OMG

It is amazing how much a story can change in only 5 chapters. Since my last blog post so many details have been revealed that the only way to describe it is with the letters OMG. I am sure this will cause some sort of debacle for my English teacher who is trying to make us write knowing who the register is but people, what has occurred is astounding. Mr. Darcy showed up at the Collins's house and talked with Elizabeth before he left very quickly. Just as Elizabeth is starting to understand Darcy better, Colonel Fitzwilliam informs her how it was Darcy who convinced Bingley of leaving Netherfield and therefore give up his affections toward Jane. The next time Darcy and Elizabeth met has to be the most awkward/informative/unexpected moment I have ever read, since Darcy proposed to Elizabeth and told her of his love towards her. Thinking back, maybe OMG aren't enough letters to grasp the shock of everything that has happened.

In chapter 34, after Darcy has proposed, the reaction of Elizabeth is shocking. They have a whole talk about how she hates who he is and his reactions toward that. This is the first time as a reader you notice that Elizabeth's opinion on Darcy has been formed by what she has seen (his uncomfortable moments) and what others have told her. She never suspected anything of Darcy's affections toward her and was quick in her opinions toward him. Still, putting yourself in her shoes she has all the write in the world to be pissed at him at this moment. Her surprise and judgment can be seen in the following passage:

"Her astonishment, as she reflected on what has passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! That he should have been in love with her for so many months! So much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend's marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case, was almost incredible!"(pg 145)

If you think about it as a reader we knew Darcy had some interest in Elizabeth when he mentioned her eyes many chapters back. Yet Elizabeth wasn't aware of this which added to the shock of it all. It is ironic that Darcy fell in love with Elizabeth for the reasons he pushed away Bingley from Jane. From this you can guess that because Darcy has seen what it is like to fall for someone "below your rank", he will in the end assist Bingley in helping get Jane back. This all goes back to the idea that no character in this book seems to understand and that Jane Austen is trying to imply, that love has no barriers.

Besides all of this engagement business, there is still another OMG piece of information. After being turned down by Elizabeth, Darcy believes he should explain why Wickham and he don't get along. He does this by means of a letter that Elizabeth reads way too many times. In the letter he explains how Wickham tricked his sister into eloping but he got there just in time to stop them. As a reader the last thing we knew about Wickham was that he was about to marry a woman with money and this all made it clear to Elizabeth that Wickham is truly a fortune seeker. This point is pivotal in the novel because it changes the perspective of everything. It is here that you realize how prejudice is an enormous part of the book and how even Elizabeth is affected by it. She even sees how mistaken she is shown in the following passage:

``How despicably have I acted!'' she cried. -- ``I, who have prided myself on my discernment! -- I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity, in useless or blameable distrust. -- How humiliating is this discovery! -- Yet, how just a humiliation! -- Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. -- Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment, I never knew myself.'' (pg 156)

Elizabeth got hit with reality fast. From the passage you can infer that even if you believe yourself strong to those around you, this strength can also make you blind. Elizabeth was quick to judge Darcy rather than give him a chance and make her own conclusions. Darcy didn't make it easy since he is a very closed off person but he has explained he is uncomfortable with strangers. It is crazy how the opinion of one single person can manipulate the ones of the people that surround them. Jane Austen was probably trying to imply with this entire climax in her novel, that appearances deceive the true nature of reality. Elizabeth thought she had reality under her belt, but in all honesty, who really knows what is real?