Here Charlotte, by willingly recalling Bingley's preference for Jane over herself, displays the matter of fact and unillusioned attitude that will characterize her throughout the novel.

10. This suggests the frequency of overhearings in a ball room, and thus shows that Darcy had good reason to expect that Elizabeth would hear his dismissive words about her.

11. Jane's defense of Darcy signals the possible limits of everyone else's negative verdict, especially since she provides an explanation for his behavior, discomfort with strangers, to supplement the obvious explanation of pride. At the same time, Jane's description of him as “remarkably agreeable” goes too far, based on what we will see of Darcy's behavior among his companions; it reflects Jane's own naive faith in everyone, as well as possibly, to the degree she derived this description from Miss Bingley, the latter's partiality for Darcy.

12. hack chaise: a hired, or rented, chaise. Mrs. Long had to use one because she does not keep her own carriage. A chaise was the most popular carriage for rental, and many, including those who were well off, hired them for long distance travel; Elizabeth does that later in the novel. Hiring one for local travel, however, indicates lower social status, and thus would be a reason for someone snobbish not to speak to her.

The term “hack” is an abbreviation of “hackney,” which started as a term for an ordinary, workaday horse, then was extended to mean a hired horse as well, and finally was applied to hired carriages. London at the time was full of hackney-coaches, which were essentially horse-drawn taxis—”hack” as slang for taxi derives from this usage.

13. Charlotte, whose pragmatic nature has already been shown, now reveals a strong regard for rank and fortune, something that will later influence her own marital choice.

14. A critical line, which indicates that the “pride” of the novel's title does not apply only to Darcy.

15. piqued: prided.

16. Mary's words here, as elsewhere, echo statements in books. One source could be Hugh Blair's influential Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles heitres, which is referred to by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey. Blair, in discussing precise distinctions between various words, declares, “Pride, makes us esteem ourselves; Vanity, makes us desire the esteem of others. It is just to say, as Dean Swift has done, that a man is too proud to be vain.” Another source could be a frequently reprinted female conduct book of the day, Hester Chapone's Letters on the Improvement of the Mind, which has a passage making almost the identical point. Both are books that Mary, pedantic about both language and conduct, would have been likely to read.

It is not certain if Jane Austen intended to endorse this precise distinction between vanity and pride. She would, however, certainly agree with Mary's affirmation of the prevalence of pride in humanity, for that is a central point of the novel. This point is in fact underlined here, by the manner in which the person speaking is oblivious to the way that her own pride in her reflections demonstrates the very “self-complacency on the score of some quality or other” that she is discussing.

17. foxhounds: dogs for foxhunting, which had emerged in the preceding century as a leading rural sport.

18. In Nonhanger Abbey a foolish young man, John Thorpe, speaks of this as the desirable amount of liquor for a man to consume.

19. directly: immediately.

20. Mrs. Bennet reveals herself further by her willingness to persist in such a fruitless argument with a mere boy.

Chapter Six

The ladies of Longbourn soon waited on1 those of Nether-field. The visit was returned in due form.2 Miss Bennet's pleasing manners grew on the good will of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and though the mother was found to be intolerable and the younger sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of being better acquainted with them, was expressed towards the two eldest. By Jane this attention was received with the greatest pleasure; but Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of every body, hardly excepting even her sister, and could not like them; though their kindness to Jane, such as it was, had a value as arising in all probability from the influence of their brother's admiration.3 It was generally evident whenever they met, that he did admire her; and to her it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a way to be very much in love; but she considered with pleasure that it was not likely to be discovered by the world in general, since Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent.4 She mentioned this to her friend Miss Lucas.5

“It may perhaps be pleasant,” replied Charlotte, “to be able to impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him;6 and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment,7 that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely—a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement.8 In nine cases out often, a woman had better shew more affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.”

“But she does help him on, as much as her nature will allow. If I can perceive her regard for him, he must be a simpleton indeed not to discover it too.”9

“Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane's disposition as you do.”

“But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to conceal it, he must find it out.”

“Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her. But though Bingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours together; and as they always see each other in large mixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together. Jane should therefore make the most of every half hour in which she can command his attention. When she is secure of him,10 there will be leisure for falling in love as much as she chuses.”

“Your plan is a good one,” replied Elizabeth, “where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it.11 But these are not Jane's feelings; she is not acting by design. As yet, she cannot even be certain of the degree of her own regard, nor of its reasonableness. She has known him only a fortnight. She danced four dances with him at Meryton; she saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined in company with him four times.12 This is not quite enough to make her understand his character.”

“Not as you represent it. Had she merely dined with him, she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite; but you must remember that four evenings have been also spent together —and four evenings may do a great deal.”

“Yes; these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain13 that they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce;14 but with respect to any other leading characteristic, I do not imagine that much has been unfolded.”

“Well” said Charlotte, “I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.