A very good article. Austen is all about character - what builds it or breaks it. She shows the way forward for different types of character flaws.
One comment on the content: "Elizabeth even starts to recognize her own misjudgments on these matters."
I would remove the "even", because I think It is central to the story that Elizabeth and Darcy are both prone to both flaws. Both too proud of what they consider their respective primary excellences, and both prejudiced about the other, though in different respects. So Elizabeth is as mortified by the realization of her own faults as Darcy is by his. None of them were as clever, or as righteous, as they thought. But both are courageous enough to admit it.
I think this humbling experience, and the decency to face it, is what helps Elizabeth, too, to accept Darcy in the end, and to take the extra trouble in stride that Lady Catherine tries to cause... She knows she has something to make up for.
Anyway, the article's analysis is the most spot-on rendering of Austen's point with Darcy that I have ever seen.
In Darcy-esque fashion, I must consider your critique about my usage and realize that it's a conversational intonation that should probably be dropped in writing.
You are most kind, sir! But please don't modify your language in this respect on the basis of my response. "Even" is not to my knowledge unfit for written use, and is in some cases, I believe, a tool with no ready substitute...
I meant only to indicate how the sense of the sentence subtly changed with the insertion of this word: I saw it as a modifier signalling that it was not, perhaps, strictly necessary for Elizabeth to realize the extent her own mistakes in order for the narrative to conclude happily. (Without the modifier, the sentence would not have expressed an opinion on that, just neutrally stated that she learned something.)
I pointed to the nuance because I think her full realization was a necessary step in the development... Rereading your passage, though, I see that it can be understood in other ways, too... so perhaps my suggestion would have left out other intended nuances...
Well, that is why writing is such a good mind exercise. - Francis Bacon said it best: "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."
A very good article. Austen is all about character - what builds it or breaks it. She shows the way forward for different types of character flaws.
One comment on the content: "Elizabeth even starts to recognize her own misjudgments on these matters."
I would remove the "even", because I think It is central to the story that Elizabeth and Darcy are both prone to both flaws. Both too proud of what they consider their respective primary excellences, and both prejudiced about the other, though in different respects. So Elizabeth is as mortified by the realization of her own faults as Darcy is by his. None of them were as clever, or as righteous, as they thought. But both are courageous enough to admit it.
I think this humbling experience, and the decency to face it, is what helps Elizabeth, too, to accept Darcy in the end, and to take the extra trouble in stride that Lady Catherine tries to cause... She knows she has something to make up for.
Anyway, the article's analysis is the most spot-on rendering of Austen's point with Darcy that I have ever seen.
Thank you for the kind word.
In Darcy-esque fashion, I must consider your critique about my usage and realize that it's a conversational intonation that should probably be dropped in writing.
H/t to you!
You are most kind, sir! But please don't modify your language in this respect on the basis of my response. "Even" is not to my knowledge unfit for written use, and is in some cases, I believe, a tool with no ready substitute...
I meant only to indicate how the sense of the sentence subtly changed with the insertion of this word: I saw it as a modifier signalling that it was not, perhaps, strictly necessary for Elizabeth to realize the extent her own mistakes in order for the narrative to conclude happily. (Without the modifier, the sentence would not have expressed an opinion on that, just neutrally stated that she learned something.)
I pointed to the nuance because I think her full realization was a necessary step in the development... Rereading your passage, though, I see that it can be understood in other ways, too... so perhaps my suggestion would have left out other intended nuances...
Well, that is why writing is such a good mind exercise. - Francis Bacon said it best: "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."
Splendid writing, thank you!
One of the most relevant articles I’ve read in quite a while
Thank you kindly 🙏🏼