Chapter 24

Explain why Jane’s rational reaction to Charlotte’s marriage appears to be more justified than Elizabeth’s incredulity.

Jane, as the older sister, has been raised with the objective to marry. Charlotte, while marrying a fool, has achieved everything Jane has been brought up to achieve, so she can recognise the motivations for her making such a decision. Elizabeth fails to realise she is privileged; she has the luxury of concerning herself with things like love in regards to marriage instead of wealth, class, and reputation.

Comment on Mr Bennet’s use of irony. Is he warning Elizabeth about her partiality for Wickham, or is there another reason?

Bennet’s use of ‘jilt’ might suggest he doubts Wickham’s character, perhaps foreshadowing falsehood in his account of Darcy’s upbringing. At the very least he gives her the responsibility to choose her own partner, showing he trusts her judgement.

Chapter 25

Comment on the contrasting characters of Mrs Gardiner and Mrs Bennett.

Contrastingly to Mrs Bennet, Mrs Gardiner is described as an ‘amiable, intelligent, elegant’ woman, and is one of the rare characters that Elizabeth is able to confide in without the guard of civility. Up to this point in the novel, true communication only really occurs between Elizabeth and Jane, so this ranks Mrs Gardiner highly amongst the other, more familiar characters. She takes a maternal role in Elizabeth’s life while she is away from Mrs Bennet; a contrast that reflects negatively on Mrs Bennet.

How does Austen appear to view women with an obsessive interest in fashion? Evidence?

Austen doesn’t seem to cast judgement on the characters that obsess with appearance, perhaps suggesting that fashion is one of the stereotypically feminine conventions that she look down on her female characters for.

Chapter 26

Comment on the use of epistolary form.

Because handwritten letters are so constructed, the letter in Chapter 26 not only gives us an insight into Jane’s emotions, but also how she feels it’s best to convey them to Elizabeth. For example, she forgives, and makes excuses for, the actions of Miss Bingley, perhaps in an attempt to soften the blow to Elizabeth, who she knows will be furious.

Chapter	Summary	Key Themes	Character Development	Narrative Conventions
19 – Ben	Mr Collins asks for a private audience with Elizabeth, much to the delight of Mrs Bennet. Unsurprisingly, he asks for her hand in marriage, and even more unsurprisingly, she declines, but not before Collins lists every reason under the sun for them to get married except love and a desire to be committed to each other. Collins, not to be disparaged by reality, convinces himself Elizabeth is only declining his first offer because she is secretly obsessed with him, which Elizabeth attempts to discourage, but ultimately she realises she cannot compete with Mr Collins’ pride, and goes to appeal to her father for intervention.	Pride. Marriage, particularly external influences on it. Class and opportunities for class mobility. Femininity and the idea of female ‘delicacy’, particularly the limitations it has on a woman in a patriarchal society.	Collins, in equal parts, becomes increasingly sinister and laughably ignorant/self-important. ‘The violence of my affection’ (p.g. 91).  Elizabeth, despite immediately and repeatedly standing up for herself and making her feelings clear, becomes more aware of her inability to achieve anything in her male-dominated society. ‘To apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as must be decisive’ (p.g. 94).	Breaks the narrative convention of a romantic proposal by removing all romance from it. Furthermore, it is rejected immediately, removing the drama created by a typical proposal scene.
20 – Izabella	Mrs Bennet rushes in to congratulate Mr Collins but is shocked to hear that Elizabeth refused him. She runs to Mr Bennet and demands that he convinces his daughter to accept it.	Family Pride Marriage	Although women could refuse a proposal, they were not expected to. Elizabeth shows her dedication to her happiness, putting herself first.	Disregards the ideology that men hold power in stereotypical relationships, however in this instance Elizabeth arguably holds the power.
21 – Aimee	Elizabeth meets Mr Wickham in Meryton and he apologises for not attending the ball. She also introduced him to her parents. A letter arrives for Jane from Caroline Bingley to say that they are going back to the city. She also informs her of Mr Bingley’s plans to marry Mr Darcy’s sister. This upsets Jane and Elizabeth comforts her.	Marriage (complicated social conventions, often subtle) Family	Jane –  Jane very rarely expresses her affection for Mr Bingley, and we can see that this apparent marriage really upset her	More focus on domestic setting.
22 – Jazz	Mr Collins sneaks away from the Bennet house to propose to Miss Lucas because she acted kindly towards him. The Lucases are thrilled with this engagement – partially because Mr Collins is due to inherit the Bennets’ wealth. Charlotte herself is satisfied, not with Mr Collins but that she is getting married at all. Valuing her friendship with Elizabeth, Charlotte heads off to tell her privately about the engagement. Elizabeth is shocked that Charlotte had accepted his proposal & feels that she is ‘disgracing herself’ by doing so.	Marriage Class / class mobility Prejudice Family	Further respect is lost for Mr Collins as we see him use the same technique for proposing on Charlotte as he does for Elizabeth. Elizabeth stresses this point – ‘two offers of marriage within three days’ (pg 108) Elizabeth’s stance on marriage is further explored with her opinion on Mr Collins & Miss Lucas’ engagement as she feels that Miss L shouldn’t be getting married for ‘worldly advantage’.	Pg 108 – Elizabeth’s thoughts about the engagement overtake the voice of the narrator Breaks away from common narrative conventions by not creating tension or conflict with the engagement – all people directly involved act civilly
23 – Jazz	Sir William Lucas (SLW) arrives at the Bennet house to share the news of the engagement. Mrs Bennet & Lydia react ‘boisterously’ and exclaim that it couldn’t be true. Elizabeth & Jane, attempting to stop Mrs B & Lydia’s reactions, congratulate SLW on the news. Mrs B blames Elizabeth for the engagement & it takes her many months to finally forgive her. Jane & Elizabeth begin to worry about Bingley’s absence – Elizabeth in particular worrying that his sisters are managing to convince him to stay in London. To Mrs B’s dismay Mr Collins returns to Longbourne & the sight of Charlotte is ‘odious’ to her, growing paranoid that Charlotte is beginning to make plans to throw out the Bennet’s after Mr B’s death.	Pride – Elizabeth setting an example for the Bennet family during SLW’s visit. Family Marriage	Mrs Bennet is a lot more emotional in this chapter than previous ones as her hopes for Longbourne estate to remain home to one of her daughters has gone up in smoke. She is furious at Elizabeth, Charlotte & the other Lucases about this.