Da Julia sich scheinbar zu keinen “letzten Worten” aufraffen kann
, lasst mich an ihrer Stelle noch ein paar Kommentare aus ihrer oben erwähnten kommentierten P&P-Ausgabe bringen (leider hat Julia uns ja, etwas “hängengelassen” und sich mit Kommentaren “rargemacht”)...
Die letzten drei Kapitel des Annotated P&P-Buches sind regelrecht gespickt mit Anmerkungen... (leider) alles in Englisch (vielleicht findet sich ja eine hilfreiche Seele, die das für uns übersetzt?)...
Textstelle (Band III, Kap. 16):
“I can no longer help thanking you für your unexampled kindness to my poor sister. Ever since I have known it, I have been most anxious to acknowledgeto you how gratefully I feel it. Were it known to the rest ofmy family, I should not have merely my own gratitude to express.”
“I am sorry, exceedingly sorry,” replied Darcy, in a tone of surprise and emotion, “that you have ever been informed of what may, in a mistaken light, have given you uneasiness. I did not think Mrs. Gardiner was so little to be trusted.”
Kommentar zu Mr. Darcys Abneigung, seinen Anteil an der Rettung Lydias bekanntzumachen:
Darcy has already shown how much he wishes to keep Elizabeth from leaming of his assistance to Lydia, für which purpose he extracted strict promises of secrecy from the Gardiners and from Wickham and Lydia. Now he indicates the reason: fear of making her uneasy. What he probably feared most was that she would interpret his actions as an attempt to make her feel obliged to marry hirn in return; he may even have feared that she would actually feel such an obligation. Many in this society would consider themselves, or someone like Elizabeth, to be under such an obligation in this case: in one of Jane Austen's favorite novels, Fanny Bumey's Camilla, the heroine is considered by her sisters to be morally obliged to marry a man, even though she does not wish to, after he gives critical financial assistance to her brother. Darcy, of course, would not want Elizabeth to be made uncomfortable in this way, nor to resent hirn because ofwhat she might believe was manipulation on his part. Finally, as much as he wishes Elizabeth to marry hirn, he does not want her to do so out of a sense of obligation.
Textstelle (Band III, Kap. 16):
Elizabeth coloured and laughed as she replied, "Yes, you know enough ofmy frankness to believe me capable ofthat. After abusing you so abominably to your face, I could have no scruple in abusing you to all your relations."
"What did you gay ofme, that I did not deserve? For, though your accusations were ill-founded, formed on mistaken premises, my behaviour to you at the time, had merited the severest reproof. It was unpardonable. I cannot think of it without abhorrence."
"We will not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to that evening," said Elizabeth. "The conduct of neither, if strictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we have both, I hope, improved in civility."
Kommentar zur unterschiedlichen Sicht der beiden auf ihre "Fehler" in der Vergangenheit:
Both Darcy and Elizabeth are admitting their past wrongs, but they do so in different manners. She is more likely to look on it calmly and laugh about it. He, who has always tried to be so scrupulous in acting rightly and has prided himself on his success, is more severe, unable to think lightheartedly about occasions when he failed in that endeavor. He also is inclined to reproach only himself, rather than to call them both at fault as she does. Thus, even as both have genuinely changed in important respects, they continue to display certain characteristic traits.
Textstelle (Band III, Kap. 16):
"When I wrote that letter," replied Darcy, "I believed myself perfectly calm and cool, but I am since convinced that it was written in a dreadful bitterness of spirit."
"The letter, perhaps, began in bitterness, but it did not end so. The adieu is charity itself. But think no more of the letter. The feelings of the person who wrote, and the person who received it, are now so widely different from what they were then, that every unpleasant circumstance attending it, ought to be forgotten. You must leam same of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure."
Kommentar zum unterschiedlichen Umgang der beiden mit ihren "Fehlern":
Elizabeth's stated philosophy here stands in contradiction to her own earlier behavior, when she engaged in many painful reflections on her mistakes and faulty conduct. Her change to a more lighthearted perspective could reflect her happier condition now that Darcy had proposed; in other words, she, like many people, is only inclined to reproach herself für errors while she is actually suffering their ill effects. It is also possible she is simply responding to Darcy: she sees him inclined to dwell, more than she thinks he should, on his own errors, and she wishes to divert his thoughts from that. If so, her action would form an early example of the "ease and liveliness" she has already identified as a principal benefit she could impart to Darcy in the event of their union.
Und nun noch ein paar Anmerkungen zum Gespräch mit ihrem Vater (Band III, Kap. 17):
"I do, I do like him," she replied, with tears in her eyes, "I love him. Indeed he has no improper pride.19 He is perfectly amiable. You do not know what he really is; then pray do not pain rne by speaking of him in such terms."
"Lizzy," said her father, "I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse any thing, which he condescended to ask. I now give it to you, if you are resolved on having him. But let me advise you to think better of it. I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior.21 Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an une qual marriage. You could scarcely escape discredit and misery. My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life.22 You know not what you are about."
Kommentare zum "Stolz", zur "untergeordneten Rolle" der Frau in der Ehe und Mr. Bennets ernsthaften Befürchtungen, die "ungleiche Ehe" der beiden könnte scheitern:
19. no improper pride: Elizabeth' s choice of words is significant. At earlier points she bad questioned whether any degree of pride could be good or justified. She has now accepted some of Darcy's defense of pride - even as he has come to acknowledge the excessive and unjustified nature of the pride he actually did have.
21. A statement that is in line with this society's ideal of ultimate male primacy in marriage. Elizabeth does not directly respond to the statement, so it is impossible to know her view (or Jane Austen's view, forthat matter). This lack of a rebuttal could signal that she, even with her clear desire für a man who will respect her and be willing to be teased by her, accepts this prevailing ideal, or it could result simply from her cancern with more immediate matters during this conversation.
22. The most poignant words Mr. Bennet utters. Their poignancy is only increased by their contrast with his usual cynicism. He clearly is thinking of himself and his own tragic mistake in choosing a marriage partner. He is too indolent and too resigned to try to correct any of the damage in his own case, but, temporarily abandoning his customary sarcasm and banter, he expresses a fervent wish that his favorite child avoid the same error. His fervor may be increased by his knowledge that she, as a woman and thus the one who would be legally and socially weaker under prevailing marital arrangements, could suffer even more from a bad partner than he has.
Und noch - off topic - zwei letzte Anmerkungen zum weiteren Fortkommen Kittys und Marys:
According to a later memoir by her nephew, Jane Austen did reveal her vision of the future rates of Kitty and Mary:
"Kitty Bennet was satisfactorily married to a clergyman near Pemberly, while Mary obtained nothing higher than one of her uncle Philips's clerks, and was content to be considered a star in the society of Meryton."
... und wie Jane Austen ihre Heldinnen Jane und Elizabeth “sah”:
In listing the future situations and actions of the various characters, Jane Austen ends up saying little about the actual relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy. It is possible that she considered that the whole story bad already given the reader a strang sense of what their marriage would be like. Jane Austen does, however, give one hint of her thoughts on the subject in the letter ..., that describes her search für pictures on public display that resemble Jane and Elizabeth. She laments that she could find none that matched her idea of "Mrs. D." [i.e. Elizabeth]. Speaking as if her characters were real people, she concludes,
"I can only imagine that Mr. D. prizes any picture of her too much to like it should be exposed to the public eye. I can imagine he would have that sort of feeling -- that mixture of love, pride, and delicacy." (May 24, 1813).
Bruki