Chapters 13-18

Chapter Thirteen

I guess, where Ch. 12 was a wrapping-up chapter, this is kind of an introduction to Mr. Collins.  Now things are going to start humming along.  You do have to kind of adjust your head each time Austen starts a new section, though, because just when you're starting to get into one piece, a new piece takes the spotlight.  Don't worry--we'll be back to Bingley and Darcy soon enough.

Chapter Fourteen

Oof, now you've gotten a real taste of Mr. Collins.  Imagine the most dull, pedantic, socially awkward person you know, and then crank the dial up to 11.  Anyway, Collins is awful, but the saving grace of this chapter I think is how much fun Mr. Bennet is having messing with him.  And just wait until you meet Lady Catherine!

Chapter Fifteen

I think some of the notes at the beginning about Mr. Collins and his education are interesting.  As best I can tell from this and other old books I've read, men of a certain class were generally expected to go to university, which was easy to get into (for men of that class) and where they sometimes stayed for years and years, playing pool, making friends, and taking the occasional class.  You did need academic credentials for some professions, but mostly college connected you with other men of your class (or if you were lucky, men slightly above your class) who would prove useful to you later in life.  Mr. Collins, we are told, kind of missed the point and stayed just long enough to get the degree he needed to become a clergyman.  This never occurred to me before, but he has no male friends that we know of.  Even Mr. Bennet is friendly with Sir Lucas and probably other local guys.

Also: enter Mr. Wickham!  Hooray!  The story is firing on all cylinders now--what is up with Wickham and Darcy?  Wait till you find out...

Chapter Sixteen

Here we get some backstory on Wickham and Darcy.  First of all, a "living", which comes up a lot in Austen, is a position as a clergyman.  For example, Lady Catherine gave Mr. Collins a living on her estate.  He is a rector, which means he gets to collect the tithes (money people in his parish give to the church) in his area.  He makes a living from this, hence, "a living".  Whoever owns the estate also owns all the livings (some estates were very large and might need multiple clergymen).  So Mr. Darcy, Sr.  promised Wickham a profitable living, but Mr. Darcy, Jr.  (our Mr. Darcy) did not give it to him.  This is the gist of the story Wickham tells Lizzie, and the reason he is enlisting in the militia, which is lower-status and lower-paid.  Elizabeth is justifiably shocked because taking away the living is a really awful thing to do to someone, and she thought Mr. Darcy was just your garden-variety jerk.

Chapter Seventeen

Another Jane and Lizzie tete-a-tete to start us off; sweet Jane trying not to blame either Darcy or Wickham and feisty Lizzie laughing at her.  The big event is the announcement of the ball and Mr. Collins asking Elizabeth for the first two dances (ugh).  It was pretty typical for guys to ask for specific dances ahead of time, and unfortunately there was not a great way to say no as long as all rules of propriety were followed.  But here we are, plowing forward into the ball...I know I've already said this about several other scenes (and I will say it again), but chapter 18 is one of my favorites.

Chapter Eighteen

Poor, poor Lizzy.  Wickham in town, dancing with Collins AND Darcy, embarrassed by both parents and Mary...this ball is painful.  You'll find later that this ball and the awful Bennet behavior have a lot of impact on the rest of the story.   I'm sure this is an experience many of us have had, yes?  "My family is actually the worst right now and I want to sink into the ground?"  I know I've been there (LOVE YOU MOM.)