- May 2018
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annotatingausten.sfsuenglishdh.net annotatingausten.sfsuenglishdh.net
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Mr. Darcy may, perhaps, have heard of such a place as Gracechurch Street, but he would hardly think a month’s ablution enough to cleanse him from its impurities, were he once to enter it
Ablution is defined as, Frequently humorous (with mock formal tone). The action or an act of washing oneself; personal cleansing; bathing" (OED)
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At his own ball he offended two or three young ladies by not asking them to dance; and I spoke to him twice myself without receiving an answer. Could there be finer symptoms?
After describing Mr. Bingley's love as "violent", Elizabeth explains how much he loved Jane, such as declining other ladies and not replying to Elizabeth, which she suggests are fine "symptoms". What is unique is that she now uses "symptoms" to describe his behavior and many people associate this word as having a negative connotation. This term is defined as, "A phenomenon or circumstance accompanying some condition, process, feeling, etc., and serving as evidence of it (orig. and properly of something evil); a sign or indication of something" (OED)
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The first part of Mrs. Gardiner’s business on her arrival was to distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions. When this was done she had a less active part to play. It became her turn to listen
This paragraph is written right after the paragraph where it mentions that Mrs. Gardiner is an "intelligent, elegant woman", which is interesting because it goes directly to the role she has to play as a woman. Mrs. Gardiner talking about the latest fashions suggests her social ranking as well since women of upper class were the ones who mostly experienced changing fashion and middle class women wore the same outfits (Life for Women in 18th Century). The change of topic in the paragraphs also ignores her intelligence and instead shows her focusing on topics she should care about as a woman because that was her role.
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“But that expression of ‘violently in love’ is so hackneyed, so doubtful, so indefinite, that it gives me very little idea. It is as often applied to feelings which arise from an half-hour’s acquaintance, as to a real, strong attachment. Pray, how violent was Mr. Bingley’s love?”
The use of the word "violent" is very interesting when describing Mr. Bingley's love. This word is defined as, "By or with great force, strength, or vigour; with a violent motion or action; so as to produce a violent or powerful effect" (OED). This definition shows that his love for her is really intense, showing that he's deeply in love with her. Instead of saying that he is deeply in love with Jane, the use of "violent" works in this context because he does end up hurting her emotionally. This is a play on words used by Austen on purpose. With this being said, Mrs. Gardiner states that the phrase is "hackneyed" which defines as "To overuse or make too familiar; (hence) to make trite, banal, or uninteresting, esp. through indiscriminate use" (OED), which again plays with how Mr. Bingley hurt Jane. Both definitions show that Mrs. Gardiner is not fully convinced of Mr. Bingley loving Jane, that it seems fake.
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Mr. Gardiner was a sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister, as well by nature as education. The Netherfield ladies would have had difficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade, and within view of his own warehouses, could have been so well-bred and agreeable. Mrs. Gardiner, who was several years younger than Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Philips, was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman, and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces.
It's well known that men had an advantage of getting a proper education which explains Mr. Gardiner's intelligence. This paragraph shows that Mrs. Gardiner was "amiable, intelligent" which shows that she had some form of an education. For women, getting an education was different than men because not all females got an education. According to the article, "Life for Women in 18th Century", if women got an education, it is usually because they were wealthy and were able to go to boarding school. Some women, not everyone, of lower class learned basic reading and writing skills. Although this doesn't mention her background and what exactly it means by "intelligent", it makes me wonder which social class she was raised in and if she really did get education.
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