Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 102 The True Face of Mrs. Ferrars

Mrs. John Dashwood trusted her husband's eyes so much that she called on Mrs. Jennings and her daughter the next day.She did not trust her husband for nothing, and she found that even Mrs. Jennings, who lived with her sisters-in-law, was by no means unworthy of her affections.As for Lady Middleton, she thought she was the most charming woman in the world.

Lady Middleton was equally fond of Mrs. Dashwood.They both have the same selfish and indifferent temperament, so they naturally get along well with each other.The dullness of their manners, though decent, and the general dullness of their opinions, made them all the more congenial.

Mrs. John Dashwood's conduct, however, did not please Mrs. Jennings, though it pleased Mrs. Middleton.Mrs. John Dashwood seemed to her no more than a cold, haughty little woman, who met her sisters-in-law without feeling, and said little to them.She remained in Beckley Street for a quarter of an hour, at least half the time sitting silent.

Although Eleanor didn't want to ask, she really wanted to know if Edward was in the city.But Fanny would never mention his name in her presence, unless she could tell Elinor that Edward and Miss Morton's marriage was settled, or unless her husband expected Colonel Bland has been implemented.Because she believed that Edward and Eleanor were still in love, she thought it best to be careful and try to separate them anytime and anywhere.However, the information she refused to provide was obtained from another source.After a while Lucy came running, hoping to win Eleanor's sympathy, for Edward had come to town with the Dashwoods, but she could not see him.Edward dared not go to the Matrick Building for fear of being discovered.Although the two couldn't tell how eager they were to meet each other, they could only communicate helplessly at the moment.

It was not long before Edward himself made two visits to Beckley Street himself, which let them know that he was in town.Twice, when they returned from meeting in the morning, they found his business card on the table.Eleanor was delighted at his visit, and still more glad that she had not seen him.

The Dashwoods were very fond of the Middletons, and though they were not in the habit of giving gifts, they were determined to treat them to a meal, and they were invited to Harley Street shortly after their acquaintance.Here they rented a fine house for three months.They also invited the two younger sisters and Mrs. Jennings.John Dashwood was very careful, and he forced Colonel Bland to come, and the Colonel, though a little surprised by his hospitality, was more than happy to accept it, for he always enjoyed the company of the Dashwood sisters.Mrs. Ferrars was to be seen at the dinner, but Elinor wondered whether her two sons would be there.The thought of seeing Mrs. Ferrars, however, interested her in the party; for she had been longing to get acquainted with Mrs. Ferrars, and to see what she was--even if she did not have to be like that now. As before, you need to visit Edward's mother with anxiety, but you only need to meet her with a completely indifferent attitude, and there is no need to care about what she thinks of him.

Shortly thereafter, she heard that the two Miss Steeles were also going to the banquet, and although she was not very happy, her interest in anticipation of the dinner suddenly increased.

Though Lucy was not elegant, and her sisters were not even cultivated, they were so courteous that they pleased Lady Middleton and won her great favor, and Lady Middleton, like Sir John, immediately They were required to live in Condit Street for a week or two.This was especially convenient for Sister Steele, as it was later learned from the invitations from the Dashwoods that they were to be present at the party.

The sisters were so received by Mrs. John Dashwood, and won two places at her table, not because they were the nieces of the gentleman who had looked after her brother for many years, but because they were Mrs. Middleton's guests must be equally welcomed.Lucy had long desired to get acquainted with the family herself, to observe their characters and her own difficulties directly and carefully, and to have an opportunity of flattering them as best she could, when the invitation from Mrs. John Dashwood , It can be said that it is exactly what I want, I have never been so happy as I am now in my life.

For Eleanor the invitation served a very different purpose.She immediately concluded that since Edward lived with his mother, he would be invited to his sister's dinner party like his mother, and this was the first time she had heard of his engagement after a series of events. Meet him—Lucy was there! —she just didn't know how to bear it!
Her worries were not entirely rational, and certainly not factual.She was relieved afterwards, however, not because of her own composure, but because of Lucy's kindness.It turned out that Lucy, expecting to disappoint Eleanor, told her that Edward would certainly not be in Harley Street on Tuesday.She even wanted to further aggravate her pain, so she said to her: "The reason why he can't avoid coming is because he loves her too deeply, and he is afraid that he won't be able to hide it when he meets her."

The fateful Tuesday came, and the two girls were about to meet the terrible mother-in-law.

"Have pity on me, dear Miss Dashwood!" said Lucy, as they all went up-stairs together—the Middletons had arrived right after Mrs. Jennings's, and they all followed the servant upstairs at the same time. go. "You're the only one here who can sympathize with me. I tell you, I can't stand. Good God! I'm going to meet the one on whom my happiness will depend for the rest of my life—my future mother-in-law!"

Elinor could have reminded her that it might be Miss Morton's mother-in-law they were about to see, not her Lucy's mother-in-law.In this way, her nervousness would definitely be relieved immediately, but she didn't say anything, but told her very earnestly that she did sympathize with her.This astonished Lucy greatly, for, though she herself was really disturbed, she at least wished to be the object of Elinor's envy.

Mrs. Ferrars was a small woman, erect, almost prim, with a serious face that bordered on surly.She has a sallow complexion, a small nose and small eyes, not pretty at all, and she looks expressionless.When she frowned, however, it imparted an intensity of arrogance and savagery to her face, which saved her from the suspicion of being at all unrefined, such as the monotony of facial expression.She is a woman who doesn't talk much, because she is different from ordinary people, she always has as many thoughts as she talks.And in the few fragments she could not help uttering, not a single one addressed to Miss Dashwood, she was absolutely determined not to like her.

Now, this attitude of hers did not cause Eleanor any displeasure.This must have pained Eleanor a few months ago, but Mrs. Ferrars was now incapable of distressing her.Her very different attitude towards the two Miss Steeles seemed to be deliberately degrading Elinor further, which in fact only seemed very funny to Elinor.She could not help laughing at the way they looked at Lucy's geniality--for Lucy had become extraordinarily dignified--and if they had known her as well as she did they would have been eager to humiliate her.As for herself, although she was relatively unlikely to bring harm to them, she was unanimously ignored by them, and they made no secret of this attitude.Elle Norton laughed at their misplaced kindness, and suspected that it was motivated by base and stupid motives.She also saw that the Steele sisters were also being courteous to keep the situation going, and Elinor could not help feeling great contempt for the four.

Lucy could not help feeling elated at being so honored as a guest of honor.And Miss Steele was delighted when anyone made fun of her and Dr. Davies.

The extravagant and ostentatious banquet, the number of servants beyond count, all indicated that the hostess wanted to show off, and the host had the ability to show off.Although Nolan Manor is undergoing renovation and expansion, although the owner of the manor once had to sell short if he was short of a few thousand pounds, people will not deduce signs of poverty from this, because judging from the scene in front of him, there is a lot of money here. His master did not seem to want to be seen as being on the brink of poverty.No other impoverishment occurs here, only talk is impoverished—and talk is quite impoverished.John Dashwood himself had little to say, and his wife still less.But there's nothing particularly disgraceful about that, since most of their guests are, too.They are almost tormented by their inability to be pleasant--they are either of poor intellect (both nature and nurture), or of taste, or taste, or of bad temper.

When the ladies left the table and went into the drawing-room, the poverty of subject matter was all the more apparent, for the gentlemen had earlier offered a little talk in various ways—politics, enclosures, horse training—but now it was all over. , until the coffee was served, the ladies kept talking about one topic: Harry Dashwood, who was about the same age, and Mrs. Middleton's second child, William, who was taller and who was shorter.

If both children were there, the problem would be easy to solve. Let them stand together and compare immediately, wouldn't it be clear at a glance?But with only Harry present, the two sides had to rely entirely on guesswork and inference.However, everyone has the right to express a clear opinion, and they can express it again and again, repeating as much as they like.

Everyone's views are as follows:
Although both mothers were convinced that their sons were taller, they still asserted that the other was taller for the sake of politeness.

The two grandmothers are equally eccentric, but more serious. They both support their children and do not give in to each other.

Lucy, bent on pleasing the two mothers, believed that the two children were both unusually tall for their young age, and she could not see the slightest difference.Miss Steele was more capable, and immediately said that both children were taller.

Eleanor had expressed her opinion before, thinking that William was superior, which offended Mrs. Ferrars and even Fanny. Now she felt that there was no need to make a firm statement.And Marianne, when questioned, said she had no objection, for she had never thought of the question, and it made them all the more unhappy.

Before Eleanor left Nolan, she once drew a pair of very beautiful picture screens for her sister-in-law. The picture screens were sent to be framed and just brought home, they are now placed in the living room of her sister-in-law.John Dashwood came in with the gentlemen, caught sight of the pair of screens, and handed them to Colonel Bland graciously.

"It's a drawing by my eldest sister," he said. "You have a very good taste, and I'm sure you'll like it. I don't know if you've seen her work before, but people think her The work is excellent."

The Colonel, though he denied being a connoisseur, was enthusiastic about the pair of screens, and he had always admired Miss Dashwood's work.Of course, these painted screens also aroused the curiosity of others, so everyone rushed to pass them on.Mrs. Ferrars, not knowing that it was Elinor's work, asked to see it.After Lady Middleton's satisfactory admiration, Fanny held up the screen to her mother, with the intention of telling her that it had been painted by Miss Dashwood.

"Well," said Mrs. Ferrars, "it's pretty." Without even looking at it, she handed it back to her daughter.

Perhaps Fanny thought her mother was being reckless at the time, and she blushed a little, and said at once:
"This painting screen is very beautiful, isn't it, mother?" But at the same time, she probably worried that she was too polite and respectful, so she immediately added:
"Mother, don't you think this picture is a little like Miss Morton's? Miss Morton's pictures are indeed the loveliest. What a beautiful one of her last landscapes!"

"Beautiful drawing indeed. But she does everything well."

This was beyond Marianne's patience.She had been very dissatisfied with Mrs. Ferrars for a long time, and when she heard her praise others so inappropriately and belittle Eleanor, although she said that she didn't know what the other party's real intention was, she suddenly became angry, and she said angrily:
"This kind of compliment is so new! What business is Miss Morton to us? We are admiring an extraordinary art of painting! Who is Miss Morton? Who knows her? Who cares about her? All we are thinking and talking about Eleanor."

As she said that, she took the screen from her sister-in-law and admired it seriously.

Mrs. Ferrars, looking distraught, straighter than ever, retorted viciously: "Miss Morton is Lord Morton's daughter."

Fanny looked very, very angry, too, while her husband was frightened by his sister's audacity.Elinor did not much mind the event itself which offended Marianne, but it was her sister who was distressed by her own affairs.But Colonel Bland kept his eyes on Marianne, and his eyes showed that he only noticed the good side of Marianne: Marianne had a burning heart, and she could not bear the slightest contempt for her sister.

Marianne's exasperation did not stop there.Mrs. Ferrars was shocked and distressed at the cruelty and insolence with which she had treated her sister, and it seemed to her that Mrs. Ferrars's whole attitude foreshadowed much to come for Eleanor.In a blink of an eye, driven by a strong sense of affection, she walked to her sister's chair, put one arm around her neck, and said in a low and earnest voice, face to face:

"My dearest Eleanor, don't mind. Don't make you unhappy because of them."

She couldn't go on anymore, she couldn't bear it anymore, she threw her head on Eleanor's shoulder, and burst into tears.Her cries got everyone's attention, and almost everyone's concern.Colonel Bland stood up and walked towards them involuntarily.Mrs. Jennings said very understandingly: "Ah! Poor baby." Immediately took out her smelling salts and let her smell them.Sir John hated the man who had caused such anguish, and immediately changing his seat, he sat down beside Miss Lucy Steele, and briefly related in a low voice to her the dreadful incident.

After a few minutes Marianne returned to normal, the commotion was over, and she sat down with the group.However, because of such a situation, her mood was still affected throughout the night.

"Poor Marianne," said her brother softly to Colonel Bland, taking advantage of the occasion, "she's not in good health like her sister--she's a little nervous--she's not in good shape like Elinor. It must be admitted that it is very embarrassing for a young girl, and a young girl who was once a beauty, to lose her charm. You will not believe it, but Marianne did, a few months ago, Very pretty--almost as pretty as Eleanor. And now, you see, it's all over."

(End of this chapter)