DAY 25

自负傲慢的Darcy是怎么求婚的？

                          7 Darcy proposes marriage （7-3）

1. Just then, she heard the doorbell, and wondered if it might be Colonel Fitzwilliam, come to enquire about her health. But to her astonishment she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In a hurried manner he began to ask how she was feeling. She answered him with cold politeness. He sat down for a few moments, and then, getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said nothing. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her, with none of his usual calmness, and said, ‘In vain have I struggled. It is no good. I cannot conquer my feelings. You must allow me to tell you how warmly I admire and love you.’

2. Elizabeth stared, blushed, doubted, and was silent. He considered this sufficient encouragement, and confessed all that he felt, and had felt for a long time, for her. He expressed himself well, but it was not only of love that he spoke. He also talked of his pride, and his sense of her social inferiority, which had made him struggle against his feelings for so long.

3. In spite of her dislike for him, Elizabeth appreciated what a compliment such a man's affection was, and was at first sorry for the pain he was about to receive. But soon, as she heard his references to her inferior position, she lost all pity, and became very angry. She waited patiently, however, until he had finished. He ended by describing the strength of his love for her, which, in spite of all his attempts, he had been unable to conquer with arguments of reason and common sense, and finally he asked for her hand in marriage. She could see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer, which only made her angrier.

4. ‘I believe society considers it correct, in cases like this,’ she replied, ‘to express grateful thanks. So if I could feel grateful, I would now thank you. But I cannot--I have never wanted your good opinion of me, and I cannot accept it. I'm sorry to hurt anyone, but it has not been done deliberately(故意地), and I hope the pain will not last long. The pride which, you tell me, has long prevented the expression of your affection, can have little difficulty in conquering your feelings after this explanation.’

5. Mr. Darcy, whose eyes were fixed on her face, was both angry and surprised by her words. His face went pale, and he was clearly struggling to control himself. There was a dreadful pause, and then he spoke in a voice of forced calmness.

‘And this is all the reply I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little attempt at politeness, I am rejected.’

6. ‘I might as well ask why, with so evident a wish to offend and insult me, you chose to tell me that you loved me against your reason and even against your character. But even if my own feelings towards you had been favourable, do you think anything could tempt me to accept the man who has destroyed, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most dear sister?’

7. As she said this, Mr. Darcy changed colour, but he listened without trying to interrupt her as she continued.

‘I have every reason in the world to think badly of you. Can you deny that you were the cause of Jane's separation from Mr. Bingley, and of her unhappiness? Can you deny it?’

8. ‘I have no wish to deny that I did everything I could to separate them, and that I am delighted with my success. Towards my friend I have been kinder than to myself.’

9. Elizabeth treated this last remark with disdain (鄙视;不屑), but its meaning did not escape her. ‘But it is not only because of Jane that I dislike you. My opinion of you was decided long ago. I heard all about your character from Mr. Wickham. Now, what can you have to say on this matter? How can you defend yourself?’

‘You take an eager interest in that gentleman,’ said Darcy, less calmly than before the colour was rising in his face.

‘Who can help feeling an interest in him, when we hear of the unfortunate life he has had!’

‘Unfortunate!’ repeated Darcy contemptuously轻蔑地. ‘Yes, unfortunate indeed.’

‘And it was your fault,’ cried Elizabeth with energy. ‘You took away his chance of a comfortable income and a good position, which you knew had been intended for him. You have left him poor, and dependent, and disappointed. You have done all this! And you can still treat the mention of his name with contempt轻蔑,蔑视.’

10. ‘And this,’ cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, ‘is your opinion of me! Thank you for explaining it so fully. But perhaps you might not have considered these offenses of mine, if your pride had not been hurt by my honest confession of my reasons for not proposing to you earlier. Perhaps I should have hidden my struggles, and flattered you by pretending I had every reason to love you. But I hate disguise (假装,掩饰)of any sort. Nor am I ashamed of my feelings of pride, which are very natural. Could you expect me to delight in the inferiority (低劣) of your family compared to mine?

Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment．

‘Mr. Darcy, you could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it. The moment I first met you, I noticed your pride, your sense of superiority(优越感), and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others. Later events strengthened my dislike for you. You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be persuaded to marry.’

‘You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly understand your feelings. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.’

With these words he hurried out of the room,  and the house.  Elizabeth felt so weak that she sat down and cried for half an hour. She was so astonished to have received a proposal from Mr Darcy!

His affection for her must indeed have been strong, to conquer all the objections he had to her family and position, objections which had made him prevent his friend marrying her sister.  But his terrible pride, his shameless confession of what he had done to separate Jane and Bingley, and his cruelty towards Wickham soon removed any pity she might have felt for him.

 Task for Pride and Prejudice 25