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For Tuesday: Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chs. 14-23 (finish Vol.1)

Rare painting by a woman of a woman from the 19th century: Marie Denise Villers, portrait of Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d'Ognes

NOTE: If you want to know more about the painting above, which is by one of only a handful of female painters of this period, check it out at the Met Museum's website here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437903

Answer TWO of the following as usual...

Q1: After a fairly short acquaintance, Elizabeth Bennet uncharacteristically falls for George Wickham, a “red coat,” one of the officers that Kitty and Lydia chase about. As she herself says, "he is, beyond all comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw." Why does she fall for him? IS this really out of character for her? Or might it tie into the overarching themes of the novel itself (hint: remember the original title)?

Q2: Why does Charlotte agree to marry Mr. Collins after Elizabeth has already refused him? And more importantly, why doesn't Elizabeth believe that her best friend would make a different decision? Is there more to Collins than meets the eye? Or is this an example of Elizabeth's pride and prejudice?

Q3: The Narrator writes of Mrs. Bennet that "Elizabeth was the least dear to her of all her children." Why would this be, considering she is generally the reader's favorite daughter (or character) and everyone decent in the book loves her, including her father? Where does this dislike or animosity come from, particularly considering this is her second-born daughter?

Q4: How does Austen complicate the Elizabeth/Darcy relationship in these chapters? Or more accurately, how does the narrator reveal aspects that often escape the notice of Elizabeth? Why might this be an advantage of unlimited third-person narration? 

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