Appunti esame Cultura e letteratura inglese I integrati con la lettura dei libri - Pride and Prejudice e Frankenstein

DARCY ARRIVES AND PROPOSES TO HER

Introduced by a little direct speech form Darcy

He had struggled but now he confesses his feelings for her

The real proposal is reported (indirect speech), we can't listen to his words:

He spoke well but there were feelings beside those of the heart to be detailed

We can't listen to his words way to detached the reader from him

He had no doubts that she would have accepted

Mr Darcy tells rather than asks offended her and her family bc it's a proposal dominated by too much truth and no politeness

"Disguise of any sort is my abhorrence"

He simply stated his reason but they go against his respectability

Some degree of politeness is necessary

The speech looks distant to us, we don't know what he has really said

Darcy accuses El to be impolite kinda true, she says the truth and says that she would never marry him impolite

accuse each others of being impolite

Too much truth is not good, need some politeness

Elizabeth accuses Darcy of two charges:

• He separated Jane from Bingley material cause of Jane's sufferings
• He ruined Wickam's fortune and prospects he's poor now

In chapters 35 focus on the letter

• Short introduction with El still agitated that goes for a walk and meets Darcy who gives her a letter
• Long letter it probably was originally an epistolary novel
• We see Darcy's reaction on Elizabeth's accuses and responds giving his own perspective on the two facts

Ch 36 completely devoted on what happens to El reading the letter

• Interesting bc 1st we read the letter on our own and then we read it together with El bc we follow what happens in her mind and revises her opinion on facts and characters turning point

When we read it on our own we realize it's really elaborate and it's an example of Darcy's

style opposed to Bingley's → In Elizabeth's Mind: Reading the letter ch 36

We are provided with a very vivid description of El's mental agitation as she's ● reading this part she stops bc it's too painful → We as readers we see how she goes back and forth reading the letter taking breaks ● and everything She's too impatient to read what's written next and doesn't focus on the actual thing ● she's reading doesn't understand → Free indirect thought/thinking allows readers to get in the character's mind ● → Allows the reader to get into the character's mind ● Elizabeth's considerations on the letter ● She doesn't want to read it because it's too painful but she cannot resist reading it ○ so she goes back Vivid description of what happens in her mind ○ 33 Elizabeth's revision occurs by inverting the order followed by Mr Darcy's letter: for ● her, first (2) Mr Wickham, then

she was blinded by it rather than by feelings●34 Even worse than being blinded by feelings, she was simply flattered○Elizabeth’s “epiphany”:She understands she needs to be more careful when judging someone● She becomes more uncertain more doubtful, more questions● →After the epiphany she’s ready to go back to the letter and to the most painful part● Jane→Since he was right with Wickham, let’s give him a try with the Jane situation● He claims he separate Bingley from Jane NOT bc the impropriety of his family● connections, BUT bc according to him, Jane wasn’t really in love with BingleyThis comment sounds absurd at first but then she remembers that Charlotte had● warned her that Jane wasn’t displaying her feelings towards Bingley enough she→realizes he has a pointElizabeth reputation can be affected and compromised by his family’s behaviour● →Netherfield BallShe realized how her reputation could be

affected by Mr Bingley's family● It reflected how materially the credit of both can must be hurt by such impropriety● of conduct both honors (El and Jane's)→35 El starts behaving in a less playful way towards Lidia and Kitty bc she realizes how● inappropriate behaviour can affect the reputation of all the family significant to→notice thatThe inconvenient conduct of Mr Bingley's family has consequences on her and her● family's social reputationShe really understands the risks of inappropriate behaviour for her and her family● Elizabeth and her dad start to grow apart bc she grows but he doesn't and doesn't● understand her culminating point→Emphasizes the completeness of her revision every variety of thoughts that she● →didn't have before, considering events, determining probabilityShe's now ready to see events from other aspects● Her language changes more uncertainty, less whit, less self confidence●

different view point the same objects of natural scenery→Beautiful not just the object itself but also the fact that it was viewed by○ →different viewpoints

She does the same thing with Darcy after seeing him for the 1st time after the● proposal

She observes his servants that have known him for his whole life she realizes he’s● →a really respectful master starts reconsidering her own idea about him→Her servant starts talking● He’s being polite to the gardeners why is he behaving like that?

→Dominated by doubt and self doubts

She starts reconsidering Darcy from other point of view

37 She had a picture of a really proud man who considered his family inferior but he● has changed now

Darcy’s behaviour to the Gardiners is “a stroke of civility for which she was quite● unprepared”Civility the Darcy she knows is the incivil Darcy of the 1st proposal, now○ →she’s confronted by a civil Darcy with middle class

peopleHe’s being extremely polite but unlike Mr Collins he’s not lying, that’s a real question

improved civility→He has learned to be polite and to ASK making questions and not just pretending to

ask consultative questions→TURNING POINT

Elizabeth after Pemberley: generalizations replaced by doubts, self questioning and uncertainty (“​ She knew not what to think”​), and the effort the see beyond the surface(see ch 53-54)

She knew not what to think​ Inability to judge situations and people

→Effort to go beyond the surface

Dominated by self doubts

“Why if he came to be silent has he come at all?If he no longer cares for me, why doesn’t he speak to me?”Unable to interpret his behaviour can’t and don’t want to trust her

→judgementBefore the 1st proposal the text has given us hints that he’s into her but she doesn’t get it and speculates on why he happens to be always

Around her, now she's not really judging her doubts and doesn't understand why.

● Extensive use of self questions and doubts

○ Before 2nd proposal Elizabeth

● 38 Elizabeth being at pain bc she realizes she cannot have a clue about what's going on

○ Before she was making conjunctions or suppositions in a very detached way

○ Now she's more involved but she's more uncertain extensive view of sad

○ →questions and doubts

Darcy's Second Proposal ch 58

Is the proposal prompted by Elizabeth?

● With this strange resolution of Elizabeth to thank Mr Darcy for what he did when he

● helped Lydia and Wickham paying off all his debts making the wedding possible

Elizabeth introduces the topic of Darcy helping Lydia it should be a secret bc

○ →Lydia revealed it to El

Phrasing is almost a question, as almost she's asking him why he helped them

He understands this

He replies by confirming to her he didn't do that for her family but

only for Elizabeth's sake, to help her

Anti-climatic proposal very short and we find a reticence on the part of the narrator

The narrator is trying to play with reader's expectation

Way to divert us from the proposal itself it's supposed to be the core of the ch but he wants to give more attention to what happens next

Characters inner and moral grow