Nodiver d.o.o. · Pride & Prejudice · page 232 of 640

Pride & Prejudice – page 232

JANE AUSTEN

I will not mention; the other is Charlotte’s marriage. It

is unaccountable! In every view it is unaccountable!”

“My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings

as these. They will ruin your happiness. You do not

make allowance enough for difference of situation

and temper. Consider Mr. Collins’s respectability, and

Charlotte’s steady, prudent character. Remember that

she is one of a large family; that as to fortune, it is a most

eligible match; and be ready to believe, for everybody’s

sake, that she may feel something like regard and

esteem for our cousin.”

“To oblige you, I would try to believe almost

anything, but no one else could be benefited by such a

belief as this; for were I persuaded that Charlotte had

any regard for him, I should only think worse of her

understanding than I now do of her heart. My dear Jane,

Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded,

silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you

must feel, as well as I do, that the woman who married

him cannot have a proper way of thinking. You shall

not defend her, though it is Charlotte Lucas. You

shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the

meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to

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