Pride and Prejudice Volume 1, Chapter 11

Jane is well enough to join everyone in the parlor after dinner, and Bingley and his sisters are very kind to her, which satisfies Elizabeth. Miss Bingley keeps making plays for Darcy's attention while he is writing a letter to his sister, but he keeps brushing her off. Then Miss Bingley asks Elizabeth to walk around the room with her. Miss Bingley invites Darcy to join them, but he refuses because he claims that they're walking either to tell each other secrets, or to show off their figures, and either way he would be an intrusion. So then Miss Bingley tries to involve Darcy in witty banter, but he and Elizabeth only end up in a discussion about his pride. He admits that temper is his biggest flaw, that once his respect is lost, it's lost forever. Elizabeth interprets that to be that he likes to dislike people, and Darcy suggests that Elizabeth's flaw is that she likes to intentionally misunderstand people. Miss Bingley changes the subject because Darcy is no longer paying any attention to her at all since he is caught up with debating Elizabeth. Darcy is relieved when the argument ends because he realizes that tangling with Elizabeth can be dangerous.

Topic Tracking: Misunderstanding 5