Pride and prejudice (#2)
jane austen

chapter 4

1 when jane and elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of mr. bingley before, expressed to her sister just how very much she admired him.

2 "he is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "sensible, good-humoured, lively; and i never saw such happy much ease, with such perfect good breeding! "

3 "he is also handsome," replied elizabeth, "which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. his character is thereby complete."

4 "i was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. i did not expect such a compliment."

5 "did not you? i did for you. but that is one great difference between us. compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. what could be more natural than his asking you again? he could not seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room. no to his gallantry for that. well, he certainly is very agreeable, and i give you leave to like him. you have liked many a stupider person."

6 "dear lizzy! "

7 "oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. you never see a fault in anybody. all the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. i never heard you speak ill of a human being in your life."

8 "i would not wish to be hasty in censuring anyone; but i always speak what i think."

9 "i know you do; and it is that which makes the wonder. with your good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! affectation of candour is common enough--one meets with it everywhere. but to be candid without ostentation or design--to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad--belongs to you alone. and so you like this man's sisters, too, do you? their manners are not equal to his."

10 "certainly not--at first. but they are very pleasing women when you converse with them. miss bingley is to live with her brother, and keep his house; and i am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her."

11 elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced; their behaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to in general; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister, and with a judgement too unassailed by any attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve them. they were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were , nor in the power of making themselves agreeable when they chose it, but proud and conceited. they were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. they were of a respectable family in the north of england; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother's fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.

which of jane austen's philosophical assumptions do the characters in this passage demonstrate?
a) the characters assume that a good marriage is one based on manners, appearances, and money.
b) the characters clearly show that men never take the complexities of relationships seriously enough.
c) an implied assumption throughout the passage is that no marriage ever made any woman truly happy.
d) one assumption made in the passage is that money is more important than any other consideration.
10)
in this passage, the reader can tell that elizabeth
a) admires her sister greatly and wishes she saw the world as jane does.
b) generally thinks the best of everyone and feels the world is a good place.
c) is skeptical of everyone's motives and seems suspicious of ulterior motives.
d) is secretly in love with mr. bingley herself and wants to hide it from jane.
11)
which of jane austen's philosophical assumptions do the characters in this passage demonstrate?
a) no marriage ever made any woman truly happy.
b) money is more important than any other consideration.
c) men never take the complexities of relationships seriously enough.
d) a good marriage is one based on manners, appearances, and a good fortune or money.