exilefrompemberley

8/2/2019 ExilefromPemberley

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Exiled from Pemberley : Finding Home in Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice begins when a house in the neighborhood of the

Bennets Longbourn estate is let. It ends with a list of those who are, and

those who are not, welcome at Mr. Darcys fabled Pemberley when he weds

Elizabeth Bennet. In the arc that connects these two points, the two eldest

Bennet daughters traverse England. Jane, blinded by good-natured confidence

in Miss Bingley, resides with her aunt and uncle Gardiner in Cheapside for its

proximity to Mr. Bingley and, presumably, to his heart. Elizabeth, with some

trepidation, undertakes a journey by coach to the parsonage at Rosings Park,

where her best friend tends the poultry that might have been hers, had she

accepted Mr. Collins proposal. The Gardiners and Elizabeth, because of Mr.

Gardiners business commitments, are forced to curtail their planned tour of

the Lakes to a jaunt through Derbyshire.

Movement between locations is nearly always central to Jane Austens

plots. Sense and Sensibilityis defined by the Dashwoods forced removal to

Barton Cottage, and, later, what Marianne discovers about Willoughby while

residing in London. Fanny Price is sent from Mansfield Park so that she might

remember all that her wealthy relations have done to improve her situation in

life. Each change of scenery requires a new description, an increased level of

attention to the details of place and location. In this sense, it would be a

mistake to consider journeys a unique feature ofPride and Prejudice. What is

different, however, is the degree to which the physical features of a place,

particularly houses, stand in for a general description of that infinitely more


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elusive quality of homethe nature of, and the relationships between, its

inhabitants. Jane and Elizabeth end their travels far away from Longbourn,

their nominal house, because they are pursuing the concept of home

elsewhere.

But before this complex connection between the actual house and the

psychological home is established, Austen puts herself at pains to describe the

relationship between personality and surroundings, and between master and

estate.

Mr. Bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly a hundredthousand pounds

from his father, who had intended to purchase an estate, but didnot live to do it.

Mr. Bingley intended it likewise, and sometimes made choice ofhis county; but as he

was now provided with a good house and the liberty of a manor, itwas doubtful to

many of those who best knew the easiness of his temper, whetherhe might not

spend the remainder of his days at Netherfield (18).

The acquisition of real estate is used as a metaphor for the abstract qualities

of easiness and ductilitythe two words used with some frequency to

describe Bingleys character. Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years

when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield

House. He did look at it, and into it for half-an-hourwas pleased with the

situation and the principle roomsand took it immediately (18). Although

these qualities are underscored at many points, in ballrooms and in

conversations with Darcy, the authors own description of him is in terms of

where he lives and why.


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Nor is the association limited to Mr. Bingley. The way in which Mr.

Collins establishes himself first with the Bennets, and later with Charlotte

Lucas, is not only through the name of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but through

his descriptions of her estate. We see him ingratiating himself with Mrs.

Philips by comparing her parlor to a small summer breakfast room at

Rosings (85). The reflection does not suit Mrs. Philips until she understands

the grandeur of Rosings (where the chimney-piece alone cost eight hundred

pounds), the communication of which was Mr. Collins point all along (85-86).

Mr. Collins is important through his connection with Lady Catherine, but the

medium by which he establishes the degree of his importance is his frequent

reference to the physical features of Rosings, and, in the case of his courtship

of Charlotte Lucas, his own parsonage on the Rosings grounds. I ask only a

comfortable home, Charlotte explains to an astonished Elizabeth upon the

occasion of her engagement to Mr. Collins. (146). She is certain that Mr.

Collins situation, his money and connections, will provide it, but the physical

manifestation of his wealth and consequencethe houseis what matters.

Once this important link is established, Austen is free to describe what

becomes the guiding force behind much of the plot ofPride and Prejudice

Janes, and particularly Elizabeths, search for home. The first stage of

Elizabeths journey begins at the parsonage in Rosings Park, where Mr. Collins

is eager to point to what opportunities eluded her when she refused his

proposal of marriage. Not surprisingly, he performs this task by showing her

the physical features of his home. Elizabeth was prepared to see him in his


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glory; and she could not help fancying that in displaying the good proportion

of the room, its aspect and its furniture, he addressed himself particularly to

her (180). Elizabeth, in turn, comprehends in the arrangement of the rooms

the fate she has avoided.

The room in which the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth at first hadrather

wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining-parlour forcommon use;

but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for whatshe did, for Mr.

Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his ownapartment had they sat

in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for thearrangement (194).

Elizabeths opinion of Rosings is considerably less kind. Lady Catherine de

Bourghs manners and personality are described almost wholly in terms of her

management of Rosings Park, and in one illustrative example in particular: the

way in which she invites Elizabeth to use the piano-forte at the estate serves

as a reflection of the grandeur, condescension, and ultimate incivility of Lady

Catherine beneath a formidable facade: Thought Mrs. Collins has no

instrument, [Elizabeth] is very welcome to come to Rosings everyday, and play

on the piano-forte in Mrs. Jenkinsons room. She would be in nobodys way,

you know, in that part of the house (200). The way in which the property of

Rosings is described and used is a more general reflection on the inadequacies

of Lady Catherine.

If Elizabeth experiences discomfort at Rosings, Longbourn is hardly a

better home for her. This is established in the course of a conversation with

Mr. Darcy, one that occurs shortly before Elizabeth receives both Mr. Darcys


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proposal and the famous letter of Chapter 35. The juxtaposition, in this case,

is important. The first conversation, which begins with a discussion of the

parsonage, concerns the physical house. Darcy lists as one of its advantages

its location: for Mrs. Collins, the distance to her family and friends in

Hertfordshire can hardly be an inconvenience. Elizabeth launches into an

explanation for why the income of the Collins makes the journey farther than

Darcy might believe (205). Darcy replies, bemused, It is a proof of your

attachment to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the neighbourhood of

Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far (206). And then: Mr. Darcy drew his

chair a little towards her, and said, You cannot have a right to such very

strong attachment. You cannot have been always at Longbourn (207).

Given Darcys stated admiration of Elizabeth, it is a compliment;

unfortunately, it is not a compliment she understands until she reads the

contents of his letter.

The situation of your mothers family, though objectionable, wasnothing in

comparison to the total want of propriety so frequently, so almostuniformly

betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, andoccasionally even by your

father. Pardon me. It pains me to offend you. But amidst yourconcern for the

defects of your nearest relations, and your displeasure at thisrepresentation of them,

let it give you consolation to consider that, to have conductedyourself to as to

avoid any share of the like censure, is praise no less generallybestowed on you and

your eldest sister, than it is honourable to the sense anddisposition of both (229).


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The placement of the letter in terms of their conversation is crucial. Darcys

principle objection, contrary to what Elizabeth first believes, is not her uncle

Gardiner on Gracechurch Street, but Longbourn itself, and the persons who

reside there. In his assumption that Elizabeth did not spend her entire life in

Hertfordshire, we witness Darcys willingness to link the physical Longbourn

with the defects of its inhabitants. Propriety and character are not a matter of

blood, but of location. Darcy singles out the two eldest Bennet girls as exiles

from their own home, women who, by virtue of their intelligence and

understanding, could not have resided in Longbourn for the whole of their

lives. Their conversation and their letter form two halves of the same whole:

the importance of the physical house to the concept of home.

It is characteristic ofPride and Prejudice to veil surprising truths in

Elizabeths witty, apparently irreverent remarksand in Jane and Elizabeths

final conversation, this tendency exists in full force. After Elizabeth has

accepted Darcys proposal, she bestows her first confidence on Jane, but not

without some of the teasing that usually characterizes her interaction with the

one sister Mr. Bennet could not possibly characterize as another silly girl.

Are you quite sure, Jane asks her sister, that you feel what you ought to

do? (427). This sisterly solicitation is met with a somewhat flippant remark

in turn. It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it

began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds

at Pemberley (427).


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The humor cannot mask the peculiar truth. A great deal of time is

devoted to a description of Pemberley: It waswithout any artificial

appearance. Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adornedat that

moment, she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!

(280). This particular description is important for the degree to which it

reflects a debate that has been at the center of the novel. What is the place

of pride? When is it merited? Clearly, Lady Catherines pride and grandeur

are self-conscious and repugnant, a fact which Elizabeth communicates in her

indifference to fine carpets and satin curtains (277) as the sole measure of

both the house and its master. But as her tour of Pemberley takes her into the

house and across the grounds, Elizabeth acknowledges that pride for such a

place might indeed be warranted if it is a reflection of Mr. Darcys taste and

understanding. The reader is meant to make the connection, and understand

that Mr. Darcys manners elsewhere are a mere discomfort with his

surroundings. There is something a little stately in him, to be sure, observes

Mrs. Gardiner, but it is confined to his air, and is not unbecoming. I can now

say with the housekeeper, that though some people may call him proud, I

have seen nothing of it (293).

Elizabeth leaves Longbourn for Pemberley only when she can recognize

the connection between character and placeand only when she realizes that

Longbourn, as a physical location, is unsuited to her. Jane, in the end, leaves

Hertfordshire for similar reasons. She and Mr. Bingley remained at

Netherfield only a twelvemonth. So near a vicinity was not desirable to even


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his easy temper, or heraffectionate hearthe bought an estate in a

neighbouring county to Derbyshire; and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to

every other source of happiness, were within thirty miles of each other (440).

Jane and Elizabeth find home only when they realize that they are exiles by

birthand seek to remove themselves to their true homes. For Elizabeth,

traveling the countryside allows her to define the relationship between house

and homeand, ultimately, decide when pride in both is warranted.

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