see how his wife conduct[s] herself” (360). Elizabeth receives Lady Catherine at Pemberley “in spite of that pollution which its woods had received” (360) from Elizabeth and the Gardiners.

Darcy and Elizabeth love and cherish the Gardiners and are grateful they brought them together.