The Improvement of Her Mind by Extensive Reading
Pride and Prejudice, chapter 8
This is the chapter where Darcy really becomes interested in Elizabeth, beyond just being attracted to her, and the way to examining that is through the question that dominates the characters’ conversation here: what makes an accomplished woman?
“Miss Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, “despises cards. She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.”
“I deserve neither such praise nor such censure,” cried Elizabeth; “I am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.”
“In nursing your sister I am sure you have pleasure,” said Bingley; “and I hope it will be soon increased by seeing her quite well.”
Elizabeth thanked him from her heart, and then walked towards the table where a few books were lying. He immediately offered to fetch her others—all that his library afforded.
“And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own credit; but I am an idle fellow, and though I have not many, I have more than I ever looked into.”
Elizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with those in the room.
“I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”
“It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many generations.”
“And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always buying books.”
“I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”
“Neglect! I am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the beauties of that noble place. Charles, when you build your house, I wish it may be half as delightful as Pemberley.”
“I wish it may.”
“But I would really advise you to make your purchase in that neighbourhood, and take Pemberley for a kind of model. There is not a finer county in England than Derbyshire.”
“With all my heart; I will buy Pemberley itself if Darcy will sell it.”
“I am talking of possibilities, Charles.”
“Upon my word, Caroline, I should think it more possible to get Pemberley by purchase than by imitation.”
Elizabeth was so much caught with what passed, as to leave her very little attention for her book; and soon laying it wholly aside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game.
“Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?” said Miss Bingley; “will she be as tall as I am?”
“I think she will. She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s height, or rather taller.”
“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners! And so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.”
“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”
“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”
“Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”
“Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished.”
“Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley.
“Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.”
“Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.”
“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”
“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”
“Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?”
“I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united.”
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room.
“Elizabeth Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, “is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.”
“Undoubtedly,” replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, “there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.”
Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.
Does Elizabeth fit Darcy’s ideal? She clearly doesn’t think so, but she thinks the ideal is ridiculous. And does Elizabeth disparage her sex here? I don’t really think she does. It’s of a piece with her own defense of herself as “not a great reader” - she knows that Miss Bingley wasn’t giving her a real compliment, but a subtle insult instead. Darcy recognized this too; it’s why he calls “extensive reading” the most important accomplishment a woman can have.
Elizabeth is sort of outside this conversation: she seems more than anything to see the whole debate as comical. She has already declared that she doesn’t meet Darcy’s definition, not being a “great reader.” She then declares that a woman meeting all of his requirements does not exist. It’s more that she’s accusing Darcy of holding women to an impossible standard, while he thinks Bingley’s standard is too low. Elizabeth thinks the whole idea of evaluating women on whether they are “accomplished” or not is a little silly. It’s possible that Darcy is trying, in his awkward nerd way, to give Elizabeth a compliment: he adds to the requirements for accomplishment an attribute which no woman in the house is displaying but her.
Elizabeth shows something substantial about herself, which I think Darcy appreciates: she doesn’t feel that she has to prove anything to anyone. She hears that reading is the greatest accomplishment a woman can have, she hears it from a man who has previously disparaged her (which she is still sensitive about). And she doesn’t use this as an excuse to preen. She puts her book down when the conversation becomes interesting. She lets Darcy know, subtly, that his approval doesn’t mean a whole lot to her.
She would be happy to know that she has accomplished this, but it has an impact that she doesn’t anticipate: he likes people who don’t constantly seek his approval. Bingley does what he’s told, and Elizabeth is right that Darcy values that. But Darcy sees a commonality between Elizabeth and himself, and that starts here: he’ll be explicit about this later, when he says that “we neither of us perform for strangers.” Neither of them is particularly interested in anyone else’s judgement of them. They’ll both change in that: Darcy will discover that other people’s opinions ought to matter more to to him, as he can’t take their opinions for granted, nor can he summarily dismiss the feelings of people he doesn't care for. Elizabeth will discover that she cares a lot more than she thinks she does, and she has let this color her own judgements. Darcy thinks that she doesn’t care what he thinks because she’s like him in not caring what anybody thinks, and he doesn’t realize that she doesn’t care what he, specifically Darcy thinks because she thinks he’s an asshole who has nothing to do with her. She keeps trying to be honest and straightforward about how little she likes him, and he keeps thinking she’s like one of his besties who constantly give him shit (like Fitzwilliam, and to a lesser extent, Bingley himself).
Every conversation shows how similar they are, and Darcy picks up on that, but Elizabeth doesn’t until she has had time to reflect later. Elizabeth is demonstrating that she doesn’t care what Darcy requires, and Darcy’s response to that, as we’ll see, is basically “...hot.”