Skip to main content

How does chapter 44 offer hope for a happy ending in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?

Elizabeth is on holiday with her aunt and uncle Gardiner in Derbyshire, the county where Mr. Darcy and his sister reside.  Mr. Darcy has asked Elizabeth if he could introduce her to his sister, Georgiana, and it is in this chapter that the two meet for the first time.  The Gardiners watch all of the goings-on between Darcy and Elizabeth with much interest, and "of the lady's sensations they remained a little in doubt; but that the gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evident enough."  It is clear to them that Mr. Darcy loves Elizabeth; they only question whether she definitively returns his feelings.  


Further, Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth meet again in this chapter, since Bingley is with Darcy's party at Pemberley, Darcy's estate.  Elizabeth cannot see any signs of romantic interest between Bingley and Miss Darcy, as Miss Caroline Bingley had tried to persuade Jane Bennet to believe.  Mr. Bingley not-so-subtly inquires about Elizabeth's sisters, and she assures him that they are all at home (except Lydia), and it is pretty obvious to her that he still cares for Jane.


Elizabeth, too, is struck by the changes in Mr. Darcy.  Where she was once so set against him, even rejecting his proposal and insulting him, she now feels that "such a change in a man of so much pride, excited not only astonishment but gratitude — for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed."  She begins to take a real interest in his person, his welfare, and she wonders if it is possible that he might renew his proposals to her.  


Thus, the probability of happy prospects for both Jane and Elizabeth give readers reason to hope for — and even expect — a happy ending for the two young women.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more