Friday, July 15, 2016

In Pride and Prejudice, what does Elizabeth mean when she says, "Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination, we can all plague and punish one...

Just prior to this statement, Mr. Darcy spoke and fairly explicitly explained why he would not wish to join the women in their stroll around the room. He says they likely know their figures appear to "greatest advantage" while moving in this way, so he can admire the two women best while seated. Miss Bingley, with false alarm and fake offense, asks Elizabeth how they should "punish" Mr. Darcy for such a claim. Although Miss Bingley is not sincere and truly has no wish to punish Mr. Darcy for anything—this is all just a part of her terrible and totally unrequited flirtation with him—Elizabeth answers her sincerely. She claims the best way to punish Mr. Darcy would be to laugh at him, implying that wounding his pride would be the surest way to punish him for anything. Further, because the Bingleys and the Darcys are such good friends (this is the "Intimate as you are" part), she believes Miss Bingley is well-qualified to ascertain on which subjects Mr. Darcy could be teased.

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Thomas Jefferson's election in 1800 is sometimes called the Revolution of 1800. Why could it be described in this way?

Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 can be called the “Revolution of 1800” because it was the first time in America’s short history that pow...