Chantelle's Most Memorable Moment Journal

SECTION 4              

               The most memorable moment in my section was in volume 3 chapter 10, when it was revealed that it was not the Gardiners' but was actually Mr. Darcy who had found Lydia and Wickham. Mr. Darcy had not only found the two, but was also the one who took the responsibility to pay off Wickham’s request of fortune as well as taking care of all the marriage arrangements.

                After hearing from her sister Lydia about the wedding, Elizabeth was surprised to hear about Darcy being there. Lydia had sworn it was a secret so her sisters respected the fact that she wasn’t supposed to inform them about his presence at the wedding. Elizabeth was surprised and found the only way to answer her questions was to write to her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner. “She could not bear such suspense; and hastily seizing a sheet of paper, wrote a short letter to her aunt, to request an explanation of what Lydia had dropt...” (Austen, 350) Elizabeth reveals some of her feelings for Darcy as she is seen to be concerned about him. We see how she is slowly started to grow more feelings for the man she once despised.

Mrs. Gardiner writes back and explains the whole situation and how Mr. Darcy was behind it all. He secretly took care of the matter without feeling the need for everyone to find out. Mrs. Gardiner mentions in the letter that Darcy says it was his duty since he felt it was his fault that all of this had happened.

This moment in my section stood out to me the most because we see the kind of man Mr. Darcy was from the beginning. It surprised me because this whole time, I had thought it was the Gardiners who found the eloping couple, but Darcy was the last person I expected to have been there to help. This moment reveals Mr. Darcy’s selfless character that was hidden behind the pride he had in the beginning. His pride slowly starts to fade as his love for Elizabeth appears. His love allows him to do what he had done for the Bennet’s, with finding their daughter.

In the letter from Elizabeth’s aunt, she mentions that the reason for what Darcy had done was because he felt responsible for not revealing Wickham’s true motives to the family. Mrs. Gardiner hints at that fact that maybe there was another motive, but either way it would not have made a difference. “He called it, therefore, his duty to step forward, and endeavour to remedy an evil, which had been brought in by himself. If he had another motive, I am sure it would never disgrace him.” (Austen, 353) We see a bit of Darcy’s pride still as he doesn’t truly reveal that Elizabeth was part of the reason why he helped but Elizabeth knew it was because of his love for her.

This moment was very memorable to me because we see Elizabeth and Darcy slowly starting to come to the realization that it is okay to like one another depite social class, while slowly letting go of their pride and prejudice.