I'm furiously trying to catch up and finish this little read along. Today I finished up through these discussion questions, so here you go:
Discussion Questions: Chapters 26-38
Jenni found these questions here.
How would you describe the first meeting of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy at Hunsford? How does Mr. Darcy feel about Elizabeth? As they spend more time together, does he completely understand her words and actions? How does Elizabeth feel about him? Does Elizabeth understand his feelings, thoughts, and actions? Can you give examples of Elizabeth and Darcy’s misunderstandings of each other? Does Charlotte understand Darcy’s attitude toward Elizabeth?
I think the whole time they have interaction at this point in the novel, neither one of them is understanding what's going on with the other. Darcy is, of course, falling in love. Elizabeth just thinks he is being cordial I suppose and doesn't catch any clues from him at all. She is baffled in fact by his attention. I'm guessing Mr. Darcy guesses that Elizabeth has been nice enough to be truly interested, but he is sorely mistaken, yes?
In this novel about pride and prejudice, which characters do you think are proud? Which are prejudiced? Do you think it is completely accurate to say, for example, that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth is prejudiced? Or are both characters a combination of pride and prejudice? Which other characters are also proud? Prejudiced?
Oh for sure they ALL have an issue with being both proud AND prejudice! I think Elizabeth has just as much problem with this as Darcy. Collins is also very proud... even Charlotte. The Bennet parents too. All of them I think. We just get it pointed out to us all the time how proud Darcy is, since that's what Elizabeth is always thinking.
As the novel develops till this point, what do you think about Darcy’s pride and coldness, esp. in Meryton assembly? How do different people, e.g. Charlotte and Fitzwilliam, respond to his pride and stubborness? How does Darcy himself explain it?
Well, I love that Darcy explains it basically, that he is shy. I'm always wondering about that.. is he really? I don't know, but that's what he says. Elizabeth laughs at this, but really, what if he is? Poor guy. And here everyone thinks he is stuck up!
As Elizabeth considers the news she learned from Fitzwilliam, Darcy pays her a visit and, to Elizabeth’s surprise, makes a marriage proposal. Are you surprised, too? (In other words, are there clues to prepare us for it?) How would you describe his proposal? Does he present an overwhelming passion for Elizabeth? How does Elizabeth respond to his proposal? Why does she respond this way? What does she tell him?
I think if I were reading this for the first time again, I would be surprised by this proposal. It does seem to come out of nowhere since we really aren't privy (sadly) to Darcy's thoughts very much. He obviously seems interested in her, but I don't think we as readers are aware to what extent until this proposal comes.
To describe the proposal... very unromantic! Very stilted and sort of apologetic... it's not a good one by a long shot... I mean he does say some pretty things, but also some really mean sort of things too. No wonder Elizabeth gets mad, you know? He totally puts down her family, and even if she secretly agrees, still... she must fly to their defense. Poor Darcy. He so messed it up!
The next morning Darcy hands Elizabeth a letter he has written to her. In this letter he explains his involvement in the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, as well as his relationship with Wickham. What does this letter say? How does Elizabeth initially respond to this letter? After she has had a chance to think about the letter, how does she respond to it? Does she have a chance to talk with Darcy about this letter? Why not? How does Darcy’s letter change Elizabeth’s understanding of herself?
The letter is great because at first she is still mad, but then the more she thinks about it she realizes he is totally spot on. And this is when she starts to realize that maybe he's not such a bad guy after all! She doesn't get a chance to talk to him, of course, because he leaves the next day! Shoot! But that makes the next meet up all the better! Oops... spoiler.
How would you describe the first meeting of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy at Hunsford? How does Mr. Darcy feel about Elizabeth? As they spend more time together, does he completely understand her words and actions? How does Elizabeth feel about him? Does Elizabeth understand his feelings, thoughts, and actions? Can you give examples of Elizabeth and Darcy’s misunderstandings of each other? Does Charlotte understand Darcy’s attitude toward Elizabeth?
I think the whole time they have interaction at this point in the novel, neither one of them is understanding what's going on with the other. Darcy is, of course, falling in love. Elizabeth just thinks he is being cordial I suppose and doesn't catch any clues from him at all. She is baffled in fact by his attention. I'm guessing Mr. Darcy guesses that Elizabeth has been nice enough to be truly interested, but he is sorely mistaken, yes?
In this novel about pride and prejudice, which characters do you think are proud? Which are prejudiced? Do you think it is completely accurate to say, for example, that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth is prejudiced? Or are both characters a combination of pride and prejudice? Which other characters are also proud? Prejudiced?
Oh for sure they ALL have an issue with being both proud AND prejudice! I think Elizabeth has just as much problem with this as Darcy. Collins is also very proud... even Charlotte. The Bennet parents too. All of them I think. We just get it pointed out to us all the time how proud Darcy is, since that's what Elizabeth is always thinking.
As the novel develops till this point, what do you think about Darcy’s pride and coldness, esp. in Meryton assembly? How do different people, e.g. Charlotte and Fitzwilliam, respond to his pride and stubborness? How does Darcy himself explain it?
Well, I love that Darcy explains it basically, that he is shy. I'm always wondering about that.. is he really? I don't know, but that's what he says. Elizabeth laughs at this, but really, what if he is? Poor guy. And here everyone thinks he is stuck up!
As Elizabeth considers the news she learned from Fitzwilliam, Darcy pays her a visit and, to Elizabeth’s surprise, makes a marriage proposal. Are you surprised, too? (In other words, are there clues to prepare us for it?) How would you describe his proposal? Does he present an overwhelming passion for Elizabeth? How does Elizabeth respond to his proposal? Why does she respond this way? What does she tell him?
I think if I were reading this for the first time again, I would be surprised by this proposal. It does seem to come out of nowhere since we really aren't privy (sadly) to Darcy's thoughts very much. He obviously seems interested in her, but I don't think we as readers are aware to what extent until this proposal comes.
To describe the proposal... very unromantic! Very stilted and sort of apologetic... it's not a good one by a long shot... I mean he does say some pretty things, but also some really mean sort of things too. No wonder Elizabeth gets mad, you know? He totally puts down her family, and even if she secretly agrees, still... she must fly to their defense. Poor Darcy. He so messed it up!
The next morning Darcy hands Elizabeth a letter he has written to her. In this letter he explains his involvement in the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, as well as his relationship with Wickham. What does this letter say? How does Elizabeth initially respond to this letter? After she has had a chance to think about the letter, how does she respond to it? Does she have a chance to talk with Darcy about this letter? Why not? How does Darcy’s letter change Elizabeth’s understanding of herself?
The letter is great because at first she is still mad, but then the more she thinks about it she realizes he is totally spot on. And this is when she starts to realize that maybe he's not such a bad guy after all! She doesn't get a chance to talk to him, of course, because he leaves the next day! Shoot! But that makes the next meet up all the better! Oops... spoiler.
Love your answers. I completely agree with you that all of them are proud. I think all of them are prejudiced too. Everyone just thinks Darcy is the proud one and Elizabeth is the prejudiced one, but I think they all are to some extent.
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