Chapter 57
Mr. Collins's letter, forced laughter
English edition
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1 Elizabeth sits alone at Longbourn, her gaze fixed on the opposite chair.
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2 Elizabeth rests in quiet reflection, her gaze passing beyond the vacant chair.
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3 A vacant armchair faces the familiar table at Longbourn.
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4 Elizabeth sits beside the round table in fading daylight, her gaze lowered to her resting hands.
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5 Elizabeth’s hands close over her lap as she imagines Darcy abandoning his promised return.
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6 Elizabeth voices her resolve to relinquish hope if Darcy fails to return.
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7 Elizabeth sits quietly as the household’s curiosity subsides.
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8 Elizabeth pauses at the foot of the staircase as Mr. Bennet emerges from his library.
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9 Mr. Bennet invites Elizabeth into his library, an opened letter in his hand
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10 Elizabeth follows Mr. Bennet into his familiar library, watching the letter in his hand.
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11 Elizabeth grows apprehensive, suspecting the letter may be from Lady Catherine
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12 Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet settle into their library chairs beside the fireplace.
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13 Mr. Bennet lowers his letter and teasingly congratulates Elizabeth on another impending marriage.
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14 Elizabeth’s cheeks flush as she suddenly believes the letter is from Darcy.
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15 Mr. Bennet reveals that the letter is from Mr. Collins, checking Elizabeth’s private hope.
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16 Elizabeth responds to the unexpected mention of Mr. Collins with quickly recovered curiosity.
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17 Mr. Bennet steadies Mr. Collins's letter, pausing before the passage on Elizabeth
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18 Mr. Bennet reads Collins’s ceremonial announcement with easy amusement.
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19 Mr. Bennet lifts his eyes from Mr. Collins’s letter and invites Elizabeth to guess its subject.
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20 Mr. Bennet reads Mr. Collins's warning with amusement as Elizabeth listens anxiously
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21 Mr. Bennet reads Mr. Collins’s warning about Lady Catherine’s opposition.
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22 Darcy’s name arrests Elizabeth’s attention as her father begins to make light of it.
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23 Mr. Bennet invites Elizabeth to share his amusement at Darcy's supposed interest
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24 Elizabeth offers Mr. Bennet a barely sustained smile as he looks up from Mr. Collins’s letter.
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25 Elizabeth holds her reluctant smile as she politely asks Mr. Bennet to continue reading.
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26 Elizabeth keeps a reluctant smile as her father reads the warning against her marriage
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27 Mr. Bennet reads Mr. Collins's severe condemnation aloud, the letter across his lap
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28 Mr. Bennet's dry smile turns to scorn at Mr. Collins's idea of Christian forgiveness
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29 Elizabeth’s forced laughter conceals wounded hope.
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