Ad-free experience
Study Guides for 1,000+ titles
Full Text content for 250+ titles
No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
Flashcards
Mastery Quizzes
Infographics
Graphic Novels
AP® Practice & Lessons
Note-taking
Bookmarking
Dashboard
Chapter 10
[I]f, as you were mounting your horse, a friend were to say, “Bingley, you had better stay till next week,” you would probably do it—you would probably not go—and, at another word, might stay a month.
In Chapter 10, Darcy describes Bingley’s personality, which can be considered trusting at best and impressionable at worst. Though Elizabeth argues the opposite during this conversation, Darcy makes it clear he believes Bingley’s trusting nature to be a character flaw. Indeed, even if Bingley’s agreeableness renders him likeable and a perfect match for Jane, his tendency to be influenced by others will prove detrimental to their relationship, at least temporarily. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Character: Charles Bingley (the third quote).
She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her, was still more strange.
In Chapter 10, while Elizabeth, Darcy, and the Bingleys lounge about Netherfield in the evening, Elizabeth notices Darcy’s eyes are frequently fixed on her. She considers herself hardly worthy of his notice, whether the attention be positive or negative, and her inability to intuit Darcy’s evolving feelings for her foreshadows her complete shock during his first proposal.
Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.
This description of Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth in Chapter 10 offers a contrast to her view of recent events. While Elizabeth can’t understand his attention and dislikes him so greatly that she disregards any opinion he may have of her, Darcy acknowledges Elizabeth has captivated him. His misguided belief that her social standing will prevent him from falling in love and proposing marriage clearly foreshadows the fact that he will proceed to do exactly that.
Chapter 11
‘You either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each other's confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.’
Darcy directs this quote to Miss Bingley and Elizabeth in Chapter 11, after declining an invitation to join them in their walk around the room. He explains rather cheekily that either Miss Bingley wishes to speak to Elizabeth privately (unlikely, given the nature of their relationship, of which Darcy is well aware), or they are attempting to show off their figures. This scene illustrates not just Miss Bingley’s desperation to capture Darcy’s attention but also Darcy’s wit and shrewdness, traits he shares with Elizabeth.
‘No,’ said Darcy, ‘I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding—certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.’
Darcy’s acknowledgment of his own shortcomings in Chapter 11 comes as a response to Elizabeth claiming Darcy thinks he has no flaws. In fact, Darcy is aware he has plenty; he doesn’t agree that pride is one of them, as pride, he believes, is reasonable. But he owns that he has a tendency to hold a grudge, and the inclusion of this quote hints that this trait will become relevant later on in the narrative. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Character: Fitzwilliam Darcy (the third quote).
‘And your defect is to hate everybody.’
‘And yours,’ he replied with a smile, ‘is willfully to misunderstand them.’
This exchange between Elizabeth and Darcy in Chapter 11 serves as the culmination of their verbal sparring. They have gone back and forth about the nature of a person’s faults, with Elizabeth teasing and challenging Darcy in equal measure. Here, at the end of the chapter, she suggests Darcy’s flaw is to hate everybody, to which he responds that her flaw is to misunderstand them. His reply is both a counter to her assessment, and a means of foreshadowing; later, once Elizabeth gets to know Darcy better, she will come to realize he is more nuanced than she gave him credit for, forcing her to admit her judgment isn’t perfect.
