REVISE – Elizabeth and Darcy

Read the text and decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts in brackets and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

In this passage from Chapter XI of Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses a light, teasing exchange between Elizabeth, Miss Bingley, and Darcy. (Refer to STEP 4 and give some examples of the ironic comments the characters make.) The conversation takes place in the drawing room, a central social space where manners and reputation are on display. Austen also uses this setting to highlight gender roles and conventions. (Refer to section 6.15 in your textbook about Romantic fiction and further discuss this aspect.) Miss Bingley stands for female compliance and the need for women to show off to appear desirable. (Refer to the box 'Her style' in section 6.16 of your textbook and highlight the narrator's comments on Miss Bingley's behaviour.) Meanwhile, Elizabeth's spirited replies show how she challenges these expectations: she mocks Darcy and questions his arrogant opinions. At the same time, Elizabeth is not a perfect heroine. Austen hints that she can judge too quickly, illustrating how misunderstandings and first impressions can complicate relationships and, in this case, affect future marriage prospects. (Refer to STEP 3 and the descriptions of Darcy and Elizabeth to comment on their imperfections.)

Read the introduction and the passage in your textbook. Then choose the correct alternative.

Setting: ________ at Netherfield Park.
Characters present: ________
Main narrative mode: ________
Narrator: ________ narrator

Match what the characters say in the text (1-4) with what they really mean (A-D). Write the correct letters in the gaps.

1 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. ________
2 Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. But these, I suppose, are precisely what you are without. ________
3 I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without disguise. ________
4 The wisest and best of men – nay, the wisest and best of their actions – may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke. ________

A Elizabeth is accusing Darcy of being too proud to acknowledge any personal flaw.
B Darcy thinks that Elizabeth's teasing can make even good people look foolish and that she is too ready to laugh at others.
C Darcy says he won't join them walking, but he is really teasing them for sharing secrets or showing off.
D Elizabeth enjoys laughing at silly or foolish behaviour, and suggest Darcy has none of these slight faults which is actually said in irony as no one is completely free of them.

Match the paraphrased lines from the text to their character.

1 It's easy to annoy and tease one another if you really want to do it. ________
2 Vanity is a real weakness, but pride is acceptable if it comes from true superiority. ________
3 My feelings aren't easily affected by every little thing. ________
4 Never forgiving someone is a fault in a person's character. ________

Complete the descriptions of Elizabeth and Darcy with the words given.

Elizabeth is known for her ________ mind and lively sense of ________. She enjoys noticing and making fun of the ________ in other people. Her friends sometimes find her too ________ when she teases others, but it is always done with charm and insight.
Darcy is a man who is clearly ________ of his manners and opinions, always confident in himself. To strangers, he often appears ________ and difficult to approach. Yet he occasionally shows a more ________ side, especially when teasing someone indirectly or making a clever ________.