# ■ 7 Darcy proposes marriage

Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning， writ－ ing to Jane， while Mrs Collins and Maria were shopping in the village．She heard the doorbell ring， and knew that meant a visitor had arrived， but she was greatly surprised when Mr Darcy，and Mr Darcy only， was shown into the room．

He seemed astonished too，on finding her alone．‘I apologize for disturbing you，Miss Bennet．I understood that all the ladies were at home．’

‘Please don't apologize，Mr Darcy．I hope Lady Catherine and her daughter are well？’

‘Very well，thank you．’He said no more．

As he seemed in danger of sinking into total silence， Elizabeth had to think of something to say．She remarked， ‘How very suddenly you all left Netherfield last November， Mr Darcy！I hope Mr Bingley and his sisters were well，when you left London？’

‘Perfectly， thank you．’That was all the answer he gave．

‘I think I have heard that Mr Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again？’

‘It is probable that he will spend very little of his time there in future．He has many friends elsewhere．’

Elizabeth did not want to talk any longer about Mr Bingley， and，determined to leave the conversation to Mr Darcy， she remained silent． He understood， and soon began to speak again．

Mr Collins appears very fortunate in his choice of a wife．’

‘Yes， indeed． She is one of the few sensible women who would have accepted him，although I'm not sure I consider her marrying Mr Collins as the wisest thing she ever did．She seems perfectly happy， however， and financially speaking，it's a good marriage．’

‘It must be very agreeable to her to be such a short distance from her own family and friends．’

‘A short distance，you say？It is nearly eighty kilometres！’

‘And what is that？Little more than half a day's journey， on a good road．Yes，I call it a very short distance．’

‘I would never have said Mrs Collins lived near her family，’cried Elizabeth．

‘That shows how much you are attached to Hertfordshire． Anywhere outside the Longbourn area would，I suppose， seem far away to you． As he spoke，he smiled a little．

Perhaps he supposed she was thing of Jane and Nether－ field， thought Elizabeth， and she blushed．‘ Whether the dis－ tance seems long or short depends on many circumstances．If the family’ s income is large enough to pay for frequent jour－ neys，then distance is not a problem．But Mr and Mrs Collins will not be able to afford to travel very often，despite their comfortable income．I'm certain my friend does not consider Hunsford near her family．’

Mr Darcy moved his chair a little towards her， and said， ‘You cannot have a right to such a very strong local attach－ment．You haven't spent your whole life at Longbourn， I am sure．

Elizabeth looked surprised．Experiencing a change of feeling， the gentleman moved his chair away again， took a newspaper from the table，and，glancing at it，said in a colder voice，‘Are you pleased with Kent？’They discussed Kent calmly and po－ litely for a few minutes， and were then interrupted by Char－ lotte and Maria， who had returned from the village． Mr Darcy sat a little while longer，without saying much to anybody，and then went away．

‘What can be the meaning of this！’said Charlotte， as soon as he had gone．‘My dear Lizzy， he must be in love with you， or he would never have visited us in this familiar way．’

But when Elizabeth described his silence， that did not seem likely， even to hopeful Charlotte， and they could only suppose that he had nothing better to do．In fact， from now on， both Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam called regularly at the Rectory． It was obvious that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he en－ joyed talking to the ladies， and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him， as well as by his evident admiration of her，of her former favourite，Wickham．But it was more difficult to understand why Mr Darcy came． He did not often speak， and seldom appeared interested in the conversa－ tion Even Charlotte， who observed Mr Darcy closely， was not sure whether he admired Elizabeth or not， and began to hope that perhaps her friend might marry Colonel Fitzwilliam in－ stead．

When she took her daily walk along the path bordering the park， Elizabeth met Mr Darcy unexpectedly more than once． This was the more surprising， because she was careful to in－ form him that it was her favourite walk， So that he could avoid meeting her．It was also strange that， although he could just have greeted her and walked on， he always thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her．She could not quite understand him．

But one day， as she was walking， she met Colonel Fitzwilliam， not Mr Darcy， and greeted him with a smile． They walked back to the Rectory together．

‘Are you leaving Kent this Sunday？’she asked．

‘Yes，if Darcy doesn't put it off again．’

‘He is fortunate to be able to arrange things as he likes．’

‘Well，we all want to do that，’replied Colonel Fitzwilliam．

‘But he is used to doing what he likes， because he is rich， and many others are poor．I，for example—I'm a younger son，you know， and won't inherit my father's fortune， so I shall never be rich or independent， like Darcy．’

‘Now seriously， you cannot call yourself poor．When have you ever suffered because of lack of money？’

‘Well，perhaps I haven't really suffered much yet．But there are difficulties．A younger son doesn't have a free choice when marrying．He cannot afford to marry a girl with no fortune．’

Elizabeth blushed， thinking that he might mean her， and be－ gan to talk of something else． She asked him about Darcy's sis－ ter，and mentioned that the Bingley sisters liked her very much．

‘Bingley—yes，I know them．Their brother is very pleasant—a great friend of Darcy’ s，’answered Colonel Fitzwilliam．

‘Oh， yes， Mr Darcy is extremely kind to Mr Bingley， and takes very good care of him，’said Elizabeth drily．

‘Yes， I believe Darcy does take care of Bingley．I'm think－ ing of a recent situation， which Darcy was telling me about on the journey here．He was congratulating himself on having saved a friend from a most foolish marriage． Of course， I'm not sure the friend was Bingley，as Darcy didn't mention the name．

‘Did Mr Darcy give you his reasons for interfering？’

‘I understood that there were some very strong objections to the lady．’

Elizabeth could not speak for a moment．When she was able to control her anger， she changed the conversation．As soon as they reached the Rectory， she said goodbye to Colonel Fitzwilliam，and went straight upstairs to her room．At last she could think without interruption about what he had told her． Bingley，nust have been the friend to whom Darcy was refer－ ring．She had always assumed that Darcy was involved in the plan to separate Jane and Bingley， but it now appeared that he， not Miss Bingley， was the main cause of all that Jane had suffered， and still continued to suffer．The‘very strong objec－ tions to the lady’probably consisted of having one uncle who was a country lawyer， and another who was in business in Lon－ don．There could be no possible objections to Jane herself， as she was intelligent， beautiful and charming． Nor could anyone object to Mr Bennet as a father－in－law．When Elizabeth thought of her mother， she felt a little less confident． She was still convinced，however， that Mr Darcy was interested in high－ born connections rather than character or common sense． It was this， the worst kind of pride， which had destroyed for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate， gener－ ons heart in the world．

Thinking about all this made Elizabeth so upset and unhap－ py that she soon had a headache．It grew so much worse in the evening， and she was so unwilling to see Mr Darcy， that she decided not to go to Rosings that evening with Mr and Mrs Collins． Instead，she stayed in the Rectory sitting－room， reread－ ing Jane's recent letters from London．She was saddened to discover that， although Jane never complained， or referred to the past，in almost every line there was a lack of cheerfulness， which Elizabeth had not noticed the first time， and which now made her rather anxious．She was relieved to think that Darcy would be leaving Rosings in two days’ time， and she herself would be with Jane in less than two weeks．Colonel Fitzwilliam would also be leaving with Darcy， but he had made it clear that he had no intention of proposing to her， so she did not intend to be unhappy about him．

Just then，she heard the doorbell，and wondered if it might be Colonel Fitzwilliam， come to enquire about her health． But to her astonishment she saw Mr Darcy walk into the room． In a hrried manner he began to ask how she was feeling．She answered him with cold politeness．He sat down for a few mo－ ments， and then， getting up， walked about the room． Elizabeth was surprised， but said nothing． After a silence of several min－ utes， he came towards her， with none of his usual calmness， and said，‘In vain have I struggled．It is no good．I cannot conquer my feelings． You must allow me to tell you how warmly I admire and love you．’

Elizabeth stared， blushed， doubted， and was silent． He con－ sidered this sufficient encouragement， and confessed all that he felt， and had felt for a long time， for her． He expressed himself well， but it was not only of love that he spoke． He also talked of his pride， and his sense of her social inferiority， which had made him struggle against his feelings for so long．

In spite of her dislike for him，Elizabeth appreciated what a compliment such a man's affection was， and was at first sorry for the pain he was about to receive．But soon， as she heard his references to her inferior position，she lost all pity，and became very angry．She waited patiently，however，until he had finished．He ended by describing the strength of his love for her， whicn，in spite of all his attempts， he had been unable to con－ quer with arguments of reason and common sense， and finally he asked for her hand in marriage．She could see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer， which only made her angrier．

‘I believe society considers it correct，in cases like this，’she replied，‘to express grateful thanks．So if I could feel grateful， I would now thank you．But I cannot—I have never wanted your good opinion of me， and I cannot accept it．I'm sorry to hurt anyone， but it has not been done deliberately， and I hope the pain will not last long．The pride which， you tell me，has long prevented the expression of your affection， can have little difficulty in conquering your feelings after this explanation．’

Mr Darcy， whose eyes were fixed on her face， was both an－ gry and surprised by her words．His face went pale， and he was clearly struggling to control himself． There was a dreadful pause， and then he spoke in a voice of forced calmness．

‘And this is all the reply I am to have the honour of expect－ ing！I might，perhaps，wish to be informed why，with so little attempt at politeness，I am rejected．’

‘I might as well ask why，with so evident a wish to offend and insult me， you chose to tell me that you loved me against your reason and even against your character．But even if my own feelings towards you had been favourable， do you think anything could tempt me to accept the man who has destroyed， perhaps for ever， the happiness of a most dear sister？’

As she said this， Mr Darcy changed colour， but he listened without trying to interrupt her as she continued．

‘I have every reason in the world to think badly of you．Can you deny that you were the cause of Jane's separation from Mr Bingley，and of her unhappiness？Can you deny it？’

‘I have no wish to deny that I did everything I could to separate them， and that I am delighted with my success． Towards my friend I have been kinder than to myself．’

Elizabeth treated this last remark with disdain， but its meaning did not escape her．‘But it is not only because of Jane that I dislike you． My opinion of you was decided long ago．I heard all about your character from Mr Wickham． Now， what can you have to say on this matter？ How can you defend yourself？’

‘You take an eager interest in that gentleman，’said Darcy， less calmly than before The colour was rising in his face．

‘Who can help feeling an interest in him，when we hear of the unfortunate life he has had！’

‘Unfortunate！’repeated Darcy contemptuously．‘Yes，unfortunate indeed．’

‘And it was your fault，’cried Elizabeth with energy．‘You took away his chance of a comfortable income and a good position， which you knew had been intended for him．You have left him poor， and dependent， and disappointed．You have done all this！And you can still treat the mention of his name with contempt．’

‘And this，’ cried Darcy， as he walked with quick steps across the room，‘is your opinion of me！Thank you for explaining it so fully．But perhaps you might not have considered these offences of mine，if your pride had not been hurt by my honest confession of my reasons for not proposing to you earlier．Perhaps I should have hidden my struggles，and flat－ tered you by pretending I had every reason to love you．But I hate disguise of any sort．Nor am I ashamed of my feelings of pride，which are very natural．Could you expect me to delight in the inferiority of your family compared to mine？’

Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment．

‘Mr Darcy， you could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it． The moment I first met you，I noticed your pride， your sense of superiority， and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others． Later events strengthened my dislike for you．You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be persuaded to marry．’

‘You have said quite enough， madam．I perfectly understand your feelings．Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time，and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness．’

With these words he hurried out of the room， and the house． Elizabeth felt so weak that she sat down and cried for half an hour．She was so astonished to have received a proposal from Mr Darcy！His affection for her must indeed have been strong，to conquer all the objections he had to her family and position， objections which had made him prevent his friend marrying her sister． But his terrible pride， his shameless confes－ sion of what he had done to separate Jane and Bingley， and his 150cruelty towards Wickham soon removed any pity she might have felt for him．

■ 7 達西求婚

第二天早上，伊麗莎白獨自坐著，給簡寫信。柯林斯太太和瑪利亞在村裡買東西。她聽到門鈴響，知道有客人來了，但她見到達西先生，並且只有達西先生一個人被領進屋時，感到奇怪極了。

他發現她獨自一人，也似乎很驚訝。“班納特小姐，對不起，打擾你了。我還以為所有的女士都在家。”

“達西先生，請不要客氣。我想凱瑟琳夫人和小姐都還好吧？”

“很好，謝謝。”他又不說話了。

看樣子他有危險陷入完全的沉默。伊麗莎白必須找話說了。她說：“達西先生，去年11月，你們離開尼日斐太突然了，我想彬格萊先生和他的妹妹在你離開倫敦時還好吧？”

“很好，謝謝。”這就是全部回答。

“我想我聽說過，彬格萊先生不怎麼打算再回尼日斐了？”

“將來他可能不會在那個地方呆多長時間。他別處有很多朋友。”

伊麗莎白不想再往下談彬格萊先生了，下決心把話題留給達西先生，於是她保持沉默。他明白了，不一會兒，就又開口說話了。

“柯林斯先生選了這樣一位妻子似乎很幸運。”

“是的，一點不錯。有思想的婦女能接受他的不多，她便是其中的一個。不過，我不敢肯定地認為她嫁給柯林斯先生是最明智的做法。可是，她似乎十分幸福，況且從經濟上講，這個婚姻也不錯。”

“離孃家和朋友這麼近，她一定覺得很滿意。”

“你說離得那麼近？差不多八十公里呢！”

“那算得了什麼，半天多一點就到了，若是路好的話。是的，我認為是很近。”

“我永遠不會認為柯林斯太太住得離孃家近，”伊麗莎白大聲說。

“這說明你對哈福德郡的感情太深了。我想，浪搏恩以外的任何地方對你來說都是很遠的。”他說話時，露出了一絲微笑。

伊麗莎白想，也許他認為自己在想簡和尼日斐，於是臉就紅了。“距離的遠近取決於很多因素。如果家庭收入足以支付頻繁的往來，那麼距離就不成問題。但是，雖然他們有舒適的收入，柯林斯夫婦是承受不起經常的旅行的。我相信，我的朋友不會認為漢斯福離她家很近。”

達西先生把椅子朝她挪了挪，說：“你不該有這樣強的鄉土觀念。可以肯定地說，你不會一輩子都在浪搏恩度過的。”

伊麗莎白看起來有點驚奇。那位先生感受到了感情的變化，便又把椅子挪開，從桌上拿了一張報紙，瞟了瞟，用冷淡些的語氣說：“你對肯特郡感到滿意嗎？”他們又平靜客氣地討論了一會兒肯特郡，然後夏洛特和瑪利亞打斷了他們，這兩個人已從村裡回來了。達西先生又坐了一會兒，也沒跟誰說多少話，便離開了。

“這是什麼意思！”他剛走，夏洛特就說。“親愛的麗萃，他一定是愛上了你，否則，他絕不會以這種親切的方式拜訪我們。”

可是，當伊麗莎白描述了他沉默的樣子之後，甚至是滿懷希望的夏洛特也覺得那不大可能。這樣，她們只能猜測他是沒事可做才來的。實際上，就從這時起，達西先生和費茨威廉上校開始定期造訪教區長住宅。顯然，費茨威廉上校來此是因為他喜歡與女士們交談，伊麗莎白和他在一起感到很滿意，而他又顯然愛慕她，這兩者都使她想起以前的寵兒韋翰先生。可是，要弄明白達西先生為什麼來就更困難些。他不常講話，也很少對談話表現出興趣。即使是密切注視達西先生的夏洛特，也不敢肯定他是否愛慕伊麗莎白，於是，她開始希望，也許伊麗莎白可以轉而嫁給費茨威廉上校。

伊麗莎白每天沿公園旁的小徑散步時，不止一次地意外碰到達西先生。這就更奇怪了，因為她曾小心地告訴他這是她最喜歡的散步方式，以便讓他避免碰見她。還有令人奇怪的是，他完全可以只和她打個招呼便繼續往前走，可他總是覺得有必要掉轉頭和她一起走。她搞不大明白。

可是有一天，她在散步時碰到了費茨威廉上校，而不是達西先生，便微笑著和他打了招呼。他們一塊走回到教區長住宅。

“你們這個星期日離開肯特郡嗎？”她問道。

“是的，如果達西不再往後推的話。”

“他很幸運，安排事情有自主權。”

“哎，我們都想有自主權，”費茨威廉上校回答說。“但是他習慣於我行我素，因為他很富有，而其他很多人都很窮。比方說我——我不是長子，你也知道，繼承不了父親的家產，因此，我永遠不會像達西那樣富有或獨立自主。”

“認真點兒講，你不能說自己窮。你什麼時候因缺錢受過罪？”

“也許我還沒有真正受過罪。但確實有困難。小兒子結婚時沒有自由選擇的餘地。他沒有經濟能力同沒有財產的女人結婚。”

伊麗莎白臉一紅，覺得他可能指自己，於是趕緊岔開了話題。她問他達西的妹妹的情況，並提及彬格萊姐妹很喜歡她。

“彬格萊——是的，我認識她們。她們的哥哥很招人喜歡——是達西的好朋友之一，”費茨威廉上校回答說。

“哦，是的，達西先生對彬格萊先生極好，對他十分關照，”伊麗莎白冷冰冰地說。

“是的，我覺得達西確實關照彬格萊。我想起了最近的一件事，是達西在到這裡來的路上告訴我的。他慶幸自己阻止了一位朋友捲入一樁最愚蠢的婚姻。當然，我不敢肯定這位朋友就是彬格萊，因為達西沒有提他的名字。”

“達西先生是否擺出了干涉的理由？”

“我的理解是有些人強烈反對這位小姐。”

伊麗莎白一時說不出話來。她壓住心頭的怒火，改變了話題。他們一到教區長住宅，她便向費茨威廉上校道了別，徑直到了樓上自己的房間。現在終於可以不受干擾，獨自思考一下他告訴她的這件事了。達西所指的那位朋友一定是彬格萊。她一直都在猜測達西參與了拆散簡和彬格萊的計劃，但現在似乎清楚了，是他，而不是彬格萊小姐，做了簡已經遭受和繼續遭受的痛苦的罪魁禍首。“強烈反對這位小姐”的原因可能包括她有一個姨父做鄉村律師，還有個舅舅在倫敦做買賣。對簡本人不大可能有什麼反對意見，因為她聰穎、漂亮、迷人。也不會有人反對認班納特先生做老岳父的。伊麗莎白想到母親時，感到有點缺乏自信。但是，她仍然堅信，達西先生只喜歡攀出身高貴的人，不喜歡平民百姓。正是這種最惡毒的傲慢，暫時毀掉了世界上最摯誠、最寬厚的一顆心所抱的每一線獲得幸福的希望。

想到所有這些，伊麗莎白感到萬分不安和難過，一會兒就犯了頭痛病。到了晚上，頭痛愈加劇烈，加上她不願見到達西先生，於是她決定晚上不陪柯林斯夫婦去羅新斯了。相反，她呆在教區長家的起居室裡，重讀簡最近從倫敦的來信。她難過地發現，雖然簡從來沒有抱怨過或提起過過去，但信中幾乎每一行都流露出悶悶不樂的情緒。伊麗莎白讀第一遍時沒注意到，現在這使她有點焦急。一想到達西再過兩天就要離開羅新斯，她本人也將在兩週後見到簡，心裡便放鬆了一點。費茨威廉上校也將同達西一塊走，但他已經挑明他無意向她求婚，所以，她不打算為他表示悲傷。

正在這時，她聽到了門鈴聲，心中納悶會不會是費茨威廉上校來探問她的身體狀況。但是，令她大吃一驚的是，她看到達西先生走進了屋子。他匆匆地開始詢問她感覺如何。她冷冰冰地客氣地回答了他。他坐下，呆了一會兒，然後又站起來，在房間裡踱來踱去。伊麗莎白感到奇怪，但什麼也沒說。幾分鐘沉默過後，他朝她走過來，一掃平時的冷靜，說道：“我徒勞地進行思想鬥爭，但毫無用處。我再也無法控制自己的感情了。請允許我告訴你我多麼敬慕你，多麼愛你。”

伊麗莎白瞪大了眼睛，漲紅了臉，滿腹狐疑，一句話也說不出來。他一看這情景，認為是在慫恿自己說下去，立即向她傾吐了所有的感情，既有現在的，也有長期以來就感受到的。他表達得很充分，不但談了他的愛，還談到了他的傲慢，談到他覺得她出身卑徽，正是這一點使他與感情進行了長期的思想鬥爭。

雖然伊麗莎白討厭他，但她認識到能得到這樣的男人的愛是多大的恭維呀，所以開始時還對他即將接受的痛苦感到遺憾。但不久，她聽到他說自己出身卑微，所有的憐憫之情便為憤怒所取代。但是，她耐心地等到他講完。他最後形容了他對她的愛的力量，雖然他幾經努力，但這種愛情的力量是無法用理性和經驗戰勝的，最後，他請求她接受他的求婚。她看得出，他自信能得到肯定的回答，這使得她更加惱怒。

她回答道：“我想，在這種情況下，社會上會認為應當表達一下感激之情。因此，如果我真覺得感激，我現在會謝你的。可惜我現在沒有這種感覺——我從來不稀罕你的抬舉，我也不接受你的抬舉。我不願傷害任何人，但我並不是故意的，我希望這痛苦不會持續太久。你說過，高傲使得你長期以來無法表達愛慕之情，但在你聽了我的解釋之後，高傲會毫不費力地戰勝你的感情。”

達西先生一雙眼睛緊緊盯著她的臉，聽了這話，既氣憤，又驚奇。他的臉色煞白，很顯然在努力控制自己。可怕的停頓過後，他竭力裝出一副鎮定的樣子說：

“我很榮幸，竟能得到這樣一個回答。也許我可以請教一下，為什麼我竟會遭到如此無禮的拒絕？”

“我也要請教你一下，你明明存心要冒犯我、侮辱我，卻為什麼要違背理性甚至自己的品格，說你愛我。但是，即便我對你的感情是肯定的，那麼，也請你想一想，還有什麼能打動我的心，讓我去愛一個毀了我最親愛的姐姐的幸福、甚至永遠毀了她幸福的人？”

達西聽了她的話，臉色大變。但他聽著她繼續往下說，一時不想插嘴。

“我有千萬條理由把你往壞裡想。你能否認你是拆散簡和彬格萊先生、毀掉她幸福的罪魁禍首嗎？你能否認嗎？”

“我不想否認我竭盡全力把他們拆散，而且我還為我的成功感到喜悅。我對朋友比對自己體貼。”

伊麗莎白對他最後一句話十分鄙視，但他的用意她當然清楚。“但是，並不僅僅是因為簡我才討厭你。我對你早有成見，韋翰先生把你的品格全告訴我了。現在，對這個你還有什麼話可說？你怎麼為自己辯護？”

“你對那位先生倒挺關心的，”達西說道，語氣已沒有先前鎮定。他的臉也更紅了。

“凡是聽過他不幸遭遇的人，誰能不關心他！”

“不幸遭遇！”達西輕蔑地重複道。“是的，真夠不幸的。”

“這都是你一手造成的，”伊麗莎白使勁高聲說。“是你剝奪了他享受舒適的收入和良好地位的機會，你清楚，這些本來都是屬於他的。是你造成了他的貧困，讓他無法獨立，滿心失望。這一切都是你乾的！可是現在，你提起他的名字卻還帶著鄙夷。”

“這就是你對我的看法！”達西一邊大聲叫嚷，一邊快速往屋子那頭走。“謝謝你解釋得這樣周全。不過要不是我把以前遲疑不決的原因如實說出來，傷害了你的自尊心，也許你不會計較我得罪你的這些地方。也許我應當把我的思想矛盾隱瞞起來，假裝我有一切愛你的理由，來奉承你。但是，我不喜歡任何形式的偽裝。我也不為自己的高傲感到羞恥，因為那是很自然的。難道你指望我為你那些同我的親戚無法相提並論的微賤的親戚歡欣鼓舞嗎？”

伊麗莎白感到越來越氣惱。

“達西先生，你用任何方式向我求婚，也不能打動我，讓我接受。從認識你的那一剎那起，我就注意到了你的狂妄自大、你高人一等的感覺以及對別人感情的自私蔑視。以後發生的事加深了我對你的反感。哪怕天下男人都死光了，我也不願嫁給你。”

“你說夠了，小姐，我完全理解你的感情。佔用了你這麼多時間，請原諒。我衷心地祝願你健康、幸福。”

說完這些話，他匆匆走出房間，走出宅院。伊麗莎白感到虛弱無比，坐下來哭了半個小時。達西先生向他求婚，簡直太令人驚訝了！他對她的愛一定的確十分強烈，它克服了家庭、地位的障礙，克服了自己用以阻撓朋友同她姐姐結婚的障礙。但他那可怕的高傲自大，他那對拆散簡和彬格萊的姻緣的恬不知恥的坦白，以及他對韋翰的殘酷無情，不久便把她可能產生的憐憫之情沖刷得蕩然無存。