Pride And Prejudice After Receiving Mr. Darcy's Letter
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Elizabeth Bennet’s reaction to receiving Mr. Darcy’s letter is deeply significant to the overall work of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Here, Austen writes a narrative of Elizabeth’s newly realised ignorance. This style of writing is significant as it allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of Elizabeth’s thoughts and actions, while also relating to the rest of the book as Austen’s main objective was to express the ignorance of people. It seems that after receiving Mr. Darcy’s letter, Elizabeth takes her eyes away from the actions of those around her, and finally looks into her own actions. This is a pivotal moment for Elizabeth as the true circumstances of Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy are exposed, after which Elizabeth realises her eyes, which are usually so perceptive, have been rendered “wretchedly blind” by her want for acceptance and attention. Elizabeth’s new self-perception is apparent when she confesses “til this moment I never knew myself” and “I, who have valued myself on my abilities…gratified my vanity in useless and blameable distrust”. By my abilities, Elizabeth…show more content… Elizabeth confesses that it was this belief along with her own vanity that obstructed her from seeing the truth. We see this when Elizabeth, who is usually more suspicious than Jane, states “I, who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister,” thus expressing her horror that she was blinded by Wickham’s affection. The mood here is unsettled and a little frustrated as Elizabeth begins to doubt her abilities in reading another’s actions. Elizabeth admits that she was “pleased by the preference of one and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of acquaintance.” The emphasis is on “the very beginning of acquaintance” as it accents the fact that Elizabeth was so blinded that she could not recognize she had committed such prejudice founded on nothing but