Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 118 Sister's Calmness and Sister's Sadness
Mrs. Dashwood was touched by the defense of her former favorite.To her delight, some of the guilt attributed to Willoughby had been absolved.She felt sorry for him and wished him happiness.However, the past feelings are irretrievable.Marianne would never again see him as a man of perfect personality, never again would she have complete confidence in him.Nothing could erase the fact that he had caused Marianne to suffer, nor could anything erase the crime he had committed against Eliza.Therefore, Marianne will not value him as much as before, and at the same time, it will not damage Colonel Bland's position in her heart.

If Mrs. Dashwood had heard Willoughby's complaint, had seen his distressed face, and been affected by his countenance and behavior at the time, as her daughter had done, she might have felt more pity for him.But Elinor had neither the desire to go into details nor the desire to arouse the mother's feelings, such as were first felt in herself at the time.After repeated consideration, she became calm and had a clear understanding of Willoughby's merits and demerits.Therefore, she is only willing to tell the simple facts, say whatever it is, and return it to its true colors, and can't be kind and embellished, so as not to cause mother's misunderstanding.

In the evening, when they were all together, Marianne spoke of Willoughby again.However, it seemed a bit strenuous. She first sat there and meditated anxiously for a long time, and finally spoke, her face flushed and her voice trembling.

"I want to assure you both," she said, "that I have figured everything out, just as you hoped."

Mrs. Dashwood was about to interrupt her with loving reassurances, but Elinor, who really wanted to hear her sister's disinterested thoughts, made a hasty gesture, and the mother was silent.Marianne went on slowly:

"It was a great relief to me what Eleanor told me this morning. And now, at last, I have heard what I wanted to hear." For a moment her voice choked, but she regained her composure at once, In a more even tone he went on: "I am absolutely satisfied now. I do not wish for any change. I will never be happy with him when I know all this--I will know all this sooner or later." .I will never trust him, respect him. Nothing will take away my feelings."

"I know it, I know it," cried the mother, "how one can be happy with a dissolute man! He has broken the peace of our dearest friend, he has wounded the best man in the world, and who can live with With him? No, such a man could never make my Marianne happy! Her husband must feel her conscience, her sensitive conscience."

Marianne sighed and repeated, "I don't want any changes."

"You're thinking rightly," said Eleanor, "as a man of sense and sense ought to think. Probably you, like me, have learned, not only from this incident, but from many others. to realize that if you married him, you would be plunged into all kinds of troubles and disappointments. In such a situation, with his capricious feelings, it would not be sustainable. You Had he been married, he would have been a pauper all along. He was extravagant, as he himself admitted. All his behavior showed that he had no idea what self-restraint was. With so little income, he had so much need. , and your inexperience must bring all kinds of troubles. These troubles are in no way lessened by the fact that you have not thought of them beforehand. I know that once you realize your situation, your self-esteem and sense of honor will move you Think frugally. Maybe, when you're just saving yourself, you can save as much as you can, but beyond that,--and besides, you're saving to the max all by yourself, so how can you stop you from getting married? If you try to reduce his material enjoyment, although it is extremely reasonable, don't you worry that you will not only fail to persuade such a selfish person, but will make you unable to control his heart , let him regret that he shouldn't marry you, and think that it's because of marrying you that he got into such a predicament?"

Marianne's lips quivered, and she repeated the word "selfish," sounding like, "Do you really think he's selfish?"

"All his actions," replied Eleanor, "are always based on selfishness. It is because of selfishness that he first played with your feelings—and then, when he himself was attracted to you, he played with you." He hesitated to confess, and finally left Barton again. His own pleasure, or his own comfort, was his guiding principle above all else."

"Indeed. He never had my happiness at all."

"Now," went on Elinor, "he is remorseful of what he has done. Why should he be remorseful? For he finds that things have not been to his liking, and have not turned out to make him happy. He is not in an embarrassing state. ——He hasn’t suffered such misfortune yet, what he regrets is only marrying that woman, a woman whose temperament is not as gentle as yours. However, can it be said that he will be happy only when he marries you? Then there will be other things Trouble. He will be troubled by the money problem. For the moment he doesn't mind it only because it doesn't exist. He would have liked a wife whose temperament was above reproach, but then he would be forever poor. He might soon You will feel that for family happiness, the endless material comforts brought about by having a fixed property and high income are even far more important than a good-tempered wife.”

"I have no doubt of it," said Marianne. "I have nothing to regret--only myself for being a fool."

"Your mother is to blame, child," said Mrs. Dashwood. "I am responsible."

Marianne didn't want her mother to go on.Seeing that they both knew that they were wrong, Eleanor felt relieved, so she wanted to avoid and not pursue the past, so as not to disturb her sister's mood.So, she continued to grasp the first topic, and immediately went on to say:
"I think it is fair to conclude, from the whole of the incident, that all of Willoughby's troubles arose from his original immorality towards Eliza Williams. This crime was his everything. Lesser crimes and the source of his current discontent."

Marianne agreed with feeling.After listening to the mother, she talked about Colonel Bland's wrongs and virtues, and she spoke very excitedly. Part of that enthusiasm was out of friendship, and part of it was intentional.But it seemed that the daughter didn't hear much.

As Elinor expected, she found in the next two or three days that Marianne's physical strength did not continue to improve as it had in the past.However, her determination has not wavered, and she still looks very happy and calm.In this way, the elder sister can rest assured that the younger sister's body will eventually get better with time.

When Margaret came back, the family got together again and lived a peaceful life in the country house again.If they are not as energetic in their studies as when they first came to Barton, they at least plan to study hard in the future.

Eleanor was anxious to hear from Edward.After leaving London, she hadn't heard about his situation, didn't know what new plans he had, and didn't even know his exact address now.Because of Marianne's illness, she communicated several letters with her brother.In John's first letter, there is such a sentence: "We know nothing about the unfortunate Edward, and we dare not question him illegally, but we conclude that he is still at Oxford." This is all the information he provided about Edward in his letter No, Edward's name was not even mentioned in his next few letters.However, this is not destined for Eleanor to remain ignorant of Edward's actions for a long time.

One morning her valet was sent to Exeter on errands.When serving them for dinner after returning home, the hostess asked him what news he heard when he went out, and he replied casually:

"Mr. Ferrars is married, madam, as you know."

Marianne was startled, and stared at Elinor all at once, seeing her sister pale, and Marianne fell back and fainted.Mrs. Dashwood looked involuntarily at Eleanor as she answered the servant's question.She saw in Elinor's face the anguish which shocked her, and the same distress which she saw Marianne in that state.For a while, she didn't know which daughter she should take care of first.

The manservant only saw that Miss Marianne was ill, and he was quite clever, so he immediately called a maid.Together with Mrs. Dashwood, the maid helped the young lady into another room.At this time, Marianne had recovered greatly, and the mother handed her over to Margaret and the maid to take care of her, and returned to Eleanor by herself.Eleanor, though still troubled, had regained her senses and was able to speak, and was now asking Thomas where he had gotten his news.Mrs. Dashwood at once came to ask the servant herself, and Elinor knew the clue without trouble.

"Thomas, who told you that Mr. Ferrars was married?"

"Ma'am, I saw Mr. Ferrars this morning at Exeter, and his wife, that Miss Steele. They were in a carriage, and they were stopping outside the New London Hotel. I happened to be Came there from Barton Park, to deliver a letter for Sally to her groom brother. I happened to look up as I was passing the carriage, and I saw right away that it was the Second Miss Steele. I took off my hat Greeting her, who knew me, stopped me, asked how you were, ma'am, and the ladies, especially Miss Marianne, and bade me send you my heartfelt condolences for her and Mr Ferrars Greetings and respect. And saying they're very sorry they couldn't come and see you in time—they're in a hurry because they've got a way to go—but they'll be sure to come and see you when they come back."

"But, Thomas, did she tell you she was married?"

"Yes, ma'am. She told me, smiling, that she had changed her name as soon as she came to the country. She was always a very kind, outspoken young lady, and she was very polite. So I take the liberty of wishing her happiness." .”

"Did Mr. Ferrars ride in the carriage with her?"

"Yes, ma'am. I saw him leaning back in the car, but he didn't look up. He was never a gentleman of many words."

Elinor had no difficulty in explaining why he did not lean forward, and Mrs. Dashwood probably thought so too.

"Is there no one else in the car?"

"No, ma'am, just the two of them."

"Do you know where they come from?"

"They came straight from the city, Miss Lucy—Mrs. Ferrars told me."

"Are they going west?"

"Yes, ma'am—but not long. They'll be back soon, and they'll certainly be here then."

Mrs. Dashwood looked at her daughter.But Elinor knew well enough that they would not come.When she heard the news, she saw through all Lucy's thoughts, and she was sure that Edward would never come to them again.She whispered to her mother that they were probably going to Mr. Pratt's near Plymouth.

Thomas' news seemed to be over.Eleanor looked like she wanted to know more.

"Did you see them set off before you went away?"

"No, miss—the horse has just been pulled out. I can't stay any longer. I'm afraid of making mistakes."

"Does Mrs. Ferrars look well?"

"Yes, miss, she says she is in excellent health. She has always been a very pretty lady, in my opinion--she seems very well suited."

Mrs. Dashwood could think of no other matter, and neither Thomas nor the table-cloth was needed now, and she let him take them at once.Marianne had called to be told that she did not want to eat.Mrs. Dashwood and Eleanor had no appetite.Margaret might have felt that the two sisters had been so restless of late, that there were always so many reasons for not eating, and that she herself was lucky that she had never had to be hungry.

When dessert and wine were brought to the table, Mrs. Dashwood and Eleanor were alone at the table.They were together a long time, brooding, and Mrs. Dashwood did not dare to comfort her daughter for fear of speaking.She realized now that she had mistrusted Eleanor's account of her state of mind.She judged justly that, as she was suffering for Marianne at the time, Elinor evidently minimized everything, so as not to add to her distress.She found that she knew nothing of the affection between Eleanor and Edward, but that Eleanor's care for her had led her to draw wrong conclusions, and concluded that their affection was actually stronger than she had always believed, Much thinner than has been proven so far.She feared that, so to speak, she had been unjust to Elinor, had been too careless--nay, simply uncharitable,--Marianne's pain, for she had recognized it, and had placed it in her heart. In front of her, she was so absorbed in thinking about Marianne that she devoted herself to it, and ended up forgetting that Eleanor might also be enduring great pain, but she had more restraint and perseverance than Marianne.

(End of this chapter)