Passage from Pride and Prejudice- Shiyun08S304

Darcy mentioned his letter. ``Did it,'' said he, ``did it soon make you think better of me? Did you, on reading it, give any credit to its contents?''
She explained what its effect on her had been, and how gradually all her former prejudices had been removed.
``I knew,'' said he, ``that what I wrote must give you pain, but it was necessary. I hope you have destroyed the letter. There was one part especially, the opening of it, which I should dread your having the power of reading again. I can remember some expressions which might justly make you hate me.''
``The letter shall certainly be burnt, if you believe it essential to the preservation of my regard; but, though we have both reason to think my opinions not entirely unalterable, they are not, I hope, quite so easily changed as that implies.''
``When I wrote that letter,'' replied Darcy, ``I believed myself perfectly calm and cool, but I am since convinced that it was written in a dreadful bitterness of spirit.''
``The letter, perhaps, began in bitterness, but it did not end so. The adieu is charity itself. But think no more of the letter. The feelings of the person who wrote, and the person who received it, are now so widely different from what they were then, that every unpleasant circumstance attending it ought to be forgotten. You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.''
``I cannot give you credit for any philosophy of the kind. Your retrospections must be so totally void of reproach, that the contentment arising from them is not of philosophy, but, what is much better, of innocence. But with me, it is not so. Painful recollections will intrude which cannot, which ought not, to be repelled. I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You shewed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.''
``Had you then persuaded yourself that I should?''
``Indeed I had. What will you think of my vanity? I believed you to be wishing, expecting my addresses.''
``My manners must have been in fault, but not intentionally, I assure you. I never meant to deceive you, but my spirits might often lead me wrong. How you must have hated me after that evening?''
``Hate you! I was angry perhaps at first, but my anger soon began to take a proper direction.''
``I am almost afraid of asking what you thought of me, when we met at Pemberley. You blamed me for coming?''
``No indeed; I felt nothing but surprise.''
``Your surprise could not be greater than mine in being noticed by you. My conscience told me that I deserved no extraordinary politeness, and I confess that I did not expect to receive more than my due.''
``My object then,'' replied Darcy, ``was to shew you, by every civility in my power, that I was not so mean as to resent the past; and I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your ill opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been attended to. How soon any other wishes introduced themselves I can hardly tell, but I believe in about half an hour after I had seen you.''


ANALYSIS
This portion of the book is represents another change in the plot, where our two main characters; Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, finally reach some sort of consensus with each other about the feelings they had for each other, the impressions they had of each other, the prejudices and the prideful moments in their relationship. This segment represents an important change and the start of closure for the novel as we approach the end of the novel.

The first reason why I chose this passage is because of the transformation in characters. In this part of the book Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth happen to be on a walk together and before Elizabeth had admitted to Mr. Darcy that her feelings had changed. Here, Mr. Darcy seems to have undertaken a complete and utter change in character in the way he speaks to Elizabeth. Previously he often thought of Elizabeth as someone who was of a lesser status then he was, someone who was merely “handsome enough”, and previously in any exchange of words between them Mr. Darcy’s tone of voice always carried condescending and patronizing element in them. Even when he proposed to Elizabeth the first time around, he often hinted at their incompatibility in social status and monetary terms, but here we see that he has experienced an utter change, often apologizing for his past mistakes and any wrong impressions he might have given to Elizabeth. He comes across as earnest and sincere as opposed to the arrogant and rude Mr. Darcy we have come to be familiar with, for example when he says “I hoped to obtain your forgiveness”, there is a new side to Mr. Darcy that we can see, where he is humble and reflective of his past actions, no longer simply following his own wishes, but being more attuned to the sensitive feelings of others especially Elizabeth. As for Elizabeth, she has taken a much more demure and passive attitude in this segment of the book. In earlier chapters every meeting with Mr. Darcy was a war of words between the two as they competed to outwit and out-talk each other, Elizabeth often displayed a very feminist and assertive attitude, standing her ground against social conventions and prejudices. Yet in this meeting with Mr. Darcy she admits that her “former prejudices were erased”, and is content to listen to Mr. Darcy’s side of the story, often interrupting to reassure him of her new feelings. Elizabeth thus is shows a more receptive, attentive and understanding side to her, very much different from the original impression of her.

Another reason why I chose this passage from the book is because of the idea of reflection in the passage. Throughout this whole chapter from which the passage was taken, there is a general theme of reflection and even repentance, the two main characters begin to look back on their previous actions and mistakes whether in attitude or action and begin to make amends for it. This shows us another side to the characters, a vulnerability that was not often seen in earlier chapters of the book. Take for example Mr. Darcy’s part about why he often acted in a way that was seen as arrogant and displeasing to others. Instead of simply not caring, he actually reflects upon his childhood, the way he was brought up and why he is who he is today. The idea of reconciling where you are now with where you came from is something new in the novel and brings a new depth and insight into the book, forcing readers to understand from Mr. Darcy’s point of view and erase some of their own prejudices that they might have formed of him. This helps us to understand the character better and relate to the character on a whole new different level than we could before.


Lastly another reason why I chose this passage from the book is because it brings about a reconciliation between the two characters where they finally start to release their prejudices and come together to accept each other for who they are and be honest with their feelings.